RIAA terror tactics aren’t working
It’s getting to them, says the RIAA.
‘Them’ are the parents of young p2p file sharers and ‘It’ is the RIAA’s subpoena terror tactic under which children and senior citizens find themselves paying the music industry thousands of dollars to avoid landing in court.
On October 1, 2003, Jonathan Whitehead of the RIAA was quoted in the Washington Post online forum as saying, "there’s been a dramatic increase in people’s awareness that stealing music is illegal. Parents are talking to their kids …"
But that’s not the case, say data in a new report which refutes both of these claims.
In fact, music industry pressure is largely lost on the parents of downloading kids, says research done in the weeks following the first wave of prosecutions by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America ).
* While 85% of 13-24 year-olds say their parents are aware of their downloading music, only 13% are doing anything about it – such telling them to stop, say survey firms Bolt Lab and House Three. Findings include:
* Only 9% of downloaders believe that the type of downloading they do is illegal. Half (53%) say that they are either "not sure (24%)" or "don’t think" the type of music they download is illegal (29%).
* 85% of teens believe that their parents are aware of their downloading behavior, but only 13% of kids feel pressure by parents to stop. In fact, 25% of teens have helped their parents download music.
* 75% of teens have downloaded music from the Internet, with half downloading more than 100 files. The top reasons cited for downloading are "wanting only one song, not the whole album" and "wanting to make mixed CD’s."
* 87% of teens are aware of the recent wave of RIAA lawsuits. More than 50% of teens say they are less likely to download music because of the lawsuits. However, active downloaders, those who have downloaded more than 100 files, are less likely to moderate their behavior.
