P2P users: Important dimensions for changing to legal online music stores

Abstract

P2P services made music sharing popular. Users got used to get the songs they want for free, and use it freely, without restrictions. With some years of delay, online music retailers started to sell legal digital song files, mainly with DRM protection. Recent studies shows that P2P networks continue to grow, attracting more and more users. In this scenario, this work is dedicated to find out some evidences about what can be done to convince users to migrate from the P2P services to legal online music stores. The main question that rises is: How to convince users to start paying for what they already find for free? The empirical research was conducted in two phases: First, interviews with 7 specialists from the music and internet businesses (recording companies, music sites, legal online music stores) were done. With the identified practices and insights about the problem, it was created an online survey that was answered by a sample of 10.123 Brazilian online music users. Using a factorial analysis, 3 dimensions (website attributes, competitive differentiation and anti-piracy) were identified. Results indicate that in order to convince users of P2P services for buying music, the music industry must implement several integrated tactics. In general, website attributes and competitive differentiation are perceived as more important than anti-piracy actions. For occasional users, this process seems to be easier, and might be done with less tactics. The more frequent the P2P usage is, weaker the anti-piracy dimension was perceived as important. These findings can indicate that different managerial and marketing approaches are needed to address the migration of users for online legal music stores. Reward programs and exclusive contents seem to be good options in this direction. At last, limitations and suggestions for further studies are presented.