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RSS feedsAlthough sales of CDs have continued to fall in the UK, it looks as if the legal music download sector is beginning to bear fruit.
According to figures from the Official UK Charts Company released by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), half a million tracks have been downloaded from legal sites and services such as OD2 and internet service providers such as Tiscali and BT.
The BPI said the download market is growing at a steady but moderate rate, although it is still way behind that in the US. There, iTunes alone has sold more than 70 million songs through its online store in just over a year.
With UK CD sales for the first three months of this year 4.3 per cent down on the same period last year, the figures for legal downloads are seen as an important indication that peer-to-peer (P2P) sites may be beginning to lose their appeal for many.
"This is shaping up to be a breakthrough year for the music industry," said BPI chairman Peter Jamieson in a statement.
This time last year there were virtually no legal downloads, according to the BPI.
Most people used P2P sites such as Kazaa and Grokster to swap music files. This has led to a spate of lawsuits against P2P users in the US brought by the Recording Industry Association of America.
See also:
The music industry has finally worked out how to make money out of internet music downloads. But will legal online music services be as popular as P2P sites? 18 Jun 2004
Deal with NTL to offer 500,000 tracks at £1.09 a pop 15 Jun 2004
Major UK artists will not be included after failing to agree terms 15 Jun 2004
UK file sharers to be put 'on notice' for offering music on illegal download sites 25 Mar 2004The US trade body is now bringing the full weight of the law to bear on individuals who dare to download a track or two from the web. But the users are fighting back ... 01 Aug 2003All Ecommerce
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