The Myth Of Lost Sales: Does Disk Copying Negatively Impact The Music Industry?

Abstract

The music industry contends that copied CDs represent lost sales. An exploration of the historical precedents, music industry assumptions and empirical evidence show a far more complex relationship. In this paper we look back at potential threats to the entertainment industry threats such as the advent of recording, radio and cassette recorders. We then examine the assumptions of the music industry’s argument, supplemented by a survey of disk copying behavior. The results indicate that the underlying dynamics are more complex than the industry claims, including the possibility that disk copying can result in a net benefit to the CD industry.