MOSCOW, July 20 (RAPSI) – On the whole, the attitude of ordinary Russian users to legal content had begun to improve, although at a slow pace; nevertheless, the main thing was this change existed, IT expert Svetlana Liyenko, executive director of REG.RU, told RAPSI on Wednesday.

Earlier, representatives of Universal Music Group (UMG), Warner Music Group (WMG), and Sony Music Entertainment participating in a round-table conference at VK Fest festival have informed that VKonatakte, a Russian social networking platform, announced paid music services to be introduced before the year is out, whereas the “audio records section will be totally reinvented.” The social networking website is planning to test various monetization models, including a music streaming application.

According to Liyenko, “a growing number of people have been realizing that beyond a computer game, music track, or e-book is a fellow human being, for whom [these things] are more often than not a main job or income source.” She believes crowdfunding projects have been in part the vehicle bringing content creators and public closer to each other. Commercialization of VKontakte music services is a “logical and natural” process; it should have happened sooner or later, the expert says. “The more handy and affordable the new paid functionality is, the more receptive the public will be,” – Liyenko concludes.