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File-sharing still a body blow to UK music
Says BPI - would prefer more Gnarly results

By Reuters

Published: Wednesday 05 April 2006

The British music industry lost more than £1bn in the past three years as a result of people illegally file sharing on the internet rather than paying for music, its trade organisation said on Tuesday.

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) released its data as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents the industry globally, launched almost 2,000 cases of legal action in 10 countries across Europe and in Hong Kong.

The British industry lost £414m last year as a result of illegal swapping of music on the internet, up from £376m in 2004. In the three years to 2005, the total loss amounted to £1.1bn, the BPI said.

The increased loss comes even though the percentage of the UK population that shares music files illegally fell last year.

After a series of successful prosecutions of illegal file swappers, the number of Britons illegally downloading fell to 15.4 per cent last year from 16 per cent in 2004, the BPI said. But the loss to the industry is bigger because those who still download illegally would be the individuals expected to spend the most on music.

To date, the BPI has settled more than 100 of the 138 cases it has brought against alleged UK file-sharers.

"Too often, people believe that when they take music illegally over the internet it is a victimless crime," BPI Chairman Peter Jamieson said in a statement.

"But when people share music files illegally, they are stealing the future of British musicians and the people who invest in them."

Downloads are now included in the UK Top 10 singles charts and last Sunday Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy' made British pop chart history when it became the first song to reach number one based solely on sales of computer downloads.