Pirate CD sales top one billion worldwide

Pirate CD sales top one billion worldwide

LONDON: Worldwide sales of pirate compact discs have more than doubled over the past three years to top one billion units in 2002 for the first time, according to a report by the record industry published on Thursday.

Pirate CD sales, which rose by 14 percent last year, now generate an illegal international business worth more than US$4.5 billion, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said.

One in three of all CDs sold worldwide is now a fake, while the total value of the pirate music market, including cassettes, has reached $4.6 billion, up 7 percent on the previous year.

"Much of the proceeds from music piracy are funding organized crime syndicates, and the legitimate music industry in several of the worst-hit countries is threatened with collapse," the report warned. -- AFP