Audio Video News

Despite the fact that U.K. residents are among the world's steadiest CD buyers, apparently they're also among the world's most avid illegal downloaders.

The Digital Music Survey 2007, conducted by Entertainment Media Research and the law firm Olswang, sampled 1700 respondents and found that 47 percent of men admit to illegal downloading in 2007, compared to 43 percent in 2006. Among women the behavior change is even more marked, with 40 percent engaging in illicit P2P, compared to just 29 percent the previous year.

The percentage who said they'd do even more downloading on the down low next year nearly doubled to 18 percent. Why? "Because it's free," say 91 percent. Another 41 percent say they'd illegally download about the same amount, and another 41 percent say they'd download less. Twenty-five percent are aware of the law but only five percent care.

Even so, legal downloads are also on the up and up. Fifty-eight percent will buy at least one download in 2007, up from 50 percent in 2006 and 35 percent in 2005. But here's a warning for music labels: 68 percent feel downloads are "only worth purchasing if free of DRM."

CD purchases are still significant but eroding: 59 percent plan to buy them in the future at the same rate, while 24 percent plan to buy fewer, 12 percent plan to buy more, and 5 percent plan to buy none.

Among social networks, the most attractive to music fans are MySpace (39 percent) and YouTube (27 percent). None of the others reach into double digits. Downloading from social-networking sites and from artist-owned sites is equally popular at 18 percent each.

FM radio, at 88 percent, is still the most popular music broadcast medium, followed by Internet radio at 47 percent, satellite/cable TV at 41 percent, DAB at 19 percent, AM at 18 percent, and mobile phones at 15 percent. Mobile-phone listening shows the largest increase at 25 percent, or 10 percent more than last year.

The survey also says that Britain's active live music scene is boosting album sales, and that a majority favor the USB stick as a music format, suggesting a path to future profit for the music industry.

See full text and graphics (PDF) at the Entertainment Media Research site.