INTERNET PIRATES PAY UP

MUSIC fans who illegally copied tracks off the internet have paid up to avoid going to court.

The British Phonographic Industry had lodged legal actions against 28 people who had downloaded songs.

But 23 of them have agreed to pay an average of £2000 in compensation.

Two illegal file sharers paid more than £4000 each.

The BPI are now planning a fresh wave of lawsuits.

BPI general counsel Geoff Taylor said: 'We have no desire to drag people through the courts, so we have attempted to reach fair settlements where we can.

'We hope people will now begin to get the message that the best way to avoid the risk of legal action is to buy music online safely and legally.

'We are determined to find people who illegally distribute music, whichever peer-to-peer network they use, and to make them compensate the artists and labels they are stealing from