It is common knowledge that you can save money if the prices of commodities are lower. This is why many people are using lower-quality pirated books, movies, and music. However, if the real reason is price, lower book prices on legal content can increase sales. A study conducted by researchers shows that lowering the original book price greatly reduces indirect visits to pirate sites.
Even though everyone knows that using and downloading pirated content is illegal, many still do it without hesitation. Pirated copies of original work are very complicated and low-quality. The researchers who conducted a study understood that price is the main reason that millions around the globe feel okay using pirated content. As the prices of these works are low, people compromise on the quality of the content.
These researchers are from Georgia Tech, Chapman University, and Carnegie Mellon University. Their main aim was to understand what would happen if the prices of legal content were reduced and whether this would affect piracy. Many authors believe that pirated work is good for business as people will understand the difference in quality. However, there is no easy way for these researchers to ask writers to reduce the prices of their work.
Fortunately, new EU tax rules created a natural experiment, making it easier to explore this research. The European Union made a new rule in 2018 that allowed reduced VAT on e-books for member states. This brought them in a similar price range to that of physical books. Following this change, many countries agreed to this in 2019, and Ireland witnessed a price drop of 14% on e-books.
The researchers found this an opportune moment and used it to experiment with their idea. They started comparing the pirated sites used for publishing in Ireland to other EU countries. In these countries, the prices of books remained unchanged. The idea that cheaper prices matter to buyers was indeed a reality. Although a 14% drop in princes seemed insignificant, the results were visible.
According to the traffic data from MUSO, direct visits to the pirated sites were unaffected. This is because these visitors are familiar with the sites and directly search for them on Google. So, the price drop in legal content means little to them. MUSO also captured data for indirect traffic and found that there was a 27% lesser number of visits from these people.
As more people are becoming aware of lower e-book prices, their preference for buying from pirated sites is changing. This research implied that indirect visitors compare legal and pirated prices and choose the best option.
Navkiran Dhaliwal is a seasoned content writer with 10+ years of experience. When she’s not writing, she can be found cooking up a storm or spending time with her dog, Rain.
