July 12, 2016

Kantar Media’s Online Copyright Infringement Tracker, commissioned by the IPO, has shown that over half (52%) of internet users consuming content online now use streaming services, while downloading content is becoming comparatively less popular (39%).

Respondents who stream cited convenience and cost as two of the main reasons for doing so.  Spotify, the music streaming giant, has seen a 3% rise in new UK users in just 12 months.

The rise of streaming has coincided with a small but significant drop in online copyright infringement.  For the first time, those consuming content from exclusively legal sources has risen to 44%, a 3% increase since the end of 2015.

Despite this positive trend, online infringement continues to have a major impact on the creative industries, with music and film hit hardest.

Kantar estimates that over 78 million music tracks were accessed illegally online in the past three months with TV shows and films illegally accessed more than 50 million times in the same period.  One in 20 internet users are exclusively consuming illegal content.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Minister for Intellectual Property, said: “Online copyright infringement has been a running sore for the UK’s creative industries for far too long.  I am extremely pleased to see that there has been a decline in infringement and that consumers appear to be turning towards legitimate streaming en masse.

“There is, however, more to do.  This government is committed to fighting against IP theft in all its forms and supporting the hard work of our creative industries. I am pleased that we are joining forces internationally to improve our knowledge of online infringement”.  To read the IPO’s press release in full and for a link to the research, click here.