Signs: a warning? - lessons to learn from the music industry

The experience of the music industry, which has been plagued by digital theft, should send shivers down the spines of film executives. The music majors are suffering from declining sales and the inability to protect revenues from digital theft.

 The music majors have been hard hit by piracy, at a time when they were already struggling with declining sales. Global music sales fell by 7% last year, the third consecutive decline. A further 5% decline is predicted this year.

The proliferation of digital music in the form of the recordable CDs, various internet sites and most notably peer-to-peer technology (P2P), has made downloading and ‘burning’ illegal copyrighted music often easier than obtaining it legally.