Newsfactor.com reports that Jupiter found that 34% of all peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing users said they now spend more money on music than they did before they embraced P2P; 15% of users said they now spend less. Around 50% said they spend the same amount.
Against this, 19% of those not using P2P said they now spend more money on music; 10% said they spend less, and 71% said they spend the same amount.
Jupiter recommended that the music industry tries to make money from file sharing, instead of trying to fight it. It also found that broadband internet access has not greatly influenced consumer music spending.
The global music market fell 5% in value and 6.5% in units shifted in 2001, according to a report released last month by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The Federation blamed the internet and mass digital copying; P2P services blamed the dip in the global economy.
The Recording Industry Association of America refuted Jupiter’s findings. It said that Jupiter had failed to poll those aged under 18 – a key demographic in the music market. Its own findings, based on a study in September and November 2001, found 23% of music fans saying they “did not buy more music because they download or copy most music for free.” Among “heavy music buyers” under age 30, 38% said they “did not buy more music because they could download or copy most music for free.”