CHARLES ARTHUR HITS the nail on the head: illegal downloads aren't killing music sales. Rising sales of computer games are killing revenues to the recorded music industry. In a well-researched editorial, Arthur points out, "People who spend on recorded music are also very likely to spend on things such as games and DVD purchases or rentals. They are all discretionary purchases." He dug out the numbers and discovered that total spending has grown but music is being squeezed. "The music industry's deadliest enemy isn't filesharing--it's the likes of Ninetendo, Microsoft and Sony, and a zillion games publishers." Sure, it's easy to share music files but filesharing is hardly the whole story. "To claim that filesharing is the whole story really fools nobody who has had to choose between a £40 fame that will give them a weeks enjoyment, or a Simon Cowell-inspired CD for £10 containing two good tracks and eight somewhat less inspiring efforts." Let's stop letting the Irish Recorded Music Association steal air time and claim they're being ripped off by broadband users.
Charles Arthur -- "Filesharing isn't music's biggesgt foe" in Technology Guardian, 11 June 2009. Image of a games developer in Tipperary Institute, quite likely targeted as the sole reason the recorded music industry is collapsing.
