Is YouTube Killing Music Piracy? For years the top record label executives have been claiming that it's impossible to compete with free, but YouTube is proving them wrong. With billions of views every month the major record labels are making millions by sharing their music for free. For many people YouTube takes away the incentive to 'pirate,' but at the same time it may also cannibalise legal music sales. The music industry has witnessed some dramatic changes in recent years, even when piracy is left out of the picture. In just a decade the Internet and the MP3 revolution have redefined people’s music consumption habits.
We’ve previously documented how people moved from buying albums to buying singles. If we go back in time 5 or 6 years, people had only one option if they wanted to listen to their favorite artists online without paying for the pleasure. Although true music aficionados are hard to please, the majority of the public appreciates the option of listening to their favorite tunes for free on YouTube. Arts and Culture. Cultural Engineering Group Weblog. InaGlobal, la Revue des industries créatives et des médias. My Modern Metropolis. Arts & Entertainment News.