British Music Rights

British Music Rights, in partnership with the University Of Hertfordshire, is pleased to present the results of its survey investigating the music consumption behaviour and experience of young people aged 14-24.

Main findings:

– Nearly two-thirds of respondents download music using unlicensed peer-to-peer file-
sharing networks.
– The average monthly download across all age groups is 53 tracks. Some
respondents admit to copying up to 5,000 tracks a month.
– Downloaders give pragmatic reasons for downloading – the most cited reason was to
get music for free; however, they also download to try before they buy, for pre-
released music and to search for rare or commercially unavailable music, such as
bootlegs.
– While the majority of respondents have downloaded music using a peer-to-peer file-
sharing network, fewer than half have allowed music from their own hard drive to be
shared by others on those same networks. However, 42% is a significant minority and suggests that the “making available” of music is not limited to a few “serial” uploaders; but is a common activity for many respondents.
– Those who do upload do so for mostly altruistic reasons – by far, the most cited
reason was to give in return to others; or to recommend music.
– Those who do not allow their music to be uploaded were asked why. Almost twice as
many people cited worries about viruses as they did the next biggest fear – getting
caught.
– Nearly 3 in 4 respondents are interested in a ‘legal’ file-sharing service.