The digital world 17
MySpace Music and the generation
The study Music Experience and Behaviour in Young People, carried out by a team from our Music and Entertainment Industries Research Group, was the first major UK academic study of its kind. It was commissioned in 2008, and again in 2009, by UK Music, an umbrella body that represents the British music industry. Its most recent findings are based on an online survey of more than eighteen hundred young people throughout the UK. Respondents were sourced via youth groups, secondary schools and universities, as well as through music partners such as NME, and media and social networks including Bebo, We7, Facebook and MySpace.
The most recent survey shows that while music is the most popular form of entertainment for 14 to 24 year-olds, and ownership both online and offline is important to them, there is a significant ‘value gap’ in terms of the amount of money they spend on it. Free file-sharing is widespread, yet eighty-five per cent of those who access music illegally would be interested in paying for an unlimited MP3 download service.
These, and other key findings from our research, supported proposals in the UK government’s 2009 Digital Britain report to give media regulator Ofcom and internet service providers greater powers to tackle illegal file- sharing. Copyright is a central issue of the Digital Britain report, which sets out a detailed, strategic plan to ensure Britain remains at the forefront of the global digital economy.
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Our group’s report was also considered in an evidence-based review by the then Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property Policy (SABIP). The review’s results inform many of the recommendations in SABIP’s report Copycats? Digital Consumers in the Online Age which looks at digital consumer behaviour and attitudes, and their implications for intellectual property policy.
Music Experience and Behaviour in Young People has attracted global attention, and has been covered in more than two hundred news sources globally, as well as in feature articles in The Times, the Guardian and The Independent.
‘The music industry has rarely benefited from such targeted academic research in this fast- moving area. Historically, it has relied on reports from commercial organisations. The online survey and our report reveal many opportunities for the music industry as it navigates its way through the various economic, social and legal challenges brought about by the seismic shifts in young consumers’ habits,’ explains David Bahanovich who co-authored the report with Dennis Collopy. David is a Reader in Music and Leader of our Music and Entertainment Industry Management programme.
Music is a vital part of young people’s daily lives. They love it and they want it now.
Music Experience and Behaviour in Young People provides a fascinating snapshot of how 14 to 24 year-olds access, consume and share music. Its findings shed light on key issues confronting today’s music industry, and have been influential in the ongoing debate about intellectual property and copyright.
This study moves forward the ongoing debate about copyright and intellectual property, and reveals both challenges and new opportunities for the UK music industry.
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