The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a trade body of the music industry has said that the latest figures show that legal music downloads has caught up in a big way as more than 180 million downloads were recorded in the first six months of this year. This is more than triple of the 57 million that were recorded at the same time last year.
The federation also said that illegal downloading has been checked with only a 3 percent increase in that activity in the first half of the year. Analysts say that this decrease in peer-to-peer illegal file swapping was a direct result of the legal action being taken by record labels against the owners of these sites.
The case of the record industry was further strengthened by a Supreme Court ruling, which held software makers who induce such illegal downloading liable for punishment. Commenting on the federation's findings, CEO John Kennedy said in a statement, "'Whether it's the fear of getting caught breaking the law, or the realization that many networks could damage your home PC, attitudes are changing, and that is good news for the whole music industry. We are now seeing real evidence that people are increasingly put off by illegal file sharing and turning to legal ways of enjoying music online."
Apple Computer's iTunes took in the lion's share of the legal downloads raking up 57 million in the first half of 2005. The extension of the iTunes facility to mainland Europe in 2004 was the main reason behind the increase in legal digital song downloads, the group felt. The report also said that the increasing use of broadband connections were also a factor in keeping illegal downloads in check as these connections spur a faster rate of downloads.
The report mentioned that the digital music subscriptions have become increasingly popular with 2.2 million people worldwide subscribing to some sort of monthly plan in the first six months of 2005.
Posted
on : Fri, 22 Jul 2005 17:20 GMT | General News
By : Anne Philips
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