The recording industry, for the first time in Latin America, has sued individuals for illegal downloading of music. Argentina’s Chamber of Record producers (Capif), which represents the industry in that country, filed 20 civil suits against peer-to-peer users of different networks. The suits were filed as part of the IFPI’s worldwide effort, with suits filed simultaneously in 15 countries on Nov. 15.
Argentina, which will launch online music stores before year’s end, filed the suits as part of its overall, aggressive domestic campaign against online piracy. (Billboard, Nov. 19).
According to an Argentine market study done by consultant firm Cuore Consumer Research, the median peer-to-peer user in Argentina is upper middle class and younger than 24 years old. According to the study, Argentines will download 412 million tracks in 2005, double the number downloaded in 2004.
