Sam Marsden

The record industry insisted yesterday that the UK's legal music download market was growing rapidly as a new report suggested that many online consumers are still resorting to piracy.

Research group The Leading Question found the proportion of British fans regularly paying for music online through sites like iTunes fell from 16% in 2006 to 14% by the end of 2007.

Its study showed that as many people have paid to download music at least once as have tried illegal file sharing - 28% of those questioned in both cases.

But more carried on file sharing (22%) than continued to buy tracks online (14%).

On average paid downloads made up just 9% of respondents' digital music collections while "free" downloads constituted 27%.

Tim Walker, The Leading Question's managing director, said: "Many UK music fans are telling us they are dissatisfied with the current legal, paid-for digital music experience.

"They might buy a few tracks from iTunes when they get a new iPod for Christmas but few go on to become regular paying downloaders."

However, figures compiled by the Official UK Chart Company show legal downloads have increased dramatically this year.

Between January and April sales of digital singles leapt 42% year-on-year to more than 34 million, while digital album purchases soared 69% to over three million.

Last year a total of nearly 78 million singles and more than three million albums were legally downloaded.

To compile their report, The Leading Question carried out face-to-face interviews with 800 people aged 14 to 64 across Britain.