Music download loss hits Britons

Britons who download their music rather than buying a copy of the track in CD or vinyl form have lost a collective £7 billion, it has been revealed.

According to moneysupermarket.com, 62 per cent of people in the UK download music, but millions are losing out by failing to back up their files.

Those in their twenties are the most unfortunate, as they have lost an average of 1,165 songs each.

"I'm surprised there aren't more people backing up - especially when you think of how much an entire collection could be worth," commented James Parker, commercial manager of broadband at moneysupermarket.com.

"At 79p for a single or £7.99 for an album, a lot of money is invested in digital collections, particularly when you consider most people have over a 1000 tracks. Because mp3s are intangible, it's too easy to forget the file is actually worth something and has been paid for."

While mp3s might be intangible, mp3 players are not - so homeowners can protect themselves against any loss by securing adequate home contents insurance.

October 10^th 2008

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