IFPI Hong Kong Group is pleased to announce the survey result on music user preference on the Internet, and to report on findings of its Instant Message Campaign to WinMX users.
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It has always been the view of the global recording industry to exploit any new means or technology for providing legitimate music business and no doubt, on-line distribution of music is now widely available in many leading developed countries. However, the major concern among the global record industry remains how to effectively deal with the wide spread of illegal files sharing. In an attempt to understand the preference of music users on the Internet, IFPI Hong Kong Group commissioned the Telephone Survey Research Laboratory, Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong to conduct a survey during the month of September, 2005. A total of 1005 Internet users aged 15-64 were successfully interviewed. The major findings of the survey are summarized as follows: 1. 53% of respondents say that they have used MP3 for music enjoyment on a regular to casual listening basis during the year. 2. 69.4% of respondents are now aware that there exist legal online music services in Hong Kong. 44.1% say they would consider buying on-line with an additional 20% indicate would buy if the price is suitable for them. 3. 41.3% of the Internet population age 15 - 64 have in the past one year conducted illegal file sharing on the Internet. In real terms, this 41.3% translates to 1.1 million to 1.3 million people. 4. 63.3% of the music comes from non-paid avenue and third parties. In fact, 47.4% points (nearly 3 quarters) of these files comes from file sharing on the Internet. 5. p2p users prefer WinMX over BitTorrent for music file sharing, i.e. 48.1% versus 33.9%. 6. 56.9% of respondents accept it is un-ethical while 52.8% of respondents recognise it is illegal to share un-authorised files on the Internet but continue to illegally share files on the Internet. 7. 74.2% of the respondents who had downloaded a title say that they will not pay for the same title again even when they like the said title. One may simply draw a conclusion of the survey that there is an increasing awareness of legal online music and the response is positive. However, while the majority of music users know that it is both illegal and un-ethical to the sharing of the files on line illegally, there remains 55+% of users continue to choose to ignore the risks. The most alarming and discouraging part is that 74.2% of respondents had indicated that they would not buy the same title once they have download the same song from the Internet, even if they did like it. Through a totally separate action, the Hong Kong recording industry announced on 14th September, 2005 that it would step-up its action in curbing such on-line piracy by the delivery of instant warning message to anyone found sharing un-authorised music files on the Internet. The message is clear, music users conducting illegal file sharing activities are not as anonymous as they may have perecived and they will run into the risk of legal repercussion if they choose to continue to do so.
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The IFPI Hong Kong Group firstly focuses on WinMX users, as through its own findings as well as other surveys, WinMX is the most preferred choice for illegal music file sharing in Hong Kong. IFPI Hong Kong Group and its members are satisfied that such announcement had achieved its goal by bringing the message to the attention of the public due to the widespread coverage in the media immediately after publication, irrespective of the number of messages sent. The WinMX service that shut down days after the Hong Kong IM campaign had also become a subject of attention by the media. The recording industry was asked whether the IM campaign has and will achieve its objectives. IFPI Hong Kong Group response is affirmative. In addition to the widespread publicity generated, the industry representative has taken the initiative to ascertain again the true impact of WinMX in Hong Kong. With reference to the HKIX traffic during the campaign, IFPI HKG notes that:
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A. The HKIX service did not show any significant impact in traffic immediately after the IM campaign announcement. It suggests that either the WinMX impact on online piracy is insignificant in Hong Kong, or that the p2p community simply ignores the IM message.
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B. When WinMX is closed in the U.S., the Hong Kong HKIX traffic showed a measurable drop in data rate. This attests that the illegal p2p file sharing community did in fact used WinMX in Hong Kong IFPI Hong Kong Group and its members have come to the conclusion that:
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1. In order to save the industry from the harms done by the illegal p2p file sharing, it is inevitable that appropriate legal actions be taken against to the blatant infringing activities;
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2. The legal option of bringing the p2p offenders to court has now been carefully explored.
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IFPI Hong Kong Group has been instructed by its members to commence the process for bringing the uploaders to court once everything is in order without any further warning and the infringers will be fully liable for all of their infringing activities.
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| IFPI (HKG) Ltd 6th October, 2005 |
