Well, it turns out those pesky kids are still downloading lots of illegal music (and movies too!) - despite tough talking by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and the BPI threatening legal action against those who illegally share music. New research by internet traffic filtering firm Sandvine says that the illegal sharing of music and film has not been affected by recent music industry campaigning and litigation, and now accounts for 70-80% of all internet traffic in Europe
However the IFPI remained confident their global campaign against illegal downloading, backed up by a programme of lawsuits against 'serial downloaders', was working. They point out the growth of broadband would inevitably lead to, if anything, an increase in the number of people file sharing, and the amount of content being shared, in the short term. However they are confident their work, coupled with the growth of legit download services, would start to take effect.
IFPI boss Jay Berman told reporters: "In the UK for example, with broadband increasing over the next few months we'd expect a huge increase in peer to peer activity, even if consumer behaviour remains unchanged. Of course, over the longer term we expect a steady fall in illegal file-sharing; something we've already seen happen since the RIAA announced lawsuits early 2003. We are confident that the legitimate online music market is turning the corner as every week brings an increase in user figures and new services roll out across Europe."
The same research has raised concerns among the movie industry who have long feared the widespread growth of their content assets being illegally shared over P2P networks. Sandvine's research suggests the sharing of movies in this way is much more prevalent in Europe than in the US.
Talking of file sharing in the US and the legal fight to stop it, latest word from the Recording Industry Association of America is that another 493 individuals have been sued for illegally downloading music. In addition 24 people identified following previous 'John Doe' suits pursued by the RIAA now face named lawsuits having refused to settle out of court. For those keeping count, the total number of lawsuits initiated by the RIAA against individual file sharers now stands at around the 3000 mark.