Threats of prosecution may be just the incentive the music industry needed to convince consumers to pay for digital music.
   Earlier this fall Nielsen//NetRatings reported a significant dropoff in traffic to illegal file sharing sites such as Kazaa and Morpheus after lawsuits were filed against uploaders. 
   Now a new report shows that despite continued concerns about internet music piracy, internet users seem to be growing more comfortable with paying for digital music. That’s according to the latest report from TEMPO, the quarterly digital music study from marketing firm Ipsos-Insight.
  The survey, which polled more than 1,000 online users over the age of 12, indicates the number of internet downloaders paying for music doubled in six months, from 8 percent in December 2002 to 13 percent in April 2003 and 16 percent in June.
   The growth coincides with announcements made over the summer by the Recording Industry Association of America that it would begin prosecuting anyone caught illegally sharing music files.
   Among those downloading music, teens 12-17 were least likely to pay. However, young adults 18-24 were most likely to pay for music (22 percent), with 19 percent of downloaders aged 25-54 also paying for digital music files.
  Ipsos-Insight also found that an increase in fee-based digital music files is accelerating the popularity of portable digital music players. The survey finds that 19 percent of downloaders own a portable digital audio player or MP3 player, up from 12 percent in December of last year.
   In other online news, the approaching holiday season is translating into users spending more time online, to the benefit of shopping sites. According to Nielsen//NetRatings, average weekly usage time inched up week to week from 8 hours and 5 minutes to 8 hours and 11 minutes.
   Dell reaped the greatest benefit from the additional time, jumping from its No. 5 spot among the top 25 advertisers to No. 1 with 786.7 million impressions (up from 463.7 million last week). 
   Other retailers with increased impressions include Amazon, up two spots to No. 10 with 290.4 million impressions, and JC Penney at No. 21 with 218.2 million impressions. JC Penney was not included in the top 25 advertisers last week.