LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) - Users swapped 1.81 billion media files on Napster-alternative services like Kazaa, MusicCity and Grokster, which have seen usage rise since Napster shut down in July to legal pressures, a research firm said Monday.
Web research firm Webnoize said these services' October levels represented a 20 percent increase from the 1.51 billion files downloaded during September.
All three applications use software licensed from FastTrack, an Amsterdam-based peer-to-peer technology company, and share the same network.
"The growth of the FastTrack network continues to be astounding," said Webnoize analyst Matt Bailey. "During the last four months the number of users typically logged on has risen by 480 percent, and in November will likely surpass the 1.57 million simultaneous users that Napster, the popular song-swapping service, enjoyed at its peak."
During October, 1.3 million users were typically logged on to the combined network at any one time, compared to 1 million simultaneous users in September. Some of these alternatives also allow users to swap movies in addition to songs, which has made the film industry nervous.
On October 3, 28 music and movie companies sued MusicCity, Grokster and FastTrack, which also maintains and develops the Kazaa application. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of "massive" copyright infringement.
Webnoize predicts the suit will further boost consumer awareness of the FastTrack system. "As higher awareness translates into higher usage, the FastTrack network may ultimately become many times larger than Napster ever was," Bailey said.
A recent survey by Internet research firm Jupiter Media Metrix, however, found the downing of Napster had actually curbed song-swapping in Europe.
According to the report, Jupiter said the level of Internet file-sharing activity has dropped by 50 percent in Europe since February, the point at which Napster hit its peak. The decline in Europe coincides with an upswing in the United States during the same period, the company said.
In February, 8.1 million European Internet users were accessing a dozen separate file-sharing sites, with the overwhelming majority accessing Napster. In August, the number dropped to 4.6 million users across 19 sites.
Last month, Jupiter reported that, unlike Europe, file-sharing activity had jumped by 500 percent between March and August thanks to the popularity of Napster alternatives.
