You are here: silicon.com > Networks > WebWatch

WebWatch

Stolen music still big with MP3 generation

Illegal means account for half of record collections

Tags: mp3

By Tim Ferguson

Published: 16 June 2008 13:03 GMT

Young people are getting almost half of their music collection through illegal means.

Record industry artist and publisher group, British Music Rights (BMR), claims the average 14- to 24-year-old now has almost 900 illegal tracks each on their MP3 players.

Broadband from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more...

A is for ADSL
B is for BT
C is for Cable & Wireless
D is for Dial-up
E is for Education
F is for Fibre
G is for Goonhilly
H is for HSDPA
I is for In-flight
J is for Janet
K is for Kingston
L is for Landlines
M is for Murdoch
N is for Next generation
O is for Ofcom
P is for Power lines
Q is for Quad-play
R is for Remote working
S is for Satellite phones
T is for Trains
U is for Unbundling
V is for VoIP
W is for WiMax
X is for Xbox
Y is for YouTube
Z is for Zombies

The average young person's MP3 player contains an average of 1,770 tracks, around half of which have not been paid for.

Almost two thirds (63 per cent) of respondents surveyed said they download music on peer-to-peer file sharing networks, while 42 per cent allow others to download their music.

More than half (58 per cent) admitted to copying music from friends' hard drives, while 95 per cent have copied music in some way.

However, the CD is still seen as a viable for this age group, with 60 per cent saying they will continue to buy the physical format.

But there is evidence users want a legal file sharing service and 80 per cent said they would even pay for the content.

Feargal Sharkey, former-Undertones frontman and now CEO of British Music Rights, said it's clear young people are as engaged in music as previous generations and are still prepared to pay for it.

But he added the research shows how dramatically music consumption has changed, so a key challenge is to build a mutually beneficial partnership between the music industry and technology organisations.

The University of Hertfordshire carried out the research - which was the largest academic survey of its kind - for BMR earlier this year.

  1. Zones
  2. Management
  3. Networks
  4. Software
  5. IT Services
  6. Hardware
  1. Verticals
  2. Public Sector
  3. Financial Services
  4. Retail & Leisure
Read and write about internet access at the airports of the world at atlarge.com. Rate airports, and see what others have to say...

Peter Cochrane Peter Cochrane's Blog: How the telcos could save themselves Doomed network operators could thrive with a bit of innovation

Peter Cochrane Peter Cochrane's Blog: Facebook saves teen from prison Another unexpected impact of social networking


  • Jobs
A/P- C# .net 3.5 WPF expert- FX- no business req.- Dev: c65k+

This is not a role for your typical artistic GUI developer, you must have best amongst peer tech skills and a track record of designing and ...

Development Manager - Client Onboarding - Technical Integration - FX - TRAIANA

Development Manager with a strong knowledge of FX ECN platforms (eg Hotspot, Lava, Currenex etc), process flows and connectivity, Knowledge of FX ...

Snr PHP Developer - City Lonon

Snr PHP Developer - City Lonon required for one of the world's largest online dance music stores, with over one million tracks on vinyl, CD and ...

Agenda Setters 2009
Welcome to the ninth annual Agenda Setters poll – silicon.com's list of the top 50 most influential individuals in the technology and IT industries, from techies and CIOs to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Find out more in our latest special report.





Quick Sitemap Links: