Promiscuous File-Trader Seeks Multiple Partners, Lacks Loyalty

Been on the scene almost eight years. Dated Napster, Limewire, Kazaa, WinMX, Morpheus but left unsatisfied. Need to find music quickly and consume in vast quantities. Live, unreleased, alternate mixes highly desired. Hooked up with Limewire after a few years downtime, but she spreads herself around - according to the Digital Music News Research Group she's being used by 18.63 percent of all file traders. (Tramp!) The RIAA are suing her, so that promiscuity might be shortlived. But if is another application will take its place.

Loyalty is a fleeting thing. According to the DMNRG's data, which examined installed applications across 100,872 PCs globally, nearly 80 percent of file-sharers have more than one P2P application installed on their desktops. More than half (54.6 percent) have more than three, while more than one-third (34.6 percent) have four or more applications installed. From a broader perspective, 35.9 percent of all computer users have some type of file-sharing application installed. File trading now surpasses one billion files monthly.

At the iTunes retail price of $0.79, that's $790 million a month moving back and forth. It's not that digital downloads are failing to make up for the drop in CD sales - it's that paid downloads are failing.