Illegal downloads reach new highs

New reports indicate that more and more people are downloading music illegally as the fear of prosecution falls, and the price advantage of legal downloading has been removed.

The record industry is in a crisis situation as the propensity of illegal music downloads continues, and there seems to be no deterrent to downloaders to cease their activities. Illegal downloading has become easier and more widespread as people seem no longer to fear official action against them. There has also been a decrease in CD prices, therefore legal downloading with its previously attractive lower cost is no longer as appealing. This has all contributed to 43% of people in a poll attesting that they regularly download music illegally and 18% said that they would continue to do so. This is a stark increase from the numbers recorded in the same poll taken a year ago. Then, only 36% of participants claimed that they illegally downloaded, and a mere 8% indicated that they intended to continue this. The fact that in the same survey 42% of people said that prosecution was a disincentive to illegally download, but that this year the number had reduced to 33% indicates the reason for increased piracy activity. The organisation which carried out the Digital Music Survey, Entertainment Media Research, has been undertaking these inquiries for the last three years, and this year charts the most significant increase so far. Their fourth Digital Music Survey has sparked debate amongst industry insiders as to what can be done to halt this rapid increase in illegal activity, something which is shared by legal music representatives in law firms.

Experts have called for the music industry to make it easier and cheaper for people to download music legally, from sites such as iTunes and Sony in an attempt to curb the rise in piracy on the web. However record companies, including the music industry association BPI, have responded saying that reducing illegal downloading is not entirely up to them, but that internet service providers are also responsible for improving online security against illegal downloading. They added that ISP gatekeepers and government legislation should also play active roles in dealing with the problem.

Source:
Guardian