‘I want it all’: the attitudes and behaviours of MP3 player owners in the context of music piracy

Whilst much research has explored predictive factors of digital piracy, little attention has been paid to the role of technology in facilitating such behaviours. Drawing from data initially gathered from a 2009 Oxford Internet Survey, a quasi-experiment was conducted specifically exploring the contribution of the MP3 player. Data of interest was isolated from 1318 Internet users. 42.9% of the sample was male, with an age range of 14-90. Responses to the question ‘Does your household have an mp3 player?’ was used for analyses where results demonstrated that MP3-player owners had more favourable attitudes towards digital piracy as well as being better equipped to minimise the risks associated with digital piracy. MP3-player owners were also observed to be more competent Internet users overall, suggesting an increased resilience against certain anti-piracy measures such as website blocking. Discussion centres on technology as ultimately facilitating piracy engagement, speculating on future trends.