File Sharing as a Form of Music Consumption

Led by the development and widespread application of digital technology, consumers are able to duplicate as well as distribute digitized music products at almost no cost. Music file sharing has been deemed illegal in many countries and is quite detrimental to record labels around the world. The music industry is looking for a business model that would let it tap into the new mode of file-sharing consumption. Until now music file-sharing behavior has not been systematically analyzed in the literature. This paper presents an analytical framework by looking at music file-sharing behavior from the perspectives of moral judgment, expertise, and social networking, and then presents a conceptual model of sharing through a set of hypotheses. An empirical study based on the model provides in-depth insights into sharing behavior. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications and further research possibilities.