The downing of the popular file-swapping service, Napster, has had little impact on the Australian market thanks, in part, to the emergence of some solid competition.
According to reports by Jupiter Media Metrix, the number of unique users accessing song-swapping applications in Australia has increased slightly in the months following Napster's demise.
Napster was shut down in July after a legal crackdown by music industry trade group the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Industry experts predicted its groumding would lead to the demise of song-swapping applications overall.
However, figures released by Jupiter Media Metrix indicate that such a demise has not occurred, and that the momentum of this song-swapping craze has been maintained.
Results show a combined total of 869,000 unique users accessed song-swapping applications in Australia in July 2001, while 872,000 unique users accessed these applications in September, 2001.
News source: Reuters
