Perceived Effectiveness of Potential Music Piracy Warnings

Abstract

Because music piracy from the internet imposes fines upon individuals, it is important to construct and test warnings in an effort to curb potentially illegal behavior. Each icon contained an eighth note to denote music, action symbol (upload or download), a prohibition symbol (slash or cross), and/or a computer for context. Four icons that initially met the ISO 67% comprehension rate were combined with various signal word and consequence messages, yielding 60 test stimuli. Results revealed that participants generally viewed the icon with a computer for context and download symbol with a prohibitive slash as opposed with a cross (“X”) symbol as more effective, than icons with an upload symbol. Signal words conveying the presence of a risk (i.e., IMPORTANT and STOP) received higher perceived effectiveness ratings than NOTICE. Increasing the number of consequences in the warning led to greater perceived warning effectiveness ratings. Hence, a possible warning for music piracy is suggested, with its implications discussed.