Music pirates are the biggest online buyers, too

This is big news for the music industry — turns out that the people they've been antagonizing with their lawsuits are also their best customers, at least online:

Digital music research firm The Leading Question found that [people who illegally share music files online] spent four and a half times more on paid-for music downloads than average fans.

I remember arguing this with a friend some time ago. I thought that individual file-sharers were likely to be those who were the most interested in music, and thus the most likely to sample music online, and then buy what they liked. My friend disagreed pretty vehemently — I think that was mostly because she was a big Metallica fan, and they were leaders of the anti-piracy fight.

Technorati Tags: Piracy, Music