Earlier this month we heard that Napster use was affecting sales of CDs on and near America’s University campuses. But now a new study from the Norman Lear Center shows that claim may be unfounded. A month after the University of Southern California banned MP3 downloads from Napster, and it found itself named in a lawsuit filed against Napster by the band Metallica, the Norman Lear Center at the same university has released a survey of the student body. It reveals lack of hard evidence to support the claims that use of MP3 technologies is harmful to either the recording industry or artists. ‘In recent months there has been much concern about piracy of recorded music on university campuses across the nation, but there has been little research on how students actually consume MP3s,’ said Mark Latonero, principal researcher of the study. ‘In fact, the findings of this study on MP3 users contradict many media reports and music industry fears.‘Key findings in the report demonstrate that MP3 is indeed a major new phenomenon in the university population. 69% of all students surveyed say they download MP3s - of these, 68% use Napster. Seventy percent of MP3 users say they learned about MP3 technology through close social networks of family and/or friends. Unsurprisingly, there is a strong correlation between MP3 usage and access to faster Internet connections.Despite the claims of an earlier survey, MP3 usage among students has not significantly reduced their CD consumption patterns. Most students (63%) who download MP3s say they are still buying the same number of CDs, and 10% of MP3 users say they are buying more CDs. What’s more, 39% of students who download MP3s say that after listening to recorded music in MP3 format, they often buy CDs containing that music. Students also rated CDs higher than MP3s with respect to sound quality.One interesting statistic is that the amount of people uploading files to the net is still limited. 68% of students say they have never converted CD music to MP3 format and 70% have never uploaded MP3s to the Internet. Another is that 69% percent of students surveyed thought that copyright holders should be paid for downloaded MP3s. Does this mean there could be (gulp) a market in micro-payments for lower-than-CD-quality MP3 tracks downloaded over the net? The Center’s full report, which provides data on the attitudes, characteristics, and practices of this MP3 user community can be found at their Web site: www.entertainment.usc.edu