The UK’s Independent newspaper picks up on a curious study today: people who download music illegally also buy more music legally, according to a poll’s results. The study comes as the UK plans a controversial “three strikes and you’re out” rule that would disconnect copyright infringers from the Internet – it’s set to become law in April 2010.

The Independent writes:

The survey, published today, found that those who admit illegally downloading music spent an average of £77 a year on music – £33 more than those who claim that they never download music dishonestly…The poll, which surveyed 1,000 16- to 50-year-olds with internet access, found that one in 10 people admit to downloading music illegally.

We see a few caveats here, the main one being that Internet users were simply asked whether they download content illegally or not: given that this would be admitting to a crime, that metric could be under-reported. Frankly, this self-reporting of illegal activity seems like a dubious measurement. The data doesn’t necessarily undermine the plans, either: 61% of illegal downloaders said they’d be dissuaded from downloading illegally if doing so resulted in being disconnected for one month.

The debate is a legitimate one: some UK ISPs are concerned about essentially becoming Internet watchdogs, and point out that enforcement would take significant effort on their part. Others point to over-regulation of Internet access. There’s a case to be made, too, that consumers seem willing to pay if the price is low enough and the process effortless (eg. iTunes).

via POLL: Illegal Downloaders Buy the Most Music.