Even Pirates Will Pay for Music

Sam Gustin raises an eyebrow: Eighty percent of illegal file-swappers would be interested in a paying for a legal file-sharing service that gave them universal access to digital music, according to a new study released Monday.

That statistic, which contradicts the conventional wisdom that digital pirates aren't interested in paying for music, is contained in a study by British Music Rights, an umbrella organization that represents some 50,000 musicians and music publishers in the U.K. Some 773 respondents, aged 14-24, completed the survey.

"It is quite clear that this young and tech-savvy demographic is as crazy about and engaged with music as any previous generation," said Feargal Sharkey, chief executive of British Music Rights. "Contrary to popular belief, they are also prepared to pay for it too. But only if offered the services they want."

The study suggests that in its haste to crack down on illegal file-sharing, the music industry has left an enormous amount of money on the table, and concludes that "offering an access-based approach that enables people to trial, swap, and recommend, music for a [range of] tariff[s] would be successful."

The new data comes amid a furious debate over the future of the music business, as the recording industry casts about for a new business model in the face of rapidly dwindling CD sales and widespread music piracy.

In recent months, all four of the major labels -- Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony/BMG, and EMI -- have been experimenting with new digital distribution schemes, included ad-supported, streaming music services from MySpace and Imeem.

Just last week, Orange, a division of France Telecom, launched a monthly subscription-based music download service in conjunction with the French divisions of all four major record labels. For a flat fee of E12 of per month, users can download up to 500 songs per month from a catalog of over 1 million major label and indie titles.

If the results of the survey are to believed, and a significant majority of music pirates would pay for a legal file-sharing service with universal access to music, the recording industry would be well-advised to pay heed, and give consumers what they want.