4. an industry of giants. 82% INDEPENDENT LABELS of the music industry is controlled by four entities: UNIVERSAL SONY WARNER EMI
5. the rise of digital content. 1993: The mp3 file format is born 1999: Napster, a music sharing network, is launched 2001: The RIAA shuts Napster down 2001: Apple releases the first iPod 2003: Apple opens the iTunes Store
6. an industry in decline. According to the RIAA, music sales have dropped 47% from $14.6 to 7.7 billion since 1999 From 2004 to 2009, 30 billion songs have been downloaded illegally online Approximately $12.5 billion in lost revenues are caused by music piracy every year
7. interesting facts. - Album sales increased every year while Napster was in existence - The RIAA calculates sales by the amount of units shipped, not units sold - Consumers can buy the songs they like as singles rather than an entire album - Digital files have decreased the cost of producing music immensely: no CDs, album inserts, cases, shipping, unsold inventory
8. a look at RIAA financial statements. $64 million spent in prosecuting piracy from 2006-2008 $1.4 million recovered from piracy cases actually won
9. discussion. 1. Is piracy actually affecting music sales? (would pirates actually buy the music if they couldn’t steal it) 2. Have the record companies failed to adapt to the preferences of the customer? 3. How much are you willing to pay for an album on iTunes? 4. With services like Pandora and Grooveshark, do you still feel the need to buy music?
