Illegal downloading ‘boosts music purchases’


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A new report claims those who download music illegally and more likely to subsequently purchase songs legitimately.

The European Commission Joint Research Centre studied the online behaviour of 16,000 European residents during a twelve month period for its report, and found there to be a trend for a slight increase in visits to official music sites after illegal downloading.

“A 10% increase in clicks on illegal music downloading websites leads to a 0.2% increase in clicks on legal purchases websites,” the report reveals.

“Online music streaming services are found to have a somewhat larger (but still small) effect on the purchases of digital sound recordings, suggesting complementarities between these two modes of music consumption.”

“According to our results, a 10% increase in clicks on legal streaming websites lead to up to a 0.7% increase in clicks on legal digital purchases websites.”

Last month, it was revealed global music revenue had risen for the first time since 1999 thanks largely to the global success of acts such as Adele and One Direction, though Frances Moore, chief executive of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), insisted more would need to be done to combat online piracy for the trend to continue.


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