Illegal downloads are still beating legal online music in Europe, analysts say.
According to a new report from analyst house JupiterResearch, consumers are three times more likely to get their digital music from illegal file-sharing networks than pay to download the tracks from online song shops such as iTunes and Napster, with 15 percent of consumers using P2P sites and 5 percent using the legitimate online shops.
The taste for illegal music is strongest among youths. Of those consumers between 15- and 24-years-old, 34 percent are illegal file-sharers and, according to the report, have little concept of music as a paid commodity.
Mark Mulligan, an analyst at JupiterResearch, said that despite the growth in legal sales from services like Apple Computer’s iTunes, as well as legal actions against uploaders, illegal file-sharing is here to stay.
Related
- Young ‘prefer illegal song swaps’
- Music Sales Strong Despite Digital Piracy
- Majority of Youth Understand ‘Copyright,’ But Many Continue to Download Illegally
- European Youth on Illegal File-Sharing: ‘Music Artists Don’t Need My Money!’
- Report Concludes File-Sharing Still a Threat to Music Industry
Maybe if the music industry used a medium that was durable like a cassette tape and didn’t totally screw up when a small scratch is made on the cd from not being more than surgically careful consumers would feel that they are getting something worth paying for. I hate CDs and DVDs. They’re crap. They could atleast do what the mini-disc and some DVD-RAM has done and surround the CD/DVD in a protective enclosure. I don’t know why those don’t become the new standard.