NZ Spoiled For Choices To Access Legal Music

Media release MUSIC -1
01 February 2013

NZ Spoiled For Choices To Access Legal Music

A $616 fine delivered by the Copyright Tribunal would have bought the un-named file-sharing offender access to 20 million tracks on Spotify for four years.

Using the service users can access unlimited music streams, download and store tracks for offline use on multiple devices for just $3 per week.

“There are actually 20 different services available for New Zealanders including world leading brands i-tunes, Spotify and Pandora, as well as local icons Marbecks Digital and Amplifier. With several of these services having free options it makes no sense to illegally file-share and risk a fine”, a spokesman for RIANZ says.

The Copyright Tribunal’s decision is the first under file-sharing laws enabling copyright holders to issue notices to people it believes are illegally sharing copyright content.

RIANZ said it had worked hard to bring the best international services to New Zealand to provide access to music in ways that met consumer expectations.

“Hopefully this Tribunal decision will encourage New Zealanders to explore all the amazing options open to them in the world of legal music consumption”, RIANZ says.

Internet analytics company comScore says peer-to-peer file sharing activity fell by 15 per cent in the 10 months after the copyright legislation was introduced in September 2011.

RIANZ says wholesale revenue from recorded music sold in New Zealand dropped by 50 per cent in the past decade. It says there is a strong correlation between illegal file sharing and falling music industry revenues.

“The costs of discovering, nurturing and promoting new acts haven’t changed just because music has gone online. The loss of revenue caused by illegal file sharing directly affects the record label’s ability to invest in artists,” RIANZ says.

ENDS

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