[LINK] Weekend Magazine - P2P is Big business.

[Tom Koltai]

We have all heard the following mantra.....

Don't download movies using P2P.
Om Padme Hum.....
Downloading is a crime
Om Padme Hum.....
Stealing movies is a crime
Om Padme Hum.......
Stealing Music is a crime
Om........

But is it? Or do P2P activities in Australia represent 5% of the
country's GDP.

<snip>

in Australia P2P is worth more than the entire combined revenue base of
the member companies of the various industry bodies trying to stop
P2P.(i.e.: EMI, Warner, MGM, Sony) 

Now multiply those figures by the population of the rest of the world
and you have an industry globally that adds up to 
$10,355,319,277,091.
	
Putting it simply, worldwide, P2P is worth three times the value of the
Global Financial Crisis - but in a good way. That means That technology
that started because of the ubiquity of content has now outstripped the
value of that content, and replaced it with something far more valuable.

The sound of Government cash registers ringing.

Basically, taxable revenue - yes I did say TAXABLE, dollars that your
government obtains revenue from - unlike Movies and Music and overseas
made TV shows. 

Entire article (inc speeadsheet) is here
-->http://www.perceptric.com/blog/_archives/2009/5/29/4203779.html