IFPI delighted with Kazaa settlement.

The IFPI is hailing its $115m (#61m) settlement with Kazaa as a new high in its ongoing fight against online piracy.

Under an agreement announced last week, Kazaa's owner Sharman Networks will pay the sum to the four majors who brought the action, while Kazaa has agreed to become a legitimate service and give 20% of future sales to the record companies.

In financial terms, the settlement represents a far greater victory than previous wins against other file-sharing sites such as Grokster.

Some observers have suggested the action comes too late in terms of converting significant numbers of Kazaa users into legal online music customers, as the site had already lost much credibility while its traffic had diminished significantly.

Nevertheless, IFPI chairman and CEO John Kennedy describes the settlement as "a big day for the music industry".

"It's a great day for record companies, songwriters, producers and artists," he says. "Kazaa was the largest site of its kind around and claimed to have the most downloaded piece of software in the world.

"It shows that the battles that looked unwinnable when I first took this job are now winnable, and it's especially encouraging to see these companies see the logic of moving into legal online offerings"