Everyone hears about how file sharing is killing entertainment industries, and it makes sense: If there’s an option to simply download an album for free as suppose to purchasing it, or course that’s going to hurt the artist. However, a new British study suggests 
otherwise. Researchers from the London School of Economics found that file sharing might actually help boost revenues. For about the first ten years after file sharing became widespread, entertainment industries tried to fight it, but it was a losing battle and they lost a lot of revenue. Now, artists are beginning to embrace media piracy as a form of advertisement, many artists even stream their music for free on sites like Bandcamp and SoundCloud. Artists’ mentality towards file sharing is shifting from piracy to free advertisement; British communications regulator OfCom found that people who download music illegally also purchased more than people who don’t pirate at all. If this is the case, then perhaps less effort should be put into copyright enforcement regimes by the governments because they may be harming the people they are trying to protect.
As an avid digital pirate for the past 8 years, I completely agree with the researchers that it’s an effective form of advertisement. I’ve been introduced to countless bands that I normally wouldn’t have been introduced to, and consequently, I’ve purchased tickets for concerts and albums to support the band. I’ve also introduced friends to music that I discovered online, and they in turn either downloaded it or purchased it. As time goes on, this chain continues and the industry makes greater profits than it would have without pirating.
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