UNLICENSED MUSIC "SHARED" WORLDWIDE ON P2P NETWORKS

The value of unlicensed (in some cases known as pirated) music trafficked on P2P networks in 2007 was US$69 billion, according to new MultiMedia Intelligence research. This value should not be viewed as lost revenue, but rather the result of multiplying the number of unlicensed music tracks (not purchased) transferred over P2P networks globally by a fair market value per track.

"A US$69 billion figure is staggering to contemplate, but it effectively illustrates the impact of piracy on the music industry," according to Rick Sizemore of MultiMedia Intelligence. "It is important to note that piracy has expanded well beyond music. Content owners of TV episodes and full length movies are seeing a growing impact. This is precisely why efforts from groups like the DCIA and those related to digital fingerprinting (e.g. MySpace and MTV) are vital to foster a 'safe' environment - one conducive to growth and maturation. With an ever burgeoning flow of content over the digital pipes, the need for efficient distribution becomes all the more vital and we would be remiss to think of P2P exclusively as a tool for pirates."

MultiMedia Intelligence's new research also found:

* The number of unlicensed full length movies "shared" will grow almost 4 times from 2007 to 2012 -- although number of video files will remain smaller than music.

* Not all P2P content is unlicensed. The grow rate for licensed content files distributed over P2P networks is much higher than unlicensed, although it is fair to note that we are starting from a much smaller base.

* P2P Internet traffic, despite having grown at a torrid pace for years, will grow almost 400% over the next 5 years. Growing from a level of 1.6 petabytes of Internet traffic per month in 2007 to almost 8 petabytes per month by 2012.

The research,P2P Networking: Content's "Bad Boy" Becomes Tomorrow's Distribution Channel, analyzes the P2P market in terms of worldwide broadband penetration, consumer consumption of data, audio and video files and its associated revenue.

Forecasts are provided on an annual or per monthly average (e.g. PB/month) from 2006 through 2012.