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Illegal music downloading still popular in UK
Wednesday 25th February 2009, by Daniel King
Almost half of UK broadband users are still downloading music via illegal file-sharing sites, a new survey has revealed.
Research by internet service provider (ISP) Tiscali showed that 46 per cent of consumers regularly download tracks, even though most are aware that their actions are against the law.
Three in four respondents said they were aware of the laws in relation to music use, but more than half insisted that they did not see illegal downloading as a serious problem.
Many respondents claimed that they only downloaded free tracks as a supplement to the music they buy, with 83 per cent of saying they still pay money for CDs and online tracks.
Of those who admitted to illegally downloading files, more than half said they would still purchase music from the shops.
Managing director of media services at Tiscali Neal McCleave said the study shows consumers have "a far from simple relationship with music".
"There is clearly a distinct trend for people topping up their paid music collection through free downloads," he commented.
"Only a hard core of about 15 per cent said that they wouldn't stop and they downloaded illegally because they didn't want to pay."
Mr McCleave added that the results are not necessarily bad news for the music industry, claiming that many people would not discover new music in the future if they were unable to access tracks for free.
The research comes after EMI Music chief executive Elio Leoni-Sceti called on UK ISPs to help put a stop to illegal music sharing.
He said that 90 per cent of digital music in the UK is believed to be obtained by via illegal downloading and insisted that ISPs have a responsibility to help tackle the problem.
