The Effect of Graduated Response Anti‐Piracy Laws on Music Sales: Evidence from an Event Study in France

Abstract

Despite the problem that filesharing poses to the creative industries, there is little research on the effectiveness of governmental anti‐piracy policies. This study analyzes how the HADOPI graduated response law in France affected digital music sales. Using a panel of sales data from the four major labels, we applied a difference‐in‐difference approach, comparing sales trends in France to a control group of European countries. We find that increased consumer awareness of HADOPI caused French iTunes music sales to increase by 22‐25%. The observed sales increase is larger in high piracy genres than low piracy ones, strengthening the causal interpretation of our results.