From: Phil Graham
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 21/06/00 01:06
Subject:Norman Lear Center - MP3 Study Release 


>Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 16:44:39 -0700 (PDT)
>From: latonero <[log in to unmask]>
>To: Phil Graham <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Norman Lear Center - MP3 Study Release
>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
>Contact: Stephen Rivers or Jamie Falkowski
>Phone 310.395.2993
>
>
>USC Annenberg's Norman Lear Center Study Shows
>Music Industry's MP3 Fears May Be Unfounded
>
>Los Angeles -- A month after the University of Southern California
(USC)
>banned MP3 downloads from Napster, the Norman Lear Center at the USC
>Annenberg School for Communication is releasing a survey of the USC
>student body that reveals there is little evidence that use of MP3
>technologies is harmful to either the recording industry or artists.
>This survey of USC students adds significant empirical data to the
>national debate surrounding Internet music downloads and music file
>sharing software.
>
>"In recent months there has been much concern about piracy of recorded
>music on university campuses across the nation, but there has been
>little research on how students actually consume MP3s," said Mark
>Latonero, principal researcher of the study. "In fact, the findings of
>this study on MP3 users contradict many media reports and music
industry
>fears."
>
>Key findings in the report demonstrate the following:
>
>* MP3 is a major new phenomenon in the university population sampled:
>69% of all students surveyed say they download MP3s; of these, 68% use
>Napster.  Seventy percent of MP3 users say they learned about MP3
>technology through close social networks of family and/or friends.
>
>* Unsurprisingly, there is a strong correlation between MP3 usage and
>access to faster Internet connections.
>
>* MP3 usage among students has not significantly reduced their CD
>consumption patterns.  Most students (63%) who download MP3s say they
>are still buying the same number of CDs; 10% of MP3 users say they are
>buying more CDs.  What's more, 39% of students who download MP3s say
>that after listening to recorded music in MP3 format, they often buy
CDs
>containing that music.  Students also rated CDs higher than MP3s with
>respect to sound quality.
>
>* Sharing music files is a popular activity, but 68% of students
sampled
>who download MP3s say they have never converted CD music to MP3 format;
>70% have never uploaded MP3s to the Internet.
>
>* Thirty-three percent of students interviewed say their opinion of
>Metallica has worsened since the lawsuit.
>
>* Fifty-four percent of students surveyed disagree with USCís ban on
>Napster downloads.
>
>* Sixty-nine percent of students surveyed agree that copyright holders
>should be paid for downloaded MP3s.
>
>
>* Seventy-six percent of respondents say that society is better off
with
>new technologies such as MP3.
>
>"The most widely reported reactions to new digital technologies tend to
>be at the extremes," said Martin Kaplan, director of the Norman Lear
>Center and associate dean of the Annenberg School.  "This study offers
a
>more sophisticated look at the people who use MP3."
>
>In mid-April, USC, Yale, and Indiana University found themselves named
>in a lawsuit filed against Napster by the band Metallica.  While Yale
>and Indiana banned Napster almost immediately, USC originally held
>back.  A subsequent decision by university officials to restrict
>downloads from Napster resulted in USC being dropped from the lawsuit.
>
>The full report, which provides data on the attitudes, characteristics,
>and practices of this MP3 user community can be found at the Lear
>Center's Web site: http://www.entertainment.usc.edu/
>
>The Norman Lear Center is a multidisciplinary research and public
policy
>center exploring implications of the convergence of entertainment,
>commerce, and society.  The impact of new technology on artists and on
>the ownership of creative content is a principal focus of the Lear
>Center.
>
>                                   #####
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Opinions expressed in this email are my own unless otherwise stated.
Phil Graham
Lecturer (Communication)
Graduate School of Management
University of Queensland
617 3381 1083
www.geocities/pw.graham/
www.uq.edu.au/~uqpgraha
http://www.angelfire.com/ga3/philgraham/index.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--


%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%