Legal Music Downloads Rise Tenfold in 2004

Legal music downloads in the U.S. and Europe leaped tenfold in 2004 after demand surged for iPod digital players and thousands of pirate websites were shut down, an industry group said.

Music fans paid for more than 200 million downloads last year, compared with 20 million in 2003, according to the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Anti-piracy campaigns led to the closure of 60,900 illegal music-sharing sites, the group said.