New Study: Illegal File Sharers Are the Big Spenders when it Comes to Buying Music

They spend almost twice as much on music than the ‘honest’ music listeners, new poll shows

It’s been quite a while now since the music industry (with consistent support from the government) has tried to convince us all that file sharers are to blame for their losses and there’s been no benefit from those who download content via p2p networks altogether. Now a new poll in UK tells an entirely different story (as others have, previously).

According to the report conducted by Ipsos Mori, people who admit to downloading music illegally spend an average of £77 a year on music which is £33 more than those who say they never grab music from illegal file sharing sites.

"The latest approach from the Government will not help prop up an ailing music industry. Politicians and music companies need to recognise that the nature of music consumption has changed, and consumers are demanding lower prices and easier access," said Peter Bradwell, from the think-tank Demos, which commissioned the new poll.

Most probably both the government and the music industry will remain deaf or blind to the poll’s results and continue to stubbornly ignore any statistics that contradict those they try to impose in the media and on the public.

Mark Mulligan of Forrester Research points out the crucial role file sharing has in helping users come across new artists, a role that the industry is blatantly choosing to overlook: "The people who file-share are the ones who are interested in music," Mulligan says. "They use file-sharing as a discovery mechanism. We have a generation of young people who don't have any concept of music as a paid-for commodity. You need to have it at a price point you won't notice."

The survey had of 1,000 people aged 16 to 50 participating as respondents.

(via Independent.co.uk)