Determinants of music copyright violations on the university campus

摘要

The protection of copyrights in the music industry has been of paramount concern as the popularity of digital music players, personal websites, and file-sharing continues to grow, each of which subsequently contributes to the persistence of Internet music piracy. While the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) links file-sharing to copyright piracy, others argue that file-sharing allows maximum exposure of artists’ music which in turn increases its value. While this debate continues, little empirical research has specifically addressed the behavioral aspects of the consumer. In this paper, we use survey data on university students to study how attitudes toward copyright law along with economic and demographic factors affect the extent of music copyright violations. We find that while students are responsive to economic incentives and perceptions of risk, the extent of these incentives has not reversed the overall propensity to engage in file-sharing.