Global sales of pirated music generated $4.5 bln in 2003

Street-corner peddlers of pirated compact discs sold more than 1 bln illegally copied CDs last year, turning a shady black-market trade into an estimated $4.5 bln industry, IFPI said Thursday. More than one out of every three music compact discs bought by consumers in 2003 was pirated, according to global trade body the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). And at $4.5 bln, the pirated music market represents nearly 15% of the worth of the global record music market, the IFPI estimated. In unit terms, piracy grew four% year-on-year in 2003 compared with a 14% jump a year earlier.