IP Outreach Research > IP Crime
Reference
| Title: | Digital Music Survey |
| Author: | [Ipsos] |
| Source: | |
| Year: | 2009 |
Details
| Subject/Type: | Piracy |
| Focus: | Music |
| Country/Territory: | United Kingdom |
| Objective: | To examine the awareness and usage of legal and illegal online music services, and to find out how to encourage the use of legal and discourage the use of illegal online music services. |
| Sample: | 1,008 adults aged 16-50 years representative of the UK online populartion |
| Methodology: | Online interviews |
Main Findings
69% of British online adults use one or more official music services, such as YouTube, iTunes or Internet radio. Top reasons given for using official music services are “easy to use” (54%), “convenient” (51%), “ability to listen while using computer” (48%), “range of music available” (40%), “to hear new music that I would not normally hear” (35%), and “to save money” (33%).
By contrast, 33% of respondents report using unofficial music services, such as file-sharing programs, online storage services and Google or other search engines to find albums/tracks to download for free. 62% do not use any unofficial music services. 26% of users of unofficial music services say that these services make them buy more music, 47% about the same, and 19% less.
28% of users of unofficial music services report that they download music through these services without permission of the copyright holder. Overall, such illegal downloaders are likely to be male (57% males), to be aged under 35 (7 in 10), and to own a mobile music player (9 in 10). Top reasons given for downloading illegally are: “because I can/it is available” (46%), “trying out before deciding to buy” (42%), “can find things I cannot find on commercial legal sites” (32%), “do not have enough money to pay for the music that I want” (27%), “because lots of people I know do the same” (27%), and “I have already bought the things I download on CD/vinyl”. The main barriers to downloading without permission of the copyright holder are legal concerns, worries about viruses/spyware and moral objections.
Top reasons encouraging people to stop using unofficial services for accessing music without permission are: “availability of new appealing legal music services” (a reason to stop for 64% of illegal downloaders and a perceived reason to stop for 61% of legal downloaders), “threat of having Internet service suspended for one month” (61% and 70%), “threat of receiving a fine” (61% and 73%), “concerns about getting a virus/spyware” (58% and 54%), and “receiving a warning letter from your Internet service provider (ISP)” (57% and 55%).
[Date Added: Mar 10, 2010 ]