More Legal Services Needed To Counter Piracy

According to a report by James Myring at BDRC Continental, the best way to counter music piracy is to create more legal services. At the Media Research Group conference in Malta, Myring said that, "If piracy is to be reduced, it can’t be through threats and sanctioning. Carrot and stick need to work together."

His research suggests that legal alternatives like Spotify and other streaming sites have reduced piracy. The more ways that fans have to access music the better. Micropayment systems must be tied to these services if piracy is to be overcome. He states that the reason fans like streaming sites is because they don't want to lose control of their media experience. Myring's assertions allign with comments made by Michael Robertson, founder and CEO of MP3tunes.

In an interview with PaidContent, Robertson expressed his concerns that throwing more money and litigation will not stop piracy. He says give fans what they want:

"You must figure out a way to swim with the tide instead of against the tide—to use people’s innate curiosity and desire to share things they find interesting as a way to drive awareness, and sales, for your business.

To me this is like the drug war. You can spend billions if you want, but you’re wasting your time. You’re better off recognizing that people want immediate access to content—and then get them into legitimate e-commerce activities." (Read on.)