Three-quarters of music downloads illegal, claims BPI

A recent study estimates that more than three-quarters of music downloads in the UK are illegal.

UK music industry group BPI said that a recent study it conducted found that many users continue to obtain music files from peer-to-peer networks and other illegal music sources.

The study estimated that as many as 7.7 million people in the UK obtained music illegally in 2010. The figure represents roughly 28.8 per cent of the total UK internet population.

The group estimates that over the past six month, use of peer-to-peer (P2P) networks has jumped seven per cent, despite the high-profile takedown of the LimeWire P2P service in October.

Despite the continued use of illegal music networks, digital music sales are also thriving in the UK. BPI estimates that some 500,000,000 digital singles have been sold in the UK to date, comprising as much as 99 per cent of single sales and 19.6 per cent of full album sales.

Still, the figure pales in comparison to estimates of illegal downloads, which the BPI placed at roughly 1.2 billion in 2010.

BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor said that without harsher measures to limit piracy, such as the controversial Digital Economy Act, the professional music industry in the UK could be threatened.

"If we falter and lack the courage to act, we risk creating a serious cultural deficit in the UK," Taylor wrote.

"The voices of a generation of new bands and artists simply won't get signed and won't be heard. We will have abandoned values that matter."