Musicians and Digital Pirating: A Paradox
Victor J. Massad

Abstract
Previous studies have shown that two predictors of digital piracy are affinity toward music and attitude toward the music industry, suggesting that musicians themselves may be frequent downloaders of copyrighted material. Three hypotheses are proposed: (1) that musicians are more likely to engage in digital piracy than nonmusicians; (2) that people who hold a negative view of the music industry are more likely to engage in digital piracy; and (3) that musicians who hold a negative view of the industry are more likely to engage in digital piracy than other groups. A sample of 423 respondents (54 musicians, 369 non-musicians) was used to test the hypotheses. The data analysis supported all three hypotheses. If musicians themselves are more likely to engage in digital piracy than non-musicians, then the objectives of copyright laws may be called into question.

Full Text: PDF