Music CD piracy grew 25% in 2000

Rise of CD-Rs to blame

By Robert Blincoe • Get more from this author

Posted in Business, 13th June 2001 11:56 GMT

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The number of pirated CDs sold worldwide soared by 25 per cent in 2000, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

And the rise is blamed on low-budget CD-R copying operations. The IFPI's report says "pirate CD-R sales worldwide nearly tripled last year to 165 million units and now account for more than a quarter of all disc piracy".

The IFPI estimates one in every three recordings sold worldwide is an illegal copy, and a total of 1.8 billion pirate recordings (CDs and cassettes) were estimated to be sold in the year.

The report states that pirate sales of CDs and CD-R music discs rose from 510 million units in 1999 to an estimated 640 million units in 2000. Globally the music pirate business, much of it backed by organised crime, was worth an estimated $4.2 billion in 2000 - up by $100 million on the previous year.

It also calls the Internet a "100 per cent pirate medium".

Jay Berman, IFPI Chairman and CEO said: "Piracy is rising alarmingly in our established markets, and the two main reasons for that are the proliferation of new, cheap technologies for illegal commercial copying, and inadequate enforcement by governments."

The top five domestic piracy nations are China, Russia, Mexico, Brazil and Italy. Countries in South East Asia and Eastern Europe, particularly the Ukraine, top the list of manufacturers and exporters of pirate product.

And in the fight against the evil Net, actions by IFPI and its 46 national affiliates led to 15,000 Web sites, containing 300,000 files, being taken down in 2000. ®