Music file sharing remains popular

Illegal music file sharing is still rife around Europe despite the success of online music stores, according to a new survey.

Jupiter Research surveyed digital music consumers and found 15 per cent of them use P2P networks to illegally download music each month, far more than use legal online music stores. However, 19 per cent said they are willing to pay for digital music services so the stores may become the dominant source of digital music in the long-term.

Surprisingly, despite the popularity of MP3 players, just six per cent of respondents use them to listen to music. Most internet users listen on home hi-fi systems (67 per cent) and radios or car stereos (54 per cent).

The report covered internet users in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Sweden and Italy, and 26 per cent of respondents in Spain admitted they shared music files – the highest rate in Europe.

Research director Mark Mulligan said: “Although the likes of Apple have grabbed huge media attention over recent months, illegal file sharing remains the dominant online music activity.”

www.jupiterresearch.com