Illegal downloads, we all know it goes on but no one ever admits to it. Illegal file sharers are the cause of a major decline of sales in the music industry, according to music officials and politicians. But people who illegally download music from the Internet also spend more money on their favourite tracks than anyone else, or at least that’s what findings from a recent survey show.

The survey carried out by the think-tank Demos, found that those who admitted to illegally downloading music from the web, spent an average of £77 a year on tunes – that’s £33 more than those who claimed not to have downloaded music illegally. These findings suggest that the plan to stop illegal downloads by cutting peoples Internet connections, could have an adverse effect on the music industry, by punishing it’s ‘best’ customers.

“The latest approach from the Government will not help prop up an ailing music industry. Politicians and music companies need to recognise that the nature of music consumption has changed, and consumers are demanding lower prices and easier access,” said Peter Bradwell, from the think-tank Demos, which commissioned the new poll conducted by Ipsos Mori.

However, music industry officials argue that the figures didn’t show the full picture. The poll also suggested that the governments plan to disconnect illegal downloaders Internet connections would deter up to 61% of people from downloading music illegally. Artists are split over the issue, Lily Allen and James Blunt have recently spoken out against dishonest track downloads, while Shakira believes illegal file sharing has helped bring her closer to fans. “The people who file-share are the ones who are interested in music,” said Mark Mulligan of Forrester Research. “They use file-sharing as a discovery mechanism. We have a generation of young people who don’t have any concept of music as a paid-for commodity,” he continued. “You need to have it at a price point you won’t notice.”

This year Virgin Media and Universal Music plan to launch the first music subscription service allowing customers to download and keep an unlimited amount of tracks for a set fee.

What do you think? Are illegal downloaders ruining the music Industry for the rest of us, or is it all a big fuss over nothing?