national

A month after download law, consumers spending less on music: survey

62 Comments
By Philip Kendall

On Oct 1, knowingly downloading copyrighted music and video in Japan became punishable by up to two years in prison and a 2 million yen penalty.

The law was passed in June after the Japanese music industry, the second largest in the world after the U.S., reported continued financial losses, with analysts suggesting that just one in 10 downloads were legal.

Since the law came into effect, there have certainly been some changes, and many Internet users have become reluctant to click that download button for fear of receiving a hefty fine, meaning that the law has been a success in a way.

According to a recent statistical survey, however, since the law was passed, sales of music in Japan have continued to fall and consumers are actually showing less interest in music than ever before.

Livedoor News reported that the results of a consumer survey show that more than 68% of respondents spend “0 yen” on music in an average month; the highest the figure has been in almost 10 years.

The multiple choice survey asks consumers, “How much do you spend on music in an average month?” with answers ranging from “0-500 yen” to “over 10,000 yen.” “0 yen” has risen significantly since 2004, while numbers of every other response have decreased each time since 2007.

Is this the effect of the new download restrictions? Has Japan’s new draconian law actually had a negative effect on music sales? Or has the Japanese government simply noticed that music sales continue to fall and mistakenly pinpointed illegal downloads as the cause?

The Internet masses had plenty to say about the results of the survey and the Japanese music industry in general:

-- “Bring the average price of a CD down and I might buy one…”

-- “I rarely actively listen to music now anyway - it’s just on in the background. For the price stores charge I wouldn’t buy an actual CD.”

-- “In terms of cost performance, CD albums are pretty poor.”

-- “This is how the Japanese music industry will die…”

-- “Since they got so strict about downloads I actually don’t feel like buying new music.”

-- “Listening via YouTube’s enough for me.”

-- “I used to discover a lot of new bands by downloading their albums without worrying about whether I’d like them or not. Now I can’t do that, so I hardly buy CDs.”

-- “I usually buy about 100 songs a year, but more often than not I get them from foreign stores. Music here is too expensive.”

-- “What idiot would pay those prices for a new CD!? I buy my music used now…”

-- “I don’t want CDs, per-se; I want music. If more tracks were available to download I’d buy more.”

-- “Why pay? I can sing for free…”

It’s interesting to see that, although one or two people suggest that the tough new law has put them off buying new music, the vast majority of responses suggest that – just maybe – the reason music sales have fallen so much recently is due to a general lack of interest and that new albums are simply not particularly good value for money.

It would seem that the public’s perception of the music industry has changed, and that fewer and fewer people are willing to invest their hard-earned cash in music that they simply use to fill the silence rather than sit and listen to for pleasure.

Perhaps the enormous rise in illegal downloads is a sign that people are interested enough in music to take it for free, but not so in love with what’s on offer that they’d willingly pay the asking price. There seems to be a general vibe on Japanese online message boards that, with the option to download removed, few people are interested in today’s music enough to pay, and so would rather not bother entirely.

But, as one Japanese Internet user states: “Well, they’ve implemented this law now, so they’d look pretty silly removing it. Well done, guys!”

Source: 痛いニュース

© RocketNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


62 Comments
Login to comment

People should go on strike. That's what everyone does in India when they don't like something and no one listens to them.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I can understand the cost of CD/DVDs costing more in Japan, but double the price seems a bit excessive. In the states, albums/singles hitting gold/platinum happens all the time. That or double platinum. In Japan, they'd be lucky to get gold. Even fewer can even hit platinum. At least based off US's figures. That's why their numbers are lower.

US Gold - 500k US Platinum - 1 mil

Japan Gold - 100k Japan Platinum - 250k

So the US can charge cheaper, simply cause they can get their money back in sheer volume of sales. Japan isn't able to do this, so they need to charge more. Charge double the price...I don't know. I doubt it, but I really don't know.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The costs for CDs, DVDs in Japan are ridiculous. Seems like they want to keep putting nails in their coffins because they don't realise that they can't make the big bucks until they adjust the cost to the quality of what they're producing.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I had to read this again because it cracks me up. So what's the music industry going to blame the decrease in sales on this time? What are they going to ban or press to make illegal?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Wow. Thank goodness that I live in the USA. I feel very sorry for you guys, I really do.

These companies need to grow up & adapt to the changes. Otherwise, the entire Japanese music industry will crumble altogether.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Music is so cheap on iTunes and Amazon. Yet, I have to agree with a lot of posters that there is very little to be desired for new music. A lot of the "flash in the pan" pop garbage and one-hit wonders are readily available on YouTube. Loyal fans to certain music will always buy that music, so - like many - I'm sick of the record industry blaming illegal downloads. The Internet did hurt the record business by taking away their stranglehold and letting the artists be artists. Distribution is instant and interacting with fans is a click away. I agree, the marketing and filter for what is excellent is skewed. Also, I miss record stores and wandering around for a few hours in a physical location. But, the good news is bands have to go out on the road and market themselves.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

There is little upside to owning CDs - they take up space, get scratched, need to change them etc..... the music industry needs to innovate and offer something more, especially if they are charging those ludicrous amounts. If they were to charge a reasonably cheap fee per song, i think many of the current dloaders would pay a small premium. Those who were never going to pay anyway.... no lost sales there.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

People can get their music fix elsewhere such as youtube,I assume downloading a video from there isn't prohibited yet.All it is going to do is kill exposure to media that isn't widely available.

If there is a movie,a song or a video game that is not easy to purchase...you are not going to be able to safely download it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Basroil - You can legally record free-to-air TV and radio as long as you don't distribute it or play it in public places

0 ( +1 / -1 )

With the "music" being churned out these days, asking 3,000 - 4,000 yen (and up) is a joke.

Can't believe that is still the asking price for CDs in Japan in this economy. Perhaps music fans could organize a one month boycott on music products in Japan.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I'd like to buy the music directly from the artist. Alternatively, if they provided their music freely like open source software, people could donate money via their official website (using flattr). This will never happen though cos, the record companies won't get any money.

The anime industry aren't much better though. I remember when I first came to Japan, I was excited at the thought of finally being able to buy my favourite anime series for a reasonable price. I think the first dvd i found was 7000yen, it didn't get much better either. ATX was ridiculously expensive too. It's a shame, because I really wanted to support them.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

popplerNov. 07, 2012 - 06:12PM JST

They're selling that game for $26 on amazon so you got a limited time super deal. They sell that game for 2,400 on amazon.jp.

Tsukumo has it for about 5000 yen now online, they had it at 7500 when I went there last. My price was $4.95, but only paid about $1.95. And because of the ridiculous DRM on the thing, it's worth approximately $0 to have the english version in Japan unless you purchase directly from steam (bet they don't mention that issue).

The 2400 you claim to be from amazon.co.jp is actually a marketplace item from CLICK FOR GAMES UK LTD that's in the UK, so yea... no local companies sell it for less than 5000. At 5000, it's still ten times what I paid for, and double the normal price in the US.

Is it really illegal? How come they don't stop Yahoo Auctions from doing it? They got thousands of used movies and games on there.

The companies have a legal right to collect fees for the sale of used goods as it falls under "resale". Some videogames go as far as to actually say no resale on the box. While in any other country the companies would probably get laughed at, here the courts agree with the company's "right" to steal more money from you.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Do we really need a "music industry" anymore? There's enough easy technology about for artists to produce their own MP3s and even their own videos. All they really need for success (besides making music that many enjoy listening to!) is the access to the airwaves that the music industry controls (and which has always controlled what radio and TV stations are allowed to broadcast). In effect, this "industry" is nothing more than an unnecessary leech on society. All music should be available cheaply (about 25 cents a song) with 90% going to the artists. They'd would sell much more music and still make generous profits without having to line the pockets of music industry executives (and Apple top brass?) with untold millions of dollars (and also be free of record companies restrictive contracts).

2 ( +2 / -0 )

With the "music" being churned out these days, asking 3,000 - 4,000 yen (and up) is a joke. How much of that actually goes to the artist? I'd say a fraction, at best.

Archaic lobbyists got what they wanted, now I'll get the popcorn!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

What? People in Japan who have a rapidly shrinking disposable income don't want to shell out 4,000 yen for the newest SMAP or other crap "produced" CD? I'm shocked.

Serves the music industry right. Nothing is funnier to watch than a greedy moron shoot himself in the foot.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I'm all for lowering prices and I don't care if people download illegally, but you guys need to stop making ridiculous comparisons.

I got Civ V from amazon for $5, and last week I found it here for almost 8000 yen. That's a 20 times increase AND IT WAS THE EXACT SAME GAME!

They're selling that game for $26 on amazon so you got a limited time super deal. They sell that game for 2,400 on amazon.jp.

A big thing in the price is the fact that selling used games is practically illegal, as is selling used dvds and blurays.

Is it really illegal? How come they don't stop Yahoo Auctions from doing it? They got thousands of used movies and games on there.

Show me where I can download walking dead season from a Japanese site.

hulu.jp

1 ( +2 / -1 )

xrcNov. 07, 2012 - 05:08PM JST

There has got to be some avenues for freedom. You can record FM radio or TV shows without a problem.

Technically no, you can't. You can't even take photos or video of an event being filmed if the company bought the rights to it!

Only difference is that they can't throw you in jail if they don't know you did it, even if they are free to invade your privacy or breach legal contracts to spy on you on the internet. Hell, they technically can only find out if you DOWNLOAD something if they steal or hack into a server that you downloaded from, or if they send you the files themselves (catch-22 is not covered under Japanese law apparently, so that is probably their main method).

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Yes, a tough topic. I'm an old guy. I've bought albums for years in the 60's. For example...the Rolling Stones for 99 cents, yes the actual store price at that time. Nobody listened to them back then...Since I live in Japan, I sure can't afford to have all these albums shipped over here. Lots of jazz, Moog, psychedelic right up thru the New wave scene. Yes, I've downloaded most of the CD's of those albums which I've bought. Besides I don't listen to the mainstream stuff which most of the musicians are playing music for the music rather than the fame or money. What happens when one lives under the poverty level and can't afford to buy hardly anything? Are they thrown to the streets? There has got to be some avenues for freedom. You can record FM radio or TV shows without a problem. Safe not to DL. Here come the Nazis!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The fines and threat of imprisonment are too scary for me. I used to download from iTunes but happens to me if they make some sort of mistake on my account history sometime in the future and say I didn't buy the album/s from them....then I'm a criminal who must have downloaded the music illegally right? ......Big companies are ALWAYS making mistakes because they are lax......I'm not about to trust my freedom and financial security to the nameless careless staff of some huge company....... The new law has stopped me from downloading ANY music at all, ever....I listen to the radio or sing....it's way safer.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I agree with gaijinfo That very people who used to download illegal music is the one who used to spend the most in music. Back then I didn't "illegally" download music to save money, I did it to get to know new bands, in fact, maybe 80% of the CD's I have were bought because of this very reason. I don't want to watch MTV all day just waiting until I hear something I like, nowadays music suck, so it's very hard for me to know new bands this way.

The other problem with legal downloads is format. Allow users to download MP3-320kbps/MP4-512kbps and FLAC, now that'd work for many. I personally love CD's, I rip them to mp4 (AAC) at 516kbps (yes 516) and play them everywhere, now most electronics are able to play this format.

Are music sales going low because of lack ofinterest ? No. Music sales are going down because of price and because consumers are forced to do what companies want. Downloading an illegal album doesn't mean that it was going to be bought.

Look at what Microsoft is doing, go to windowsupgradeoffer dot com, windows 8 for US$15 ? Yep, that's right.

It's all about price and options.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

“I used to discover a lot of new bands by downloading their albums without worrying about whether I’d like them or not. Now I can’t do that, so I hardly buy CDs.”

This sums it up for me. I like to listen to something before I buy it, especially since CDs are so expensive in Japan. I don't want to shell out 3000+ yen on something that turns out to be awful. Even when it's an established band there's no guarantee that their new album will be anything like their previous ones.

Now I simply don't buy new stuff, unless it's recommended to me by a friend, in which case I generally borrow their CD for a few days to listen to ... which really makes the entire law kindof silly doesn't it?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

this law made me stop downloading illegal music and start using iTunes. i guess the law served its purpose in my case.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Robert DykesNov. 07, 2012 - 02:09PM JST

Games! The price of a game is 7000 yen or more! Many games 2 years later they are still hat high.

I got Civ V from amazon for $5, and last week I found it here for almost 8000 yen. That's a 20 times increase AND IT WAS THE EXACT SAME GAME! They didn't even have a japanese version, it was still all in english.

A big thing in the price is the fact that selling used games is practically illegal, as is selling used dvds and blurays. First thing they need to do is take away the special protections granted to those industries, as it actually hurts them more than it helps.

I find that most young people don't even bother owning anything anymore, it's too expensive compared with rentals.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

What movies and music that are not even remotely available in Japan? I listen to a good bit of indie music that never has and never will published in Japan. TVs shows that the only way I can watch them in this decade is to download them. Show me where I can download walking dead season from a Japanese site. Show me where I can get Ginourmous's new music on amazon Japan. It's not just music and movies and tv. Games! The price of a game is 7000 yen or more! Many games 2 years later they are still hat high. You can go to the USA and find them for 5$. Wonder why Japan has high privacy across the board? They should look at nine inch nails and radio head. Pay what you want models for digital download. And if you want a nice cd and collectors edition have more expensive version available.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

There are some copyright-protected music CDs, but nearly all recent discs are not protected against copying, and thus they can be ripped

Actually, there are none. The CD format itself never made room for copy protection, so instead what some despicable companies (looking at you sony) did was use autorun features to install a rootkit virus that prevents you from buring ANY disk if you try to remove it.

On top of that, the copy protected cds VIOLATE COPYRIGHT THEMSELVES! They stole GNU code from several places without following GNU to the letter, so they were in major violation of copyright laws.

Basically, there is no such thing as a copy-protected cd that is legally enforceable in any jurisdiction that allows for copyright of software.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

So.............. they're saying that most don't think J-music is worth the price............................

1 ( +1 / -0 )

DisillusionedNov. 07, 2012 - 01:41PM JST

Then, if you have a bit of skill you can use other software to break up your recordings and convert them to AAC or Mp3. Free music for ever!

Technically illegal to do so.

But very easy to do it by simply connecting a headphone jack to the microphone and hoping you don't get ground loop interference.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

You know, you can already get millions of songs for free without breaking any laws. If you use iTunes you know there are thousands of internet radio stations. It doesn't take much skill to download some free software that will record audio from your computer. You can record thousands and thousands of hours of music for free. Then, if you have a bit of skill you can use other software to break up your recordings and convert them to AAC or Mp3. Free music for ever!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

blendoverNov. 07, 2012 - 01:01PM JST

I don't think the new law can be said to have caused most of the attitudes listed. They already existed. There seem to me to be two factors affecting this situation which have been conflated.

Attitudes still existed, but ever since people found out they could lose their lives (going to prison= your life is over, you'll never find decent employment), they just decided to completely ignore the crappy music and at the same time never find out good music. Luckily some free music services like xbox music (in windows 8 and rt) are available in Japan, and we might find people slowly shift to those and completely ignore any music purchases (and when the companies remove their products from those services, completely ignore japanese music)

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@Reza Rahman

Wavelength - that's illegal. If you convert your music to mp3/wmv you must keep to the originals. I disagree with the law, but that's how it is.

I don't get it. Why must I keep the originals? Unless I throw them out in moeru-gomi, I don't see what's illegal about it. And if they ask me where my originals are, I give them directions to my neighborhood Tsutaya or library. Let them find the originals.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I don't think the new law can be said to have caused most of the attitudes listed. They already existed. There seem to me to be two factors affecting this situation which have been conflated.

Firstly, in this day, physical ownership of hard copy is less meaningful to many people than it used to be. The 'I have it, but you don't' thing of the past is gone now for many people. Everybody has it, or can get it easily.

Secondly, people's attitudes change as they grow older. The place that music has in their lifestyles changes over time.

Record companies just have to accept that the easy times are over for thier industry and focus on making ownership ot the hard copy package more attractive by adding extras and special things that can't be got elsewhere. This works for at least some people in all age groups.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Patrick Smash: "This is what happens when you let a country be run by old men who don't know what the internet is and do not understand modern media."

Very true, although I'd qualify it by saying this is what happens when you let a country be run by old men who are in cahoots with corporations who expect to be showered in gold despite the fact that they are urinating on the customers.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

CDs? What are they? Sadly, the future of music and movies is online. There is a chain of music stores in Australia that no longer sells CDs. You just take your iPod or MP3 player to the store and upload your songs directly and it is DRM free, which is the Apple store is failing. Although, the Apple store is not as bad as that bloody Sony Sonic Stage rubbish. A point that the music industry seems to be missing is, I can access music that I would never have a chance to hear through file sharing networks. Some of the illegal networks have more than 10 million users worldwide. That is a huge market that the music and movie industries are missing out on. I would buy my music if the artists were getting their fare share of the profit, but most are lucky if they get 5% from the sales. Furthermore, I fail to see how it costs $50+ to produce a music CD. Especially when you can buy each song online for a buck each. Who gets the money? Not the artist, that is for sure. This law only supports the music and movie producers and not the artists.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

mitoguitarmanNOV. 07, 2012 - 09:31AM JST zichi: just put it on Youtube, and make it private, viewable only by family. Avoid the penalty.

he still has to "upload" the files.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

On Oct 1, knowingly downloading copyrighted music and video in Japan became punishable by up to two years in prison and a 2 million yen penalty.

The people at Olympus lied to shareholders for years and get nothing; parents kill their kids and get suspended sentences; but download a song and you get 2 years.

Lawmakers here need to get their priorities straight.

—“Bring the average price of a CD down and I might buy one…”

I completely agree with this. I like CD's, but they're too expensive- especially the Japanese ones. Y3000 or Y3500 for an album is silly. You're lucky to get a free badge every now and again, but that's it.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Basically, the new law is a form of extortion. I find that most laws to protect a few companies is always a "legal" extortion. I often wonder why things are so expensive in Japan while one can buy them in any other country at a fraction of the price. I buy things in the USA and have it shipped to me for less than what I would have to pay here in Japan. It seems that the economy is not that great and people are demanding more money for things with less money to go around. Some people are music fanatics and will pay any price but most people would rather have something besides music when the music is more expensive than something practical. I do not agree with the black market but maybe they should lower the price of the music CD's and people will buy them and not look for the black market. History shows that when prices get too high the black market will flourish and those involved in the black market will find new ways. To make a law concerning this is ludicrous. It is not the musicians who make the most money but those producing and selling it make the largest profit and the law is not really for the musicians but for the companies that sell the product. It is as if the companies are "legally" forcing a person to pay them. But that is what taxes are about as well.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

—“I don’t want CDs, per-se; I want music. If more tracks were available to download I’d buy more.”

So buy the CD, download it into i-tunes and throw it away. Simple.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

The ones I liked:

—“Since they got so strict about downloads I actually don’t feel like buying new music.”

—“I used to discover a lot of new bands by downloading their albums without worrying about whether I’d like them or not. Now I can’t do that, so I hardly buy CDs.”

—“I don’t want CDs, per-se; I want music. If more tracks were available to download I’d buy more.”

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

And the piracy rate is probably up.

It's time to stop with this nonsense that never works as intended.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This is evidence of Japan's DBC (death before change) business model.

At every step of the way, people have claimed the newer technology would ruin the industry. Nobody would go to live performances if they have records, nobody will buy music if they have the radio, nobody will listen to radio if they can watch videos, nobody will buy music if they can download. We still have records, we still have radio, we still have everything.

I can't fathom why they simply don't introduce a Netflix type of approach to selling music or sell CDs for 1000yen. I'm sick to death of fat cats in the RIAJ/RIAA whining "But what about my moniesssss?" Times change; deal with it.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

blackbaggerNov. 07, 2012 - 10:46AM JST

Just look at the stats the article cites: "analysts suggesting that just one in 10 downloads were legal." 1 in 10 tho still results in a profit. 0 downloads = no money made by anyone.

What the article doesn't state is that there is no legal way to download, probably just itunes, because the music industry says so. Actual illegal downloads in places where there are plenty of legal and affordable options is very small, maybe opposite at closer to 1 in 10 is illegal.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

ScroteNov. 07, 2012 - 10:20AM JST

It has been many years since I bought a CD, or even went into a record shop. The Japanese CDs used to be about Y3000, or twice the price of the imports. I think these days the kids spend all their money on their phones and cannot afford the rip-off prices extorted by the music mafia.

I saw taylor swift's OLD album for 2700 yen, i got it from best buy for about $7, that's FIVE TIMES MORE! If her album had been $35 bucks, i would have said "screw that, i'll borrow it from a friend". In fact, the biggest drop in music piracy in the US was not when they introduced the "improvements in copyright damages" act, but when they started offering $9.99 new releases rather than the $14.99 that had become popular.

It's that and the damn long delay between movies here and elsewhere. By the time Avengers had been out two weeks here, I already could just buy the bluray.

I really do hope the trend continues until the music and movie industry here is too weak to put up a fight. These "talent" herders should be out of a job for fraud and monopoly violations.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Ah, gaijinfo, you beat me to it. Study after study always show that the big illegal downloaders are also people who spend money on legitimate music. Just look at the stats the article cites: "analysts suggesting that just one in 10 downloads were legal." 1 in 10 tho still results in a profit. 0 downloads = no money made by anyone.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Thanks to the new law I invested in a VPN service. Now that everything is encrypted and they can't catch me I could be tempted to download music and movies, whereas before I didn't bother. That I haven't is due to a lack of interest in new music and no time to watch movies.

It has been many years since I bought a CD, or even went into a record shop. The Japanese CDs used to be about Y3000, or twice the price of the imports. I think these days the kids spend all their money on their phones and cannot afford the rip-off prices extorted by the music mafia.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

IMO, much of the new music today leaves much to be desired. That said, even by lowering the price, interest is waning and sales falling. I do buy CDs still, but only if I really like the music. When I'm curious about an artist, I check them online whenever possible. The greed of the recording industry will be its own undoing as people will always find or create work-arounds. The recording industry generally just pumps out junk music these days with manufactured groups who have no talent anyway, particularly in Japan but elsewhere too.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I certainly cant find any interesting Japanese music but 2 YEARS jail for pushing a button?? Are we in a communist regime? Do we need a lawyer to monitor our PCs now to make sure we dont become criminals? Good job Japan, a moron makes a claim because his business is down and the Gov CREATES criminals by passing a useless law.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Offer a signed pic or free concert ticket in random (sealed) CD's and people might be more enticed to buy them. Even better, sell the media in higher quality FLAC files on media instead of boring old WAVE files. Who uses CD's these days anyway?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

zichi: just put it on Youtube, and make it private, viewable only by family. Avoid the penalty.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Hahaha ohhh the irony! Unfortunately, this will just rile the dinosaurs into getting more aggressive.

I think what we would really like to know is: How many poeple been arrested/imprisoned/fined yet?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The music industrty got their law, and now they got their punishment!

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Hahahahaha!!! Leave it to the music industry to commit suicide by trying to limit consumers' options. Morons.

"...the reason music sales have fallen so much recently is due to a general lack of interest and that new albums are simply not particularly good value for money."

Nope. It's because they are too expensive, bottom line, so people are less interested in buying, not vice-versa. Spin it all you like, I'm not forking out 3000 yen or so so I can get ONE song I like. And regardless of this new law and the punishments threatened, you can still rent five CDs and/or DVDs at the local video store and massive chains for one evening (how could you watch all five in one night if you want sleep??), and they still sell blank CDs and DVDs next to the register. What for, pres tel?

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Does not this new law pertain to movies as well? Get a VPN and download from other countries and change the country often.

Article came from Rocketnews24. That is a great site. Quite funny too.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Time and time again, studies have shown that the people who MOST DOWNLOAD illegal music are the very same people who BUY LEGALLY the most music. This was true back with the old napster crowd, and it's true today.

By going after draconian downloading laws, music companies are shooting themselves in the foot.

Besides, all you've got to do is keep your illegally download music on the cloud, and access them with any number of devices. Governments are ALWAYS behind technology.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

wavelength at Nov. 07, 2012 - 07:35AM JST @DeDeMouse Might I suggest you rip your CDs into a high quality mp3 or wmv format. I did that to all my CDs 5 years back, triplicated on multiple hard drives and threw the CDs out.

Wavelength - that's illegal. If you convert your music to mp3/wmv you must keep to the originals. I disagree with the law, but that's how it is.

As for music downloads, I am sure most people just to Tsutaya and rent cd's out.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Sounds like this law won't last too long...either that or this issue will die off sooner or later and spending will return.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

This article is based on a flawed premise. The stats are for "an average month," but the new law has only been in effect for just over one month. So it's pointless to gauge the effect of a spanking new measure by citing data that conceivably spans a period before the measure existed.

Also, the writer's argument is that sales are falling, but then fails to cite any sales figures.

Give it about a year, then gauge the effects and dig up some real numbers. Then you'll have a story worth posting.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

@DeDeMouse Might I suggest you rip your CDs into a high quality mp3 or wmv format. I did that to all my CDs 5 years back, triplicated on multiple hard drives and threw the CDs out.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

I dislike when they music industry acts the victim and cries in a corner holding onto that outdated compact disc.. I only buy the CD's of artists I really like and feel deserves it. Do I listen to the CD? No, because I don't own a CD player and changing CD's every time I wanna hear another song was something I had enough of in the 90's.

Times changes. We all adapt to the technological changes, the music industry should do the same.

13 ( +12 / -0 )

As of 1 October this year, knowingly downloading copyrighted music and video in Japan became punishable by up to two years in prison and a 2 million yen (US$25,000) penalty.

Is the artist compensated in any way if you knowingly download copyrighted music? Last CD i bought was of Adele's 3 years ago, in the U.S. I agree that music is overpriced and the quality (musician's) is less than stellar in Japan. Ever try iTunes Japan? Why is a single almost double the price as its American counterpart? Take a look at your greed first "Japan music industry."

13 ( +13 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites