The number of US internet users downloading peer-to-peer
music files has fallen significantly in recent months, partly as a
result of recording industry lawsuits against individual
downloaders, a study has claimed.
The Pew Internet & American Life Project said the percentage
of Americans claiming to download music from the internet fell from
29%, or about 35 million people, in May 2002 to 14%, or 18 million
people, in December.
Furthermore, while 4% of US users were recorded as saying that
they downloaded music files in a survey conducted from March to May
2003, only 1% of users said the same in the latest survey conducted
from November to December.
Pew conducted the nationwide study last November and December
through a phone survey of 1,358 internet users. The group released
the results in conjunction with comScore Media Metrix, comparing
the figures with a study it did in March and April 2003.
The recording industry's recent crackdown against illegal P-to-P
file sharers could be one factor behind the recent decline in
downloading, Pew said. The Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA) expanded its antipiracy campaign last September,
issuing a wave of subpoenas against individual users believed to be
downloading copyright protected music. The record industry group
has since filed 382 lawsuits against users for "egregious"
copyright infringement.
While the Pew study revealed that one-fifth of those surveyed
said that the suits acted as a deterrent, other factors could have
contributed to the decrease in file sharing, such as the emergence
of new paid download sites.
Use of free P-to-P applications such as Kazaa, WinMX, BearShare
and Grokster have fallen in the past, according to data released by
comScore Media Metrix, while new paid download sites such as the
revamped Napster.com and the expanded iTunes music site for
Windows-based PC users have aimed to take up the slack.
"I definitely believe that the RIAA suits contributed to the
increased use of paid music sites," said comScore analyst Graham
Mudd, adding that use of Kazaa significantly fell one month after
the RIAA announced its first round of suits.
RIAA chairman and chief executive officer Mitch Bainwol said
that the study was "another encouraging indication that we are on
the right track".
The recording industry claims that it is on fertile legal ground
for protecting its copyright works thanks to provision laid out
under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, allowing it to
subpoena internet service providers for the names of alleged
illegal file traders.
Scarlet Pruitt writes for IDG News
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