by News Editor
L. Sutherland
A new survey claims that, despite the popular demonization of music downloaders, they are in fact among the section of society that spends the most on music recordings. L. Sutherland
The research from Ipsos Mori was commissioned by think tank Demos and found that people who admit to illegally downloading spend an average of £77 a year on music in comparison with the £44 typically spent by non-downloaders.
Brand Republic reports that the study questioned 1,000 internet users between the ages of 16 and 50, of whom one in 10 admitted to illegally downloading music. Nearly half of the illegal downloaders said they liked to hear music before purchasing it and eight out of 10 said that they'd paid for CDs, vinyl or MP3s in the past year.
However, the possibly surprising results of the survey are unlikely to carry much weight with those determined to try and stamp out the practice. As the government confirms it is still preparing to go ahead with controversial plans to block users who persistently download copyrighted material without paying for it, many ISPs - especially a vehement TalkTalk - are being very vocal about their criticisms of the scheme.
Not only is it claimed that people will be unfairly and wrongly targeted, but TalkTalk also suggests that the policy will increase hacking activity as downloaders use other people's internet connections to satisfy their own downloading desires.
The government claims that its "three strikes and you're out" policy, which aims to remove the internet access of repeat offenders, will act as a deterrent when it is rolled out next April.
According to Brand Republic, Peter Bradwell, a researcher at Demos specialising in digital rights and consumer trends, said: "The latest approach from the government will not help to 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 to music."
The research and recent sparring in the online sphere indicates that the battles between those who think downloading is beneficial to content providers and those that think it will be the death of the music, film and book industries as we know them look set to continue far into the future.
