1 Billion Songs a Day are Pirated

In a new IDC study, a billion songs are pirated every day via the internet, in an estimate that is being considered "conservative."

Based on the graph posted earlier today, this means in 10 days, (based on a 10-song album), more music is pirated than is sold in a year.

So why isn't the music industry hurting more? I'll suggest that the internet has opened people to listening to more and more diverse music. While this variety on one hand means far more music is being "exchanged" for free, it also means that people are getting more options in their music shopping, and are probably more discerning when it comes to what concert to attend.

Perhaps that's a reason that a major-label alliance like the RIAA would target internet piracy: Internet piracy means egalitarian taste. No longer can you buy up the top 20 artists of the decade and have a music monopoly. The music industry, thanks to the internet, is now a much more open forum for new artists to try to enter the arena.