According to a new report, it appears that music piracy has consistently fallen since 2009, thanks to the popularity of Spotify, at least in Sweden. Overall piracy has fallen 25 percent in two years, says the Swedish Music industry. Spotify, which is free with some restrictions, has millions of tracks from all the major labels and independents. Premium versions give mobile access and unlimited streaming to users.
The recent Swedish study showed streaming as the preferred way to listen to music, with 40 percent of responders saying they now use a streaming service compared to just 10 percent who download music legally. 23 percent still regularly pirate, but that number has been dropping. Despite the encouraging numbers for the music industry, a significant portion of streamers (30 percent) said they would go back to piracy or free services like YouTube if Spotify, MOG, etc began charging.
