(idm) MP3 Poll Results

From Che
Sent Fri, Apr 23rd 1999, 02:01

A big thanks to everyone who replied!  Response was overwhelming (and
surprising):

61 Total Respondents

 3 Only downloaded Caustic Window .mp3s

16 Only purchased Caustic Window

23 Downloaded, then purchased Caustic Window


 7 Only downloaded Autechre Peel Session .mp3s

20 Only purchased Ae Peel Session

26 Downloaded, then purchased Ae Peel Session


Some sample comments:

>I definitely couldn't stand to have MP3 as the only version of music I
>liked.

>The mp3s just don't do the original [Ae Peel Session] justice..

>[Caustic Window .mp3 download only] That's mostly to do with my opinion 
>of the stuff that's on the album as opposed to available through MP3. 
>"Popcorn" and "R2D2" are pretty good, the other stuff is pretty dodgy. 
>And I own J9ii.

>First I downloaded the Caustic Window .mp3 files
>Then I purchased the Caustic Window comp
>Then I downloaded the Autechre Peel Session .mp3 files
>Then I purchased the Autechre Peel Session
>also did the same for BoC's Music has the right to children, Autechre's LP5,
>all of Aphex's albums, all of Mu-Ziq's albums etc...
>Things I've just gotten MP3s for, never bought:  some early SKAM releases,
>hard to find Aphex Twin releases, early BoC (I.e. stuff that I couldn't buy
>even if I wanted)


My interpretation:

While IDM probably isn't representative of the record buying public as a
whole (how many Macarena trainspotters are there?), I'm fairly sure that
the list's collective actions are the same as those of Warp's more profitable
customers (i.e. those that buy albums & singles by different artists, not 
those that just buy an occasional single for one song).  Therefore, I
wouldn't use the results of this poll to make blanket statements about
the impact of .mp3s on the record industry as a whole.  But it should
yield useful data for interpreting the impact on small electronica labels.

More people both downloaded and purchased.  This suggests : 1) some people 
would have purchased anyway, but were forced to download due to commercial 
unavailability; 2) some people downloaded, liked what they heard, and decided 
to buy; 3) some people downloaded, did not like what they heard, and did
not buy; 4) some people downloaded and liked what they heard, but chose not
to purchase.  I'm sure they have their reasons.  I bet they're not spending
any less money on music, though.

Che

Original Poll Questions:

A quick poll:

Have you:

[] downloaded the Caustic Window .mp3 files

[] purchased the Caustic Window comp

[] downloaded the Autechre Peel Session .mp3 files

[] purchased the Autechre Peel Session

X any that apply.  Please reply to me only, and please be honest.  I won't
tell anyone if you've been naughty, but I will post the totals grouped
according to download only, purchase only, and download & purchase.