Most Britons think music is too pricey

Three-quarters of the the UK public think music is too expensive, but 63% would buy music online if it was cheaper, says a survey published today.

The survey of 3,000 people across the UK was commissioned by the music price comparison site CompareDownload. It asked members of the public to detail their music spending and consumption habits and provides an insight into the nation's record collections.

So what does it show? First of all, it reveals that we can blame the men this time. With figures of 42% versus 29%, significantly more men than women are illegally downloading; one in four men admits that more than 50% of their music collection is made up of illegal downloads.

But there is hope: the main reason for choosing pirated downloads over legal purchases is the high cost of music. By the way, region-by-region Wales leads the piracy list: nearly half of the Welsh people surveyed admitted to getting their music illegally in contrast to 18% of thiose in East Anglia, who are mostly law-abiding – or perhaps they make more money.

The survey results come as the debate about illegal downloading between musicians, the government and fans has heated up in the UK. The business secretary, Lord Peter Mandelson, has called for persistent filesharers' internet connections to be temporarily cut off as a "last resort".

But perhaps cheaper music could save filesharing as well, because there is still a huge amount of money spent on music. The research reveals that in the UK, the average person spends £10,000 on music in their lifetime – taking in CDs, downloads, vinyl, music technology, gigs and festival tickets. The typical lifetime spend of a man comes in at £12,480, while the typical British female will spend £9,120. This doesn't mean they own significantly less music, but the survey showed that 79% of the women are more likely to shop around for the best price. The average number of music albums owned by each man in the UK is 292, and 221 by each woman.

Other figures: thrown up by the survey: CDs still making up most of the average music collection (63%) and downloads come second (27%); the average Brit admits they have never listened to 5% of their music; on average we only listen to each album that we buy 15 times; surprisingly, a quarter of the nation admits that their musical taste is largely inherited from their parents; the average female Briton knows the lyrics to 86 songs by heart, with men claiming to recall the lyrics to 67 songs in total.

So considering that we only listen to an album about 15 times, what do you think: is music really too pricey?