16-18 and 25-40
No surprises except for the fact that the teens initially had no idea whatsoever that you could get caught for illegally downloading music "Well so many people do it how will they ever find you" stated one particularly 'interesting' young lad (god that makes me sound old) Even when it was made clear to them that it is possible to be found and that you can get fined they were unrepentent and said that this didn't effect whether they would continue illegally downloading music (and DVDs) one bit !
If this is the future of music then it is going to have a much tougher time than is currently thought as the main features desired by the group from any legal music service are:
* Is it free like I already get
* Is there as much choice as I already get
* Can I burn it to CD for friends
* Can I send it to friends on mail / IM etc
* Can I have a device that holds at least 500 tracks
* Can I have a device where the battery lasts 2 days (that is also a phone)
So as long as it's all that then life is ok with this group but presumably not with the music industry. When asked if they were concerned that the artists wouldn't get paid for their work if everyone downloaded it for free the immediate counter was that they could/should just make thier money on concerts and merchandising which made the assembled viewing panel smile, mind you when you think about it there could be some paralells here if you think about it for a second or two:
in the telecomms industry it has long been muted that voice calls will become free, currently the major source of revenue, this is of course a primary driver behind the push to increase data revenues by MNOs and the need to create new business and operational models
if the music itself becomes free, as in digitally distributed in non drm form perhaps with a creative commons licence then the drive would be to make money off associated services and materials:
- concerts - the revenue share on takings for the event may need to change
- merchandising - more targeted perhaps if you know who has what (another story there though)
- printed material for those that miss that sort of thing from CD and vinyl covers
- exclusive non music material - interviews, insider stories etc
