Illegal Download Threat

As technology advances more rapidly every year, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep illegal activities to a minimum. And one act that is becoming a growing menace to the music industry is the illegal downloading of songs. Research into illegal downloading was done by the British Recorded Music Industry (BPI), and the facts revealed by the report were staggering. However, there was a little good news shown by the report, that legal music downloads were on the rise, giving the music industry an added boost to music sales.

The report reflected that almost 7.7 billion people were responsible for illegal music downloads in 2010, and that more than 1.2 billion songs were either shared amongst others or pirated. This is said to have led to a loss of approximately GBP 219 million for the British music industry. Geoff Taylor, from the BPI, spoke to the press in regard to the report findings saying, “Digital music is now mainstream in the UK, with much to be proud of – nearly 70 legal services and a further increase in the numbers of digital singles and albums set to be sold online in 2010. Yet this growth is a fraction of what it ought to be. Illegal downloading continues to rise in the UK. It is a parasite that threatens to deprive a generation of talented young people of their chance to make a career in music, and is holding back investment in the fledgling digital entertainment sector. As the internet becomes central to many aspects of our lives, including how we access our entertainment, we must decide whether we can afford as a society to abandon ethical values we stand by elsewhere – that stealing is wrong; that creativity should be rewarded; that our culture defines who we are, and must be protected. The creative industries employ two million people in the UK and are the fastest-growing sector of the economy.”

Taylor went on to say that that digital music sales are starting to become a vital part of the music market, and that installing greater measures to protect the industry from illegal downloading and income losses will ensure a future for everyone within the industry. Encouraging legal downloads will see an increase in income for the music industry. A great example is the ‘I Gotta Feeling’ track from the Black Eyed Peas, which broke the million copy mark in digital sales. Educating the public is also vital as many downloaders were not aware they were breaking the law when downloading from a free download site. Team work between the government and music industry will assist in decreasing illegal downloads and the positive development of digital sales.