Ofcom’s latest report tracking online copyright infringement shows that during the third quarter of 2012 music was pirated in illegal file-sharing in far higher volumes than TV, film, video games, software and e-books combined.
The watchdog’s ‘Wave 2’ report is the second of its type, performing a study into illegal file-sharing in the UK, surveying consumers across music, film, games, TV, e-books and software.
It is estimated that 297 million infringing music track downloads occurred over the period, with 10 per cent of all internet users having consumed at least some music illegally.
Apart from music, other volumes of illegal content consumed over the period were 56 million for TV, 44 million for films, 35 million for video games, 27 million for computer software and 8 million for e-books.
According to the report, 16 per cent of internet users aged 12 years-old and above in the UK have consumed at least one item of content illegally from August to October 2012, with 5 per cent of the demographic having consumed illegal content exclusively.
Half of those who used copyright-infringing content cited the fact that it was free as their reason, while almost half did it for convenience and 43 per cent for speed. Only just over a quarter said they use pirated content to try before buying. However, 18 per cent of infringers said that receiving a letter from their ISP threatening to suspend their access would deter them.
The report also said that since its ‘Wave 1’ report, confusion surrounding the legality of online activity has dropped. This means that 41 per cent of internet users aged 12 and above claimed to be not particularly confident or not at all confident in determining what is and isn’t legal online compared to 44 per cent in Wave 1.