The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, IFPI, released recently its Music Consumer Insight Report 2018. Their in-depth analysis examines the ways in which music consumers aged 16-64 engage with recorded music across 20 of the world’s largest music markets. But, the report reveals in particular that more than one-third (38%) of consumers obtain music through infringing methods, by torrent or ‘stream-ripping’ (Free MP3 converters), the dominant method with 32% of consumers.
What is IFPI ?
IFPI is the organisation that promotes the interests of the international recording industry worldwide. Its membership comprises some 1,300 major and independent companies in 59 countries. It also has affiliated industry national groups in 57 countries. IFPI’s mission is to promote the value of recorded music, campaign for the rights of record producers and expand the commercial uses of recorded music in all markets where its members operate.
Pirated music is still progressing (torrent, stream-ripping...)
IFPI reports: “Stream-ripping users are more likely to say that they rip music so they have music to listen to offline. This means they can avoid paying for a premium streaming subscription”. And now, this the most-used form of obtaining music online illegally, with 32% of all consumers downloading music this way. Stream-ripping websites, like the well-know YouTube-MP3, or also Flvto.biz and Convert2MP3, enable pirates to download audio files from video platforms, generally YouTube. IFPI notes also in their report:
Finally, about the Torrent, numbers are in decline these last years. The study reveals that almost a quarter of global consumers (23%) obtain unlicensed music through either cyberlocker sites or P2P systems such as BitTorrent or μTorrent. You can find more infos on IFPI’s report and TorrentFreak’s article.