Use of several Internet file-sharing services declined the week after the music industry threatened to sue online music swappers, an Internet tracking firm said Monday.
Kazaa and Morpheus -- two popular file-swapping services -- had 15 percent fewer users during the week ending July 6, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. The firm tracks weekly use by people who sign on to the services from home.
The decline translates to about 1 million fewer users on Kazaa. About 41,000 fewer users signed on to Morpheus and the iMesh (search) file-sharing service that week.
"With the negative publicity and threat of steep fines, some surfers appear to be backing off," said Greg Bloom, a senior Internet analyst with the firm. "However, with millions of loyal users, these applications aren"t likely to go off-line in the near future."
Sharman Networks, which owns Kazaa, said fluctuations in user numbers is common.