Over 40% of all Canadian households with broadband download music files on a monthly basis, compared with 28% of similar American households. Likewise, one-third of all Canadian broadband households use a peer-to-peer (P2P) network each month, but in the United States, this figure is just 16%.
“In Canada, the recording industry has had a harder time fighting piracy, and so these data quantify the impact of the RIAA’s legal efforts in the United States,†said John Barrett, director of research for Parks Associates. “Using Canada as a benchmark, it would appear the lawsuits in the U.S. have gotten about 15% of the population to stop pirating music.â€
File sharing is considered legal in Canada, and Canadian ISPs are not required to divulge the identity of online pirates. These circumstances present a relatively “risk-free†environment for music piracy.
