Report: Music piracy has cost $12.5 billion

August 22, 2007 A new study released Tuesday by the Texas-based Institute for Policy Innovation estimates that global piracy of recorded music has cost the United States $12.5 billion in economic output and 71,060 jobs annually. In addition, the report estimates that the U.S. government loses at least $422 million in tax revenues due to sound recording piracy, including $291 million in personal income tax and $131 million in lost corporate income and production taxes. "Policy makers must realize the threat of global piracy and recognize that intellectual property products, such as sound recordings, are the most important growth drivers in the U.S. economy, responsible for nearly 40% of economic growth and nearly 60% of growth in U.S. exports," according to a statement by the IPI.

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