With cheaper downloading prices and convenient music sites, legally downloading music is gaining ground.
LONDON(RushPRnews)10/21/08-Pirates are likely to desist from illegal downloading if they are sent warnings from their internet service provider (ISP), according to a new survey. From a survey of 1,500 UK consumers, almost 75 per cent said they would stop downloading illegal content if told to by their ISP.
The research from Entertainment Media Research suggests that the proliferation of online music services is convincing surfers to go straight.
For the first time in five years the annual survey revealed that more than half of respondents, 51 per cent, received their music via legal downloads.
ISPs, most notably Virgin Media, initiated a letter campaign earlier this year, warning customers who were downloading illegally.
“It is quite evident that an ISP-led strategy has bite, because illegal downloaders are fairly convinced that ISPs are currently monitoring their activities and are more likely to act against them than the courts,” said Russell Hart, chief executive of Entertainment Media Research.
Younger surfers are more likely to download illegally the research also revealed, with 58 per cent of 13-17-year-olds admitting to doing so. However, 61 per cent of those questioned believed that their activities were being monitored.
Much of the growth in legal downloading is being driven by older surfers; more than 40 per cent of over-35s now buy downloads at least once a month.
Other notable points from the survey revealed that YouTube is the preferred social-networking site for listening to and finding new music.
Forty-one per cent of respondents said the video-sharing website was their first choice while 25 per cent said MySpace was their favourite.
www.entertainmentmediaresearch.com
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