IRMA takes action against music 'file-sharers'

The Irish Recorded Music Association has announced plans to take legal action against 17 Irish people who illegally make copyrighted music available over the internet.

IRMA said the Irish music industry was losing €3.8m annually because of illegal downloading and had seen its revenue fall from €146m annually to €118m over the past three years.

It also said legal action against music fans worldwide had led to a 21% decline in downloading.

IRMA said the 17 "file-sharers" it was targeting had made hundreds if not thousands of tracks available over the internet and were “effectively stealing the livelihood of the creators of music”.