Illegal music downloads “not decreasing”

A survey has revealed that the number of illegal music downloads has not fallen, despite a wealth of completely legal services becoming available over the past 5 years.

Even though it’s bad news, we here at Nukleuz are optimistic about the future of downloads, the UK has just had a Christmas Number One (Rage Against The Machine) that soared to popularity through an amazing viral campaign (Well done Sony!) and is there purely on the strength of it’s download sales. Also, the amount of varied artists and amazing music and talent that’s coming through can only benefit from the instant accessibility that is provided by the net.

Despite the levels of piracy, the BPI announced in October that we are living in “the era of the digital single”, after figures revealed 2009 had 117m singles sold, confirming the biggest EVER year for UK single sales.

Of the 177m sold, 98.6% were purchased in digital formats.

A survey for The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) showed that one in three users are still accessing illegal download sites.

More than 3,000 people aged between 16 and 54 took part in the online poll.