That's hardly ironic at all, it's merely counter-intuitive if you accept the notion that sharing == piracy (see my other post). If you reject that notion then the idea that greater enthusiasm for media by way of sharing should be correlated with greater media expenditures follows quite logically and directly.

I know a few people who exclusively buy their media, but only for convenience. However these never got big into the PC gaming so never got hit with the bullshit of copy protection chewing up so many cycles that you can't run at full graphics despite being able to handle it. So you download a hack, allegedly violating the DMCA, and can play your game how you're supposed to be able to.

What happens next time you want to play a game? You download it because they made that the less hassle way.

Same here. I spend a huge amount on movies, tv shows (box sets), and itunes music store. But I also don't mind a single bit hopping on Pirate Bay to download something. If it's good, it always ends in me spending money on something.

Still, I consume more media than I buy. Like 70% of the public, I'm perfectly ok with that.