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Music Piracy in Transitional Post-Soviet Economies: Ethics, Legislation, and Expertise

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Abstract

The growing development of Internet technologies in the world has created vast opportunities for illegal downloading and pirating of music. The purpose of the study is to examine the influence of social norms and ethics, perceived risk of personal harm, and consumer expertise of file-sharing on digital piracy in post-Soviet economies. A total sample of 226 respondents from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan is used to examine factors influencing intentions to pirate digital music. The study reveals that the wide social acceptance of digital piracy in post-Soviet countries along with consumer expertise in file-sharing contributes to higher music piracy, while the risk of personal harm is not significant. Conclusions and recommendations are made for music companies and policy makers.

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Correspondence to Liza Rybina.

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Rybina, L. Music Piracy in Transitional Post-Soviet Economies: Ethics, Legislation, and Expertise. Eurasian Bus Rev 1, 3–17 (2011). https://doi.org/10.14208/BF03353795

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