The artists are divided as to the merit to be attributed to the so-called networks peer-to-peer, known for facilitating the free exchange of copyrighted material, but in a study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, almost everyone seems to believe that the Internet benefits their work.
Most of the artists surveyed by the Pew Internet and American Life Project stated that sharing online of files does not worry them too much.
Two-thirds indicate that P2P networks pose a minor threat to themselves, and less than a third argue that they are a major threat to the creative industries.
Only three percent of respondents think that the Internet impairs the ability to protect their creations.
Considering the P2P networks, 47 percent of the artists who participated in this study – whose results were recently released – say that they prevent them from earning royalties of their work, when 43 percent argue that this type of service ends up helping in the promotion and distribution of their material.
«What we hear from a large sample of artists is that, despite the challenges that arise in the attempt to protect works online, the Internet has proposed new ways for them to exercise their imagination and sell their creations, «says the author of this report, Mary Madden, a researcher at Pew Internet, quoted by Reuters.
The study of Pew Internet – a non-profit group – was based on the survey of 809 unidentified artists, during the month of December 2003.
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