The quicker those lessons can start the better because, while legitimate download platforms increase in popularity, and despite the record industry's attempts to use the courts to stop it, illegal file sharing is as popular now as a year ago, or so says a new report from the Informa Media Group. They reckon that illegal downloading is still costing the global music business £1.1 billion a year.
Simon Dyson, who write the Informa report, told the BBC that while 2004 had been an "important" year for the digital music sector, the industry still had to find better ways to convert illegal P2P file sharers into legitimate digital music customers - and, it seems, taking the biggest culprits of illegal file sharing to court wasn't necessarily the best way to do it.
Dyson: "The research found that the number of people using peer-to-peer services had not really decreased since the last report 12 months ago. Many millions of music fans still prefer to download for free even though the legal services offer such good value. People's awareness that it's against the law has increased and I think parents are more informed about what their kids are doing because of all the legal actions. But while some people would have been scared off by the legal actions, others will be all the more determined to do it."
Noting the success of the legal download platforms, Dyson also reckons that CDs will cease the be the dominant music format by 2010 when, he predicts, download sales will outstrip album sales.