Determining the veracity of surveys has always been something of a favourite pastime of Sneak's. And in his line of work, receiving about ten IT vendor-sponsored pieces a day, there is plenty of material to digest.

The latest was a tidbit from internet service provider Tiscali, that may make rather infuriating reading for the music industry. Yes, the firm has been asking UK consumers where they stand on illegal downloading of music. Around half of them said they use P2P sites such as BitTorrent and Limewire, but hilariously, 53 per cent said they "have never knowingly downloaded illegally". Sneak can only think of one way these consumers manage this, given the quantity of illegal content knocking about on these sites - they must cover their eyes as they click on "download". Or get an elderly relative to hit return instead.

The research also revealed that a quarter of UK consumers are deterred from downloading illegally because they like all the extras that come with a CD, including sleeve notes, artwork and lyrics. Really? You'll be lucky to get the lyrics reprinted in your CD sleeve these days, Sneak reckons. More likely is a flimsy bit of cheap paper adorned with an image that looks as if it has been designed by a first-year art school student.

25 Feb 2009