The BPI is painting a rather damning picture of the music download scene in 2010, claiming that 1.2 billion songs were illegally downloaded in 2010, costing the music industry £984 million.

On the BPI site they say: “In 2010, illegal music downloading continues to rise in the UK.  The number of people using peer-to-peer software to download music has remained steady, while the use of non-P2P channels such as cyberlockers and MP3 pay sites is rising alarmingly.  More than three-quarters of the music downloaded in the UK is illegally obtained, with no payment to the musicians and songwriters or music companies who invest in them.”

Geoff Taylor BPI chief executive said “Illegal downloading continues to rise in the UK, it is a parasite that threatens to deprive a generation of talented young people of their chance to make a career in music, and is holding back investment in the fledgling digital entertainment sector.”

We don't mean to burst Geoff's bubble, but did they ever contemplate reducing the actual cost of the tracks? There are very few added incentives to buy tracks online with the costs almost identical to the physical counterpart available in stores. iTunes are even offering 90 second previews now to help push more sales to customers.

UK digital music sales are actually up in 2010 to 160 million and album sales have risen to 21 million compared to 16 million in 2009. Digital downloads now account for 24.5% of all music sold in the UK.

KitGuru says: Do you illegally download music? Tell us why.

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