The British Music Rights' study has revealed that 95% of young adults are engaged in some form of piracy. The study took into account not just illegal file-sharing, but also illegal copying of music with family and friends, and found that 95% of 18 - 24 year olds engage in some sort of illegal 'home copying'.

According to a press release, 'We believe this will be the largest and most far-reaching survey of its kind providing desperately needed data as to what this much-quoted demographic actually think about music and PR, to raise awareness about issues that affect music creators and publishers.'

In a move to protect the artists' work, the UK's Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988 makes it illegal to rip CDs to ones PC or portable MP3 player, or even to burn a personal CD-R copy. “The music industry's anti-piracy efforts have always been primarily concerned with illegal file-sharing, but it's potentially a miniscule problem when compared to the prevalence of illegal 'offline copying,' argues BMR. According to the study, more than two-thirds of those surveyed said that they copy five CDs a month from their friends.

Former Undertones frontman Sharkey said, “The aim was not to lambaste young music consumers but to create business models that fit their behaviour and tap into the unrelenting demand for music,'" adding that 'He hopes the findings will provide impetus for change.'

The study does highlight the need for change in the music industry, but music fans have been telling record labels that for the last 8 or 9 years. When people first turned to digital music, favouring both the portability and convenience, the music industry refused to provide a legal alternative until Apple's iTunes was launched. And it was only recently that DRM-free tracks were made available by most retailers in another indication of how the old-style music business has done almost everything in its power to not provide a viable alternative to illegal file-sharing or 'home copying'.

The reason home copying has suddenly become an issue to BMR is because of the increasing speed and amount of music which people can now share with family and friends at home, as well as the plummeting costs of playback systems and portable MP3, making monoliths like BMR even more nervous about the future.

For more information, please read this interview in the Guardian newspaper (UK), or contact the BMR at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it