Nice to see some analysis to support the assertions: Study: Online music sharing can spur sales [pdf]

The record industry has long considered online file sharing a serious threat to its livelihood. But a new study scheduled to be released today suggests that consumer-to-consumer music recommendations — a growing feature of online music stores and websites — will benefit the industry, artists, and fans alike.

[...] Considering the bad rap online sharing has among record companies and artists, this will require industry insiders to tweak their perspective.

”Rights holders and policy makers have been distracted by illegal downloading, but sharing isn’t equivalent to stealing,” says [Gartner's Michael] McGuire. ”As labels look at this, some of the people who should be at the forefront of discussions are the A & R [artists and repertoire] and marketing and promotions people. This is an easy way to get attention for a new act or a back catalog, too.”

The Berkman site with the report and other links: Playlists, Podcasting, And Other New Forms of Sharing — the report Consumer Taste Sharing Is Driving the Online Music Business and Democratizing Culture

Funny; I thought that publishing houses were opposed to copyright infringement: HarperCollins Will Create a Searchable Digital Library - New York Times

And is this reporter really this naiive? This looks like competition to me — (or maybe this cold has relaly fried my brain)

[T]he HarperCollins announcement shows that at least one major publisher is seeking ways to work with Google and other Internet companies to make books and other material, like audiobooks, widely searchable.