How Widespread is Music File-sharing?
According to a May 2004 Ipsos-Reid study, 5.7 million Canadians had downloaded digital music files from peer-to-peer networks such as Kazaa. An April 2004 poll funded by the Canadian Record Industry Association (CRIA) found that the number of people who say they use the popular file-sharing software Kazaa grew from 8% in the fall of 2001 to 26% in spring 2004. File-sharing is especially popular among Canadian youth: In 2001, 60% of Canadian secondary students admitted to downloading MP3s, and 30% have downloaded movies. On the basis of a poll that it commissioned in 2005, CRIA estimates that “at least 14 illegal files are downloaded for every legal one”, and concludes that “comprising just 21 percent of the population, Canadians between 12 and 24 years old are responsible for 78 percent of illegal music downloading.” Worldwide, music file-sharing is just as popular. In the United States, as of February 2004, approximately 23 million people download music. Downloading by those in the US
