What’s the harm of a little college fun? All-night cross-country drives for Spring Break, campus pranks, Saturdays spent dressed in college garb cheering on the team, and rampant theft of music via illegal downloading…where’s the harm?
Few seem to stop and consider the moral dimension of illegally downloading (stealing) music and often rationalize their behavior believing that “no one gets hurt.” Often what the rationalizing person means is that no one except rock stars and industry execs are hurt…or so they believe.
The reality is that rampant global piracy of recorded music has cost the U.S. $12.5 billion in economic output and 71,060 jobs annually.
The Institute for Policy Innovation’s newest report, “The True Cost of Sound Recording Piracy to the U.S. Economy,” is the first of its kind to credibly estimate the impact of sound recording piracy not just on the recording industry, but also on the U.S. economy as a whole. It demonstrates that in fact while some lose their jobs, all U.S. citizens lose.
Because of global- and U.S.-based piracy of sound recordings, every year:
- The U.S. economy loses $12.5 billion;
- U.S. workers lose 71, 060 jobs;
- U.S. workers lose $2.7 billion in earnings, including $1.1 billion in earnings from workers in the sound recording industry or “downstream” retail industries, and $1.6 billion in earnings by workers in other U.S. industries; and,
- The U.S. government loses at least $422 million in tax revenues, including $291 million in personal income tax and $131 million in lost corporate income and production taxes.
Clearly, piracy harms not only the owners of intellectual property, but also U.S. consumers and taxpayers. But what is worse, the impact of music piracy appears to be intensifying.
Policymakers must realize the threat of global piracy and recognize that intellectual property products, such as sound recordings, are the most important growth drivers in the U.S. economy, responsible for nearly 40 percent of economic growth and nearly 60 percent in U.S. export growth.
As importantly, parents must understand that when their kids are illegally downloading music that not only are they stealing someone else’s property, but they are stealing their parent’s jobs and chance at economic prosperity..