14 DAY TRIAL // If you thought you were getting a better deal using illegal P-to-P music services, rather than legitimate download services such as Apple's iTunes, then you are sadly mistaking. New research shows how file-sharers get both better breadth and catalogue of tracks from Apple's legitimate download service. Full details below.
The new research is revealed in the music industry group the IFPI's (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) latest Digital Music Report, published on Thursday, according to pcworld.com, in which third-party surveys reveal that up to 80 percent of all ISP broadband capacity is being engulfed by file sharing. This of course should force ISPs to start taking responsibility.
The PI-conducted study used a sample of 70 acts, revealed by focus group participants (in the U.K.) between the ages 15 to 25, in 2007, ranging from "underground bands to mainstream artists, including names such as Cherry Ghost and Jack Pe?ate," according to the same website.
P-to-P networks, such as Limewire, offered a large number of duplicates, as well as misleading file names, research showed, while iTunes was found more reliable in terms of file name accuracy, while duplicates were out of the question.
While disc sales are still declining, digital sales are doing exactly the opposite offering companies such as Apple new options for business plans. According to the same report, 5 years is all it took to see online music sales rise "from zero to an estimated $2.9 billion - 15 percent of industry sales - over the past five years, making music more digitally advanced than any entertainment sector except games."
The IFPI added that 1.7 billion tracks were legitimately downloaded throughout last year, which is 53 percent higher than year-before sales. IFPI chairman and CEO, John Kennedy, talks new strategies to combat file-sharing, hinting at forcing ISPs to keep a closer eye on what content their customers download: "A turning tide of opinion is one thing - a concrete program of action is another. There is only one acceptable moment for ISPs to start taking responsibility for protecting content - and that moment is now."
And who do you think is dominating the first-ever global music download sales chart? Why, Avril Lavigne, of course. She sold 7.3 million dowloadable copies of her song "Girlfriend" worldwide, in 2007.