Lawsuits deter some file-sharers

The threat of legal action by music labels is having a mixed impact on song-swapping over the internet, a survey has found. Some 14% of Americans online said they had stopped downloading music, said the Pew Internet research centre in the US. But at the same time, the study found more people were once again turning to the internet for music. This was due to more people using legal services, as well as switching to less well-known file-sharing programs.

The Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA, blames the file-sharing of copyrighted material for a global decline in music sales. It has adopted a carrot and stick approach to dealing with the issue, encouraging legal subscription services and pursuing lawsuits against file-sharers.

The RIAA says its campaign of legal action has caused file-sharing to drop and now the music industry is adopting the same approach in Europe. The scare tactics appear to be paying off. The Pew Internet and American Life Project reported in January that the number of music file downloaders had fallen from 29% of internet users to just 14%. In its follow-up survey, the researchers found more evidence that the record industry approach was working.