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In the year since revisions to the copyright law in Japan made illegal downloading a crime punishable with jail time and heavy fines, the music industry hasn’t experienced a significant increase in profits. In fact, police have yet to prosecute anyone for the crime.
Japan officially started prosecuting music, movie, and software pirates in October 2012. Well, we say “started prosecuting,” but in reality, no one has actually been sentenced or caught by the police under this law, so maybe “started threatening to officially prosecute” would be the better word choice.
Either way, the law seems to have had some effect–the number of people using Winny and Share, once-popular Japanese programs used to illegally download files, has decreased by 40%. Even so, CD sales from January to August are still lower than last year – by 7%. This is after sales had risen by 5% over the period from October 2012 to June 2013 in comparison to October 2011 to June 2012. In other words, sales went up briefly and then went even further back down.
What this might mean is that there doesn’t seem to be a 100% direct link between pirates and declines in CD sales. However, according to the Recording Industry Association of Japan, it looks like digital album sales have increased by nearly 50% over the same period. This seems to fit with comments made by the RIAJ’s managing director Kenji Takasugi, who told NHK News, “The revised law has been effective in increasing the amount of rentals, but it seems unconnected to the number of people who are paying to actually buy music. While we are continuing public education regarding illegal downloading, we are working to improve sales by creating good music and improving the ease of use of music services.”
We can’t help wondering if they should also ask Tsutaya, one of the largest CD and DVD chains in Japan, to stop selling CD-Rs at the counter.
Japanese netizens naturally had quite a bit to say on the topic.
-- I wonder if they really think the cause of the problem is illegal downloading. -- Stuff that sells will actually, you know, sell! -- There’s so many people who get music from iTunes. I wonder why they haven’t realized that illegal downloading isn’t the only cause. -- Just how many people even listen to CDs?? Unless CD players become popular again, there’s nothing they can do. -- It’s simply that the number of other forms of entertainment besides music are increasing. -- The problem is the music itself. -- Well, people who are going to download music wouldn’t buy it in the first place! -- Music isn’t even necessary to begin with. Thinking you need music is just brainwashing. -- Wouldn’t it be better to regulate CD rentals??
Obviously this is a hot topic with a lot of push-back from the Internet, and not just in Japan. The debate rages about the economic repercussions of illegal downloading and how to deal with it the world over, with international attention currently focused on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its potential effects on copyright laws.
As to how much pirated music has actually hurt the music industry is hard to judge, since illegal activities tend to be difficult to quantify. Still, we wonder if lowering prices from 3,000 yen per album wouldn’t help in Japan at least.
Sources: RIAJ, NHK, Jin115
Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Survey Suggests that Consumers are Spending Less Than Ever on Music -- Japanese Government and Industries Battle Copyright Infringement -- American singer wants to turn music industry on its ear with free downloads and gigs
© RocketNews24
27 Comments
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ControlFreak
Indeed it is sad that there have been no arrests yet. All the lawmakers who passed it and the lobbyists who championed it should be arrested pronto!
Okinawamike
Why you wnat to bring this up?
Just let them sleep.
Okinawamike
*want
sangetsu03
Just like there have been no arrests for companies ignoring age and sex anti-discrimination laws or anti-trust laws.
BertieWooster
Perhaps they should introduce compulsory CD buying.
That might be the only way to increase sales.
(Sarcasm)
Scrote
They won't be arresting me because I switched to using an encrypted connection once the law came into force. It also has the effect of bypassing the ISP throttling so I can download faster. However, even if it was free I wouldn't download any of their music as most of it is so awful I can't stand hearing it.
gogogo
Do your homework RocketNews, these CD rentals are priced to Tsutaya so you can copy them (although the don't say it out loud). Tsutaya buy them at a higher price for rentals. Ever wonder why rentals are the same price as downloads?
Gobshite
The link between downloads and lack of CD sales is exaggerated. I confess to having downloaded music in the past, but I would NOT otherwise have gone out and bought the CD, so the download had no effect on sales. I suspect many people download illegally because they can, rather than to avoid paying for it. Of course there are some with financial motives, but 1 million illegal downloads does not equate to 1 million lost CD sales.
sighclops
Artists are adapting. They know now they have to tour more and find other means of revenue (ie. merchandise). It's the fat cats at the top who are behind the times...
Downloads open to new audiences, if anything!
MissingCylonModel
I think the reason why CD sales are down is obvious.
All those people you see in the streets with earphones are NOT carrying CD players. Most likely, they got their music online (legally or otherwise). If they did go to a store and bought a CD, they soon ripped the music off it and put the disk on a shelf never to be touched again. That's two extra steps before they could listen.
warispeace
Shouldn't this article also mention that no corporate boss has been arrested for freely gathering my consumer habit data? Or no government agency head has been arrested for secretly gathering all my personal online information?
T_rexmaxytime
Businesses need to adjust itself to technology instead of trying to suppress them. These dinosaur business model that relied music rights are obvisouly going to thin out. Get with the program or else.....
praack
so funny whenever i read an article about DRM, copyright or law regarding illegal music downloads and effect on sales.
this has been studied several times in the past each time the same answer comes up- there is no correlation- the problem is this:
Current CD's are structured on the old LP vinyl model- sell one or two hot tracks and a whole bunch of B tracks Current record store contracts keep most new band music out of the record store- only giving room to mainstream acts- even those way past their prime Kids (yes that's you - I am tooo old to be considered one) get their music elsewhere- including viewing new artists on u-tube first - buying music direct from the musician and once the musician does get a contract they follow that musician.but of course the last bit - use of social media, including alternative buying schemes - is not captured - all the big companies think is that piracy is amongst us- as if! i don't need to buy an album from a band who is 70 or 80 years old right now.
papasmurfinjapan
Why do some rental CDs have copy-protection then? (Easily bypassed, but that's not the point). Ditto movies. Are you saying it's perfectly legal for me to go and rent a new movie from Tsutaya, buy a DVD-R from the counter, then go home and copy it? If so, no wonder sales are down.
Why pay 2000-3000yen for something when you can legally pay 200-300 yen for exactly the same thing?
Richard bHard
Who buys cd anyway it's a digital age!
Dennis Bauer
@Richard bHard the data on a CD is also digital only the carrier is physical. Maybe those rental shops should also go for digital distribution like netflix.
Frungy
I find this hilarious. Music sales overall remain the same (CD sales are down, but digital sales are up) ... and the RIAJ declares that the new legislation is a victory.
... perhaps, just possibly, people just prefer buying stuff on sites like itunes rather than buying CDs? And perhaps, possibly this has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the new legislation?
CH3CHO
papasmurfinjapanOct. 02, 2013 - 02:36PM JST
Tsutaya has to pay loyalty to the publisher every time it rents a CD. Every time Tsutaya sells a blank CD, Tsutaya pays some money to the music industry which is distributed among the music companies.
Richard bHard
I am curious,if half the population of japan was illegally downloading would they put all of them if jail if they refused to pay fines?? And do they really think this law will stop people from downloading??
Frungy
Well, I'm prepared to bet that with Japan's aging population half of Japan don't even know what the internet is....
But based on what the RIAA tried in the U.S. I'm betting that they'd just try to illegally extort money from half the population with THREATS of criminal action.
Vast Right-Wing Conspirator
There should be some recourse for artists and intellectual property holders to enforce their rights. It doesn't seem fair that their work can be copied and distributed without their consent, and without compensation.
Mirai Hayashi
Who the hell buys CDs these days? Music CDs are dead media like the cassette and 8 tracks.
Serrano
"pirated music"
I prefer the term stolen music. Cuz that's what it be.
"Who the hell buys CDs these days?"
Cripes, I just bought one last month. I hang my head in shame, lol.
malfupete
Downloading a TV show is illegal?
Cliffy
For me, because of the entire CD, only 1-2 songs are worthy for listening, so why do I need to buy the whole CD? I can just buy those couple of songs from iTune, etc.
Fadamor
Banning CD-Rs is not a solution because everyone has a right to keep an archival copy of their music. Additionally, banning CD-Rs does nothing for preventing illegal downloading to MP3 players and other internet-connected computing devices capable of playing audio files.
What this law was aimed at was the gross offenders. They've (probably the 40% that stopped using the Japanese file-sharing sites) moved on to sites in other countries so Japan's authorities don't really have a target large enough to prosecute. It takes a lot of work to locate an internet criminal, so unless the "payoff" is worth the man-hours, the authorities aren't going to pursue it. The law succeeded in its purpose: Making the large-scale pirates move to become some other country's problem. Eventually, when all countries get around to similar legislation (I predict in the year 2328), then you'll start to see prosecutions in SOME country. Until then they'll just bounce from lax country to lax country.
nath
It's a sham (the music industry)!
When the newest Dream Theater album came out I looked at it on iTunes & the price was the same as it was for actually buying the CD. I though, "Why would I pay that much to download it & I don't get any artwork, or lyrics, when I cna pay the same amount & get a booklet containing artwork & lyrics."
Then I started thinking deeper. Supposedly CDs are the price that they are because of printing costs, the costs of discs etc. So, technically, downloading it from iTunes, or whatever service takes that extra expense away from the record companies.
If that is the case why are they charging so much?
Greed, my friends, greed.
Hell, to be honest, most of this mindless drivel they call music nowadays isn't even worth the TIME spent listening to it.