Actual Math Applied to An Actual Problem
The New York Times had a quick article from Daniel Gross, who typically writes "Moneybox" for Slate, considering what the true economic effects of illegal music downloading.
--------
Without drawing a final conclusion in terms of dollars, the article reiterated the following points (drawn from academic surveys and professors) that any reasonable person should also be able to arrive at:
- There has be a loss of some sales due to illegal downloading.
- Not every download represents a lost sale: the downloader may never have intended to purchase the product at the retail price.
- Sales have actually gone up even with a high usage of peer-to-peer networks.
--------