OECD reject P2P and sales causal link

The OECD Working Party on the Information Economy have recently de-classified a report, presented in December last year, suggesting it would be very difficult to prove the music industry's claims that music sharing (or "unauthorised downloading of copyrighted content") on the Internet has caused a drop in music sales.

The full 132 pages are not for the faint-hearted but the summary between pages 8 and 14 makes interesting reading. This paints a relatively rosy picture for the future of digital music services, though points out there are significant challenges ahead for governments and industry in instigating balanced and appropriate changes in legal frameworks and in adapting and developing new business models.

The report's authors are Dr Sacha Wunsch-Vincent and Dr Graham Vickery of the OECD’s “Expert Panel on Digital Broadband Content.”