Braintree district: Ed Sheeran is most illegally downloaded musician (From Braintree and Witham Times)

Braintree district: Ed Sheeran is most illegally downloaded musician

10:00am Tuesday 18th September 2012 in News

Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is the most illegally downloaded musician in Braintree, according to new statistics.

Sheeran, famous for his top ten singles The A Team and Lego House, has his music shared an average of 54 times a month in the area.

The data, collected by monitors Musicmetric, also showed the town has a surprising like for 1970s heavy rockers Rainbow.

The metal band, controlled by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, was found to be far more popular in Braintree than the national average.

Sheeran was also the most illegally shared artist in Witham. The town also showed a liking for the music of R and B singer Chris Brown.

In the UK as a whole, Sheeran’s debut album + is the most illegally shared, closely followed by releases from American artists Rihanna and Frank Ocean.

The survey showed Manchester to be the country’s piracy capital, with the UK coming second only to the USA in terms of illegal activity.

Speaking earlier this summer, Sheeran suggested he did not mind if fans were illegally downloading his album as long as they paid to see his shows.

He said: "You can live off your sales and you can allow people to illegally download it and come to your gigs. My gig tickets are £18 and my album is £8, so it's all relative."