Record labels count cost of music piracy

What a crock! The argument can easily be made that without downloading these consumers would have never bothered to acquire the song. Grow up! Make it cheap and easily accessible, you know like easier than p2p. Its the medium stupid!

British record labels lost the equivalent of £650m to illegal computer downloads over the last two years, according to the music industry's trade body.

The British Phonographic Industry said record labels lost £376m last year - up nearly £100m on the £278m they lost the year before - in the music business's first attempt to quantify the financial cost of illegal downloads.

A two-year study by research group TNS showed that music fans would have spent £1.5bn on recorded music between 2002-2004, but because of downloads spent only £858m, according to the BPI.

Full ariticle Guardian UK