Downloading Music

Wikipedia article

"Downloading music first became popular with file sharing technologies such as peer-to-peer networks, with people breaking copyright laws by not paying for any of it. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) claimed that this practice was hurting the music industry, and a series of law suits led to many of these networks being closed down."

"The second phase of music downloading was the online music store, whereby songs could be downloaded at a price. In 2003, iTunes saw the popularity of legal digital downloads skyrocket. Other online websites include URGE, Napster and MSN's Music store. The sales of downloaded music has now surpassed the sales of 'physical copies' in some countries; this has been indicated in the UK where Crazy by Gnarls Barkley reached the top spot in the UK Singles Chart based on download sales alone"




Downloading 'myths' challenged

"According to the music industry, legal downloads have tripled during 2005.

In the first half of 2005, some 10 million songs have been legally downloaded. "

" The study found that regular downloaders of unlicensed music spent an average of £5.52 a month on legal digital music."


"The Leading Question survey also asked 600 music fans what devices they would be buying in the next year.
A third planned to buy a dedicated MP3 player, while just 8% said they would be buying an MP3-enabled phone"




Music downloads on the Internet: a new music generation

"Even though the cost of MP3 downloads is at an all time low, with tracks costing as little as 50p for the UK, some people still choose to download tracks illegally or use file sharing software to share music."





From 2003...

Illegal music sites 'here to stay'

" 19% of people surveyed said they would pay for song downloads over the internet, up from 16% a year ago."

"Album sales in the US in 2002 were down for the second year in a row - dropping more than 10% on the previous year."

"# 1,060 unauthorised servers
# 28,000 pirate web and music sites
# 700 million unauthorised music files"