Market research company Music Programming Ltd (MPL) have just completed a survey that suggests that music fans who download songs from the internet go on to buy more albums. The survey's findings come in opposition to the music industry's long-standing argument (fear) that internet downloading is responsible for a slump in CD sales, with album sales falling 5% in the last twelve months.
(MPL) said that 87% of its downloading respondents admitted that they bought albums after hearing tracks through the internet. An MPL spokesperson said: "Downloading is actually a 'try before you buy' tool for a significant amount of people. It allows people to sample new music and decide whether or not to buy it - it is not necessarily a replacement for purchase."
MPL did, however, find that downloading tracks did lead to a significant drop in the number of singles being bought.
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) said: "There is an element of truth in the survey's findings, but that it would be disingenuous to suggest that downloading can boost album sales. We did a survey in April that asked people the reasons why they downloaded, and 65% said because it was free. That's just human nature."
While the American authorities back the RIAA in their suing of heavy downloaders the BPI have said that it is unlikely to push for prosecutions in this country.
The survey also said 41% of its respondents declared themselves "heavy downloaders" - but 34% of these still felt they bought more albums than they did a year ago – adding that they used downloading "to check out music I've heard about but not listened to yet" (75%) and "to help me decide whether to buy the CD" (66%).
MPL said its survey suggested people used the internet as a way of finding out about new music, and that the industry should use it as a way of promoting new artists.