A study conducted by the European Union shows the sharp drop in illegal downloading. All types of content are affected: movies, TV shows and music. In 2020 alone, the number of movies uploaded to illegal platforms has halved. According to the study, the main reason for this decline is the legal offer, such as Spotify, Disney + or even Netflix.
Today, we consume the content we want when we want it. This trend started over ten years ago now. Video catch-up services (catch-up tv) began the practice, followed by subscription services like Spotify and Deezer in music or Netflix in the audiovisual industry. This is a rich and accessible offer. About ten euros per service to access millions of songs or thousands of films and serial episodes. Spotify claimed in February 2021 that piracy would start to rise again if the price wasn’t so attractive.
Read also – Hackers ensure that Netflix and Disney + push Internet users to pirate sites
Each year, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) report praises the arrival of streaming services in the music market. Indeed, the latter have largely contributed to considerably reducing the piracy of music which was very popular in the 2000s (some of you will certainly remember Napster). A few years later, thanks to Netflix, Prime Video and now Disney +, the audiovisual industry is taking the same path.
Illegal downloads fell 34% in 2020 in Europe
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has published a study on the evolution of the number of illegal downloads in Europe between 2017 and 2020. The document states that pirating of cultural content (films, series and music) decreased by 34% in 2020. The decline in piracy in 2020 is the strongest over the past four years. She was for example only 6% in 2019 and 11% in 2017. In 2019, a similar study stated that one in two young Europeans no longer consumed illegal content.
The new study also notes a increase in hacking during the first months of confinement during the first epidemic wave of the coronavirus. The situation was reversed as soon as the confinement was ended. This decline is not uniform according to the types of content. Downloads from 27% TV series, those of the 41% music and those of 51% movies.
The reason for this difference is not disclosed. But the fragmentation of the offer in TV series seems to us to be the best avenue. Especially since the legal platforms compete with very good exclusive series. Witcher at Netflix. The Boys at Prime Video. The Mandalorian at Disney +. Ted Lasso at Apple TV +. Difficult to subscribe to all services.
A European Internet user connects on average 6 times a month to an illegal site
Europeans therefore continue to download illegally. On average, a European internet user connects 5.9 times per month to an illegal platform (the French being at 6.8 times per month). Today, TV series still constitute the vast majority of connections to pirating sites: 70%. They are followed by films (20%) and music (10%). Streaming is the most preferred access for hackers to access content (80%).
