Kids in the U.S. continue to download Music Illegally.

The music and video sharing habits of teens and college students have been highlighted by the music industry’s continued legal efforts to root out illegal music file sharing; however, a new report by the NPD Group suggests that while a majority of kids surveyed are using legal means to download music, the issue of music piracy remains. According to “Kids & Digital Content,” 70 percent of kids in the “tween” age bracket (ages 9 through 14) are downloading digital music in an average month. While most are using pay-to-download stores on the Web to acquire music, NPD noted high levels of illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, as well.

Used by nearly half of tweens who download music, iTunes is the most popular digital music store (49 percent); however, the second most popular source for digital music among this age group is the Limewire file-sharing service, which was used by 26 percent of digital tweens to illegally share music for free. MySpace was the third most popular site for music sharing, and it was used by 16 percent of tweens.

“It’s encouraging that so many young consumers are acquiring digital music the legal way — by paying for it,” according to Russ Crupnick, vice president and entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group. “On the other hand, it’s surprising how unsupervised they are. The music industry hoped that litigation and education might encourage parents to keep better tabs on their kids’ digital music activities, but the truth is many kids continue to share music via P2P.”

Two thirds of tweens who use the Internet reported that they are allowed to access the Web themselves, without adult supervision. When asked who helps them download music from the Web, 59 percent reported doing it all by themselves. NPD also reported that 76 percent of tweens who got free digital content were required to register an email address to download content. Nearly half (47 percent) reported they first had to download standalone software from the Web, in order to download content from online music stores and P2P file sharing services.

“The recording industry has focused on high-profile litigation programs as a deterrent, and education initiatives to communicate alternatives to illegal music file sharing,” said Crupnick. “Findings in this report suggest that the industry can still do more to promote specific ways children can obtain digital music legally, through pre-paid accounts and gift cards. Another potential way to reach kids is through industry-sanctioned ad-supported Web destinations where kids can obtain digital music safely and legally.“

Fo more information at http://www.npd.com