Interviews- 3rd Primary Research

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGYZXrXNYZ8  Cheyne  Interview 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1nnUrCq_7U  Sam Leach interview 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5GJtStgUtk  Fiona Thompson interview 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8CGl8UKjqI  Simon Collins interview 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdmLFaHLn1w  My Conclusion

Participant Observation- Primary Research

Participant Observation- I chose this type of primary research because I believe that by doing these types of primary research your findings will be valuable as well as factual. Your results aren't assumed or from a secondary source you are there to witness things for yourself and are able to draw valuable conclusions. However to get an effective result you must have an opposing side to compare your results to or else your findings will be biased. I will be undergoing these two types of streaming methods (illegal and legal downloading) to further understand why people use them. I will use sites to illegally download music and sites to legally download music and I will compare my experience; I will analyse how I felt using both methods, which one was easier to do, if the quality of the music is different for each method, if it is really better to download legally in regards to personal finance etc.

Frostwire- (illegal music downloading site)

FrostWire is a peer-to-peer file sharing program for the Gnutella and Bit Torrent protocols. Frostwire became popular using the hype behind Limewire. The majority of the streaming population used Limewire, however they began to realize that by using Limewire their pc’s were beginning to get increasingly slower and they were experiencing a lot more difficulties using their computer. Frostwire was then noticeable to a wider audience and became very popular via word-of-mouth. I decided to see what Frostwire was about and how to use it.

The website as a whole was very easy to access, if you were unaware of what the exact url was for Frostwire then all you had to do is type it in Google and your link is the first one that comes up or you can even have a guess and will still be able to get www.frostwire.com. When first going on to the site you are immediately introduced to the download link in a bright green logo with a sign underneath it saying the words ‘ABSOLUTELY FREE & OPEN SOURCE’  in bold letters. Straight away my focus deterred from everything else on the page and I was attracted to the word free; thus understanding why so many people are attracted to it.

The process of downloading the software is long. You go through a series of stages before you are able to use the software and depending on your computer the speed varies. During the downloading process you are asked to read the ‘terms and agreements’ page then you are asked to browse for a space to store the software, after finding somewhere to store the program you are then asked to browse for somewhere to store your music. At this stage you may think that you are finished but unfortunately you’re not; a pop up asks you if you’re sure you want to download this software, almost as if they are making sure you understand that it is totally your responsibility to download this illegal program and from this stage onwards they are no longer responsible for any wrong doings. Is this the ending now? The answer is no, in order to fully download this software you must re-start your computer, how long can this be? 1 minute and a half later my computer has re-booted and I can now access Frostwire. I opened the program and to my surprise I wasn’t able to download music. In order to start downloading I must have access to an internet connection and make somewhat of a personal profile for me to be able to do peer to peer downloading (meaning getting music from other users). I was asked for things like my name, age, email address, password etc. Being that this was an illegal site I felt somewhat sceptical about filling in my personal information therefore forcing me to lie and make up an unknown person. I felt that if I was to fill in this profile correctly then somehow I will be subjecting myself to trouble. Although I was doing something wrong and I was ok with it; filling in my personal details made me feel as if I was publicly saying that I was doing something illegal. It’s almost as if I was cheating the system.

Finally I have gone through all the stages; I made my profile and I got internet connection so I can now start downloading. The process for downloading music was very easy to understand and I was able to pick up the procedure very quickly. All you do is type in the name of the song you want in the search box and then click on the download button. It then downloads in the space of seconds into the selected file which you chose previously in the set-up process. I was shocked at how fast it was to get music for free. Surprisingly when listening back to the music that I’ve downloaded, some of them were jumping mid way through the song, some of them had voices at the beginning of the track and some of them were the audio taken from the original music video as well as some of them were perfectly normal.

ITunes Store- (Legal Music Download Site)

“ITunes is a proprietary digital media player application, used for playing and organizing digital music and video files” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes). iTunes can connect to the iTunes Store via the Internet to purchase and download music, music videos, television shows, iPod games, audio books, eBooks, podcasts, feature length films and movie rentals (not available in all countries), and ringtones (only used for iPhone). ITunes/ iTunes Store need no introduction, its one of the most popular websites for legal music downloading amongst other things. Ok so it’s the first time in my life that I will legally purchasing music.

In order to access the iTunes store you must have iTunes. To download iTunes is 100% free. The process is really straight forward however it is very similar in regards to having to find a space on your pc to store the program amongst other things and you also had to restart your computer in order for the download to be complete. When all of that was finished you are then able to access iTunes Store.

 When accessing the site audiences are immediately introduced to a list of options including all the new releases, the top 10 songs in the charts, the top 10 albums etc whilst still having the opportunity to search for what you want via the search box. However, I did notice that they were selling music more than other forms of media which made me realize that streaming music may possibly become the future in regards to record sales. You had access to nearly every form of digital media. In regards to music there are a variety of songs that you can choose to buy for a selected price. The price range varies but the most common price that I saw was 89p which I thought was quite expensive because when I thought of how many music I have; if each of them was to cost 89p then I would potentially end up paying hundreds for my music. I chose the song that I wanted and I clicked on the buy button which leads me to an application form.  Before I was able to fill out the application form a message popped up telling me that I must have internet connection in order to access iTunes. This is starting to become very similar to Frostwire.

After getting internet connection I had to then fill out an application form asking for my personal details including name, age and credit card details; almost as if I was creating my own personal profile again. However the application form was very straight forward and easy to understand; after filling in my details I wasn’t asked again for them same answers; the program automatically stored my details therefore allowing my details to be safe and not accessible.

Finally I can buy music, because I’d already filled in my personal details including my account information the money was immediately taken from my account. The song downloaded immediately, saving in the place which I chose for it to be stored and when listening back, the quality was amazing. It had the same quality as if you were to hear it from the cd.

Conclusion- After analyzing and undergoing each type of music streaming I was able to draw common and opposing conclusions from my experience. In regards to the layout of each type of website they were both appealing however the illegal website more attracted audiences by emphasizing on the word ‘Free’. Everyone would love to get things, which everyone would normally pay for, for free. It makes you feel special and unique from the rest of the world. You always get a sense of excitement by knowing that you’re doing something illegally and you’re doing it so openly; it’s not secretive. Because I had to make a personal profile and I somewhat cheated the system by making a fake profile I wasn’t worried about getting caught because there wasn’t any information that traces back to the real me. My focus wasn’t on the artist or the record company I was mainly focused on the thought of being able to get what I want, when I wanted it and the fact that I was getting it for free. There’s somewhat of an attraction to being able to get your favourite song for free whilst the rest of the world is paying for it.

In regards to accessibility I believe that the legal website was much easier to access. Of course you have to create your own profile for both however the legal website immediately stored all your information at one time therefore allowing you to access music whenever you want without having to repeat your information. With Frostwire in order to access the site you had to remove a series of pop-ups before you were able to view the actual website page. These pop-ups then led to the increase of viruses on your computer. With iTunes you didn’t have this problem you were able to access the website without any interruptions.

Quality of the music differed between the two. With illegal music sites you generally get your music from other users as opposed to the legal sites where you get your music straight from the company. The quality sounds more crisp and clearer when you pay for the music.

Overall I do understand why people generally buy music because as a whole it is less of a hassle to access the music and the website and you’re getting a great quality with it. However I can also understand why more people tend to illegally download because although it’s more of an aggravation to access the site you are sometimes able to get high quality music for FREE. You tend to lose the sense of committing a crime because you’re doing the crime digitally. Its not as if you was going into a record store and physically stealing something; on a computer you feel as if the computer is your protector because it has ways of hiding the real you from being caught. On the computer you can be whatever or whoever you want to be.

Comparison of 2 websites- DEMOGRAPHICS

 (the graph with the statistics are available upon request)


LimeWire is a free peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) client program that runs on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and other operating systems supported by the Java software platform. LimeWire uses the gnutella network as well as the BitTorrent protocol. A free software version and a purchasable "enhanced" version are available.

Napster is somewhat different. Napster offers a variety of music download services to suit every budget. It offers more than six million tracks from all the major artists, which users can download on a per song basis (79p each) or album basis (starting at £7.95), and own the music forever. Or for a flat fee of £9.95, users can download unlimited tracks they can transfer between their PC and compatible MP3 player, and own the music forever.

Comparison of the two pages

Limewire and Napster

The websites home page is very colourful and bright with the chosen colour of bright green and lime; hints the name. Napster on the other is a bit duller; its colours consist of dark grey, navy blue and silver. I believe that Limewire’s (the illegal site) homepage is more bright and cheerful compared to Napster to make audiences somewhat feel more excited and comfortable when using this site knowing that their doing something illegal. It gives a sense of relaxation to audiences to be able to see bright and cheerful colours whilst there in the process of downloading the program.

On Limewires front page you aren’t given as much information about what you’re getting out of the software in comparison to the information that Napster provides you with. On Napsters home page audiences are firstly introduced to the Napster offer; ‘5 MP3’s to keep + 10 million songs to play= just £5 a month. At the right hand side of that heading is the ‘Get Napster’ link which when you click on it, it automatically takes you to a membership page where you can sign up for a period of time for your preferred fee. When navigating back to the home page, at the near bottom of the page you are then given more information about what Napster is offering i.e., ‘Each month download 5 high-quality MP3s from the Napster catalogue. Our MP3s have no restrictions - use them as you want. Transfer your MP3s to any MP3 player including the iPod and iPhone and music-enabled phones’. Right underneath that is the sign ‘The best value, Legal Music Service you can access anywhere’ and in small print at the very bottom is *Your plan of unlimited streaming and 5 MP3s per month will be effective immediately on registration. You will automatically be charged £5 every month (Napster contract month: 30 days). Your MP3 credits do not rollover to the next billing period and must be used within each billing period. You can cancel at any time. You will be charged for individual songs and albums you purchase to keep or burn. Limewire doesn’t offer you this amount of information, with Napster you are constantly reminded that you’re doing something legal and that you are being charged, with Limewire you are constantly reminded that you are getting something free by the lack of information provided on the page. On the homepage the word ‘Free’ is in bold letters right next to the link which navigates you to download the program. Underneath this link is some information about all the other users that are a part of the Limewire community and how Limewire has helped them. Overall I believe that the illegal music streaming sites are more persuasive by giving less information. I believe that this adds a sense of curiosity with audiences. Napster tells you everything that you are getting and the price you will be paying for it. You are constantly reminded of finance where as with Limewire you’re getting more of an experience when trying to figure out what it’s about and what its offering you.  

Conclusions

When analysing both the legal and illegal music streaming sites I was able to draw some accurate conclusions from my findings. In this country alone the illegal download sites are viewed by way more people than the legal download site. 15 million people visits Limewire compared to Napster, majority which are males consisting of the age group of 25-34. As we can see from the demographics shown above teenagers who are still in college with a household income of £30,000 to £49,999 (which is relatively low) tend to use the illegal download website as opposed to the legal downloading website. Stereotypes usually suggests that teenagers are generally the ones to illegally download music, and demographics supports these stereotypes, however statics suggests that people aged 25-34 and 55-64 tend to illegally download music as well. When analysing this I began to question why older people are viewing these sites especially as they are generally the age group classed as computer illiterate. This led me to see if this had anything to do with their household income. Maybe those older people who earned less used these sites. I was amazed to see that people who earn more than £50,000 were using the illegal downloading sites as opposed to the legal one. This could possibly lead to the failure of music industries in the future. I say this because if those people who are earning a lot of money decides to get there music for free then those earning less will do so to therefore leading to the drop in profits for music industries. I also came to the conclusion that teenagers may be the cause of future effects on the industry. I realised that on the Napster site there were no teenagers that used that site and there were no elderly people who used that site. However on Limewire there were 26% of teenagers using this site and there were 4% of elderly people using the site. Generally elderly people are shown by their children or grandchildren how to use the computer and specific sites, so statistics shows that the more teenagers that use these sites the more elderly people used these sites; therefore causing an increase in the population of those illegally downloading music.

Diamond King-Stennett

Interview Questions

Interview Questions

Legal vs. Illegal Music Streaming

This question may seem surprising but more and more, people are asking "what's so bad about downloading music for free?" The music industry has taken a tremendous hit in the last 10 years because of illegal music downloads.

1.       Do you download music?

2.       Do you illegally download music or do you buy music?

3.       If both, roughly how much would you say you use each?

a)      Is the quality of the music different between pirate music and music that you buy?

4.       What sites do you use to legally download and/or illegally download?

5.       How did you find out about these sites?

6.       How effective are these sites compared to one another, is an illegal website easier to use as opposed to a legal website?

7.       As a percentage, how long would you say you spend on these sites?

8.       Why do you think people would risk being fined for pirate music as opposed to just buying it?

9.       Do you believe that people could actually get in trouble for illegally downloading music or is that just a myth?

10.   Is it fair to say that the prices of music are expensive, especially as artists are already asking you to buy their album?

11.   What price would you say is a reasonable price for music?

12.   Why do you think that people wouldn’t support their favourite artist and buy their music as opposed to illegally downloading it?

13.   75% of the downloading communities who illegally download music are teenagers, why do you think this is?

14.   What is the attraction to getting something illegally?

15.   Do you think that illegal music streaming is affectively damaging the music industry as a whole?

16.   Do you believe that people would ever stop illegally downloading music?

a)      If so what suggestions would you have on ways the music industry or the download community as a whole could possibly do this?

Primary Research Planning

Primary Research Planning

Illegal vs Legal Downloading

Types of Primary Research

v  Interviews

v  Focus Group

v  Questionnaire (detailed)

v  Participant Observation

v  Experiment

v  Comparative Analysis

v  Historical Analysis

What I Will Be Focusing on For My Primary Research

o   Interviews- I chose this method as one type of primary research because it is a strong source based on reliability; you get more in depth answers. Getting a fully opinionated response allows you to further develop conclusions as to why people think or act the way they do. In addition to that in an interview you can go further into what you’re aiming to find because, according to their answer, you can then think of more things to ask which you weren’t going to ask originally. I will be asking about 4 people; 2 adults 2 teenagers, I will find out what their thoughts are on the subject, whether age has an effect on their opinions, whether they believe that it’s ok to illegally download, do they think that it is affectively damaging the music industry as a whole etc. I will then analyse their answers and draw conclusions.

o   Experiment/Participant Observation- I chose these two types of primary research because i believe that by doing these types of primary research your findings will be valuable as well as factual. Your results aren't assumed or from a secondary source you are there to witness things for yourself and are able to draw valuable conclusions. However to get an effective result you must have an opposing side to compare your results to or else your findings will be biased. I will be undergoing these two types of streaming methods (illegal and legal downloading) to further understand why people use them. I will use sites to illegally download music and sites to legally download music and I will compare my experience; I will analyse how I felt using both methods, which one was easier to do, is the quality of the music different for each method, is it really better to download legally in regards to personal finance etc.

o   Comparative Analysis- I chose this type of primary research because i believe that it will be suitable in analysing the sites people go on; what these sites do and the affects it has on album sales. I will be looking at a couple of sites, viewing the demographics of the site and drawing a conclusion regarding the future of the music industry based on the information i receive.