BitTorrent users are 170 percent more likely to have paid for digital music in the past six months when compared to the average Internet user, according to a new survey conducted by BitTorrent Inc., Torrent Freak reports.
Many file sharing critics often argue that the 150-170 million monthly BitTorrent users are only interested in obtaining content for free, or "stealing" content, as some have claimed, but the new report calls these accusations into question.
Fifty percent of survey respondents said they buy music each month, and many prefer to buy albums over singles. BitTorrent Inc. found that its users spend $48 per year on music and 31 percent spend more than $100 annually, according to TF.
When compared to Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) figures, BitTorrent users are eight times more likely to have a music streaming account. Sixteen percent of BitTorrent users own a subscription to a music streaming service, while only two percent of the general public own such an account.
The survey also questioned movie theater visits, and found 47 percent of respondents said they purchased a movie ticket in the past year, while 38 percent said they had bought a DVD or Blu-ray.
Fifty-two percent of respondents buy movies on a monthly basis, BitTorrent Inc. claims.
"The results confirm what we knew already, that our users are super fans. They are consumers of content and are eager to reward artists for their work," Christian Averill, BitTorrent Inc.'s Director of Communications, told TF.
Another study from 2012, commissioned by the Columbia University affiliated American Assembly, found that U.S. file-sharers buy 30 percent more music than their non-sharing counterparts. The RIAA itself even admitted that "file-sharers are often more engaged than the average consumer," reported TF.
Since 1998, the RIAA has spent roughly $68 million lobbying the U.S. government to enact stricter file-sharing legislation, and has filed more than 30,000 lawsuits against alleged copyright violators.
