A major player in the music trade has commented on the current state of online music sales, stating that laws should be brought in to increase liquidity in the market.

Chairman and chief executive officer of the Association of Independent Music (AIM) Alison Wenham said people should be able to access mp3s with more ease under new rules.

She said that this was possible through "legislation or industry agreement that allows for technology to continue to give the consumer a seamless experience but makes sure the business models in the background can reward the creators and producers".

Ms Wenham added that such an outcome may be likely with the government's new direction in prioritising creative industries as a strategy to stem the fallout from a slowly contracting manufacturing industry.

Last year, the Digital Entertainment Survey from Entertainment Media Research found that seven out of ten people accessing illegal downloading of music would stop engaging in such an activity if they received a cease and desist letter from their internet service provider.

More than half of small businesses (53 per cent) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support. London-based Connect conducted the research in 2007.