Pretty much. I don't really see a solution that would work in this case. We'd have to basically get rid of mp3 formats (yeah right) or somehow be able to regulate media downloading better (though the SOPA will fail). I think we done ****ed ourselves over with the internet age. :/

I think it's a huge part of the reason why music sales are declining year-on-year. According to the Telegraph, only 5% of downloads are actually legal, which gives you some sort of idea of the size of the piracy market. That said, given how 75% of albums are bought physically, it does call to question whether or not this is the sole cause; if it is even the biggest.

Yes . If there's no piracy , people are forced to get a copy of the song/ album legally.

It's not an excuse, it's fact. The only people buying album these days are fans and people from the older generation. See Lady Gaga and Adele.

Well, I don't think that record sales peaked in the early 90s but obviously it is tough to sell the amounts of records today.

Look at Adele who appeals to different demographics and has THE hit alöbum of the year. Yet, she has "only" sold 14 million ww. Even if she goes on selling and reaches, let's say, 18 million this would be a far cry from what mega hit albums sold in the 90s (20-30 million).

One can only guess how many millions of people downloaded 21 illegally.

Yeah..most people don't buy music. I know so many people who swear that they love so-and-so artists but haven't legally bought a single thing from them.

!!!

People always comment when I pull out my CD book and it has actual store bought CD's in it. Like they're not used to seeing those

Yes it is, I don't know anyone who still buys music. Everytime my friends see my collection they're like "Why are you wasting your money? you can just download them online" I'm like

Same here. I told one friend I wanted to get into Selena Gomez but I haven't gone to the store in a while. His response: "well Mediafire is only a click away."

It's getting even worse since downloading is now legal in my country as long as it's only for personal use. I'll continue to buy my **** though

Of course it is, tell me who doesn't like music?

Yes I mean everyone loves music but doesn't buy albums, if the piracy didn't exist, the sales would be huge. People can have music for free, why would they give money to have it?

I think that the illegal downloads for 21 are huge too though.

Her demographic is older people, they don't pirate as much. It's mostly younger people, and pop fans that do it. Hence why rap, country, and adult contemporary albums sell a lot better than pop or dance albums. It has nothing to do with persuasion. If anything, she has the least amount of marketing happening with her era.

Adeles album is like the biggest hit of the last years and still did not sell half of what mega hit albums of the 90s sold.

Don't come to me with that "the music is not good enough to make the people buy it"-stuff. **** music sold tons of m,illions of records in the 90s.