Executive summary Online copyright infringement tracker survey (12th Wave)

Question 1

Executive summary

Accepted Answer

Wave 12 saw some notable changes compared to the previous two waves, which were conducted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore saw consumer behaviour adapt. Wave 12 results returned to be broadly in line with pre-pandemic waves, with a few new themes emerging.

Overall summary

after increases in engagement across content categories in Wave 11 (2021), Wave 12 engagement remains stable
For music, film and TV, streaming remained the most common method of access, compared to downloading, by some way. For other categories, levels were similar across both behaviours
the heightened level of passion for content categories sustained post pandemic, with these playing a key role in people’s lives^{[footnote 1]}
the main drivers for online consumption continued to be choice/variety of content on offer, being able to access it immediately, and cost
financial concerns and the increased variety of services were, however, a concern for many. While few reported having taken any action as a result of their financial concerns and/or the increased variety in services, this has the potential to impact their future consumption behaviours
the overall level of infringement across all content categories (excluding digital visual images) increased from 25% to 32% (i.e. the proportion of the total sample who had accessed any content illegally). But it is important to note that this overall figure should be interpreted with caution. It is subject to fluctuation as new methods of access are included each year, plus some categories experience changes while others do not

Infringement levels

in most categories the proportion of the sample who had infringed increased to some extent compared to Wave 11, although it tended to remain equal to or lower than previous peaks. Films and TV episodes/programmes were exceptions to this as each had their highest level of infringement. With 23% infringement, films was 4% above its previous high in Wave 11 (2021) while infringement for TV programmes/episodes was 1% above its previous high in Wave 8 (2019)
the increase in most categories was driven by a greater proportion of individuals using a mix of legal and illegal methods, rather than the purely (i.e. only) illegal group. For most categories the purely illegal group has remained stable and low
live sports, software and e-books do however have a (relatively) higher proportion of only illegal users
for most categories, men were more likely to infringe than women
across all categories, levels of infringement are lower among those aged 45+
across all categories, respondents who used a VPN specifically for entertainment content were more likely to have infringed compared to those who used a VPN for activity other than entertainment and those who did not use a VPN at all
across all categories, those with the highest passion were most likely to infringe

The earlier note of caution around fluctuations in infringement figures due to new methods of access being included each wave should also be kept in mind when interpreting category results. This is particularly the case for categories where go-to methods are less dominant and public awareness about what is legal vs. illegal is lower.

Overall infringement level among the total sample: 32%

Infringement levels above average:

digital magazines – 41%
software – 38%
live sports – 36%

Average infringement levels:

music -25%
film - 24%
E-books - 24%
audiobooks – 22%

Infringement levels below average:

TV – 19%
video games - 17%

Qualitative summary

In the qualitative stage of research, by way of an Online Community, participants were asked about their consumption of online entertainment categories in more detail. The Online Community is a week-long internet-based series of guided activities in which participants interact with each other as well as moderators. The Online Community consisted of for this wave of research took place in May 2022 when restrictions around Covid-19 had been loosened but the financial impact of political events and the cost of living crisis were starting to be felt. Participants reported that the combination of 2 years of lockdowns followed by financial uncertainty meant that they still relied on entertainment to boost their mood or help them relax.

With this backdrop of events, some participants emphasised how money would likely be a concern for them going forward, as energy and general prices started to increase and a few reported having already made cuts across various products and services. Though entertainment remained important to participants, some mentioned that they may have to start spending less by cancelling some subscriptions (though many said they would keep paying for content in some form) or finding more content for free. Though few had actioned this yet, some saw it as a potential necessity further down the line.

Overall, participants reported varying patterns or shifts in their consumption. Some reported increases whilst others reported decreases, often due to spending more time outdoors as Covid-19 restrictions loosened and having less free time to be able to consume content than during the years of lockdown. Some felt their consumption had remained stable.

When asked what sort of messaging could potentially persuade participants to change their behaviour, the topic of job losses within the creative industry proved one of the most impactful. Messages about malware held potential for some consumers and, overall, the tone of campaigns was seen as important. Given rising costs at present, participants felt a cooperative tone rather than a threatening one was called for in campaigns.

Question 2

OCI 2022– Overview and comparison of trends

Accepted Answer

This section provides an overview and comparison of key trends across each content category. It is based on the 2022 wave and includes yearly comparisons, where relevant. It covers engagement with online content, before looking in detail at levels of infringement, key characteristics of infringers and which legal sources they would be likely to migrate to.

Downloading

In this wave the number of respondents who had downloaded content in the previous three months increased or remained steady in most categories compared to the previous wave.

for film and TV, this wave saw the proportion downloading surpass the previous (Wave 9) peak
music remained the most downloaded content category, but with film now only slightly behind

Have you downloaded any of the following through the internet in the past 3 months? By downloaded we mean transferring/saving a copy of a file onto your device (e.g. computer, laptop, smartphone etc.)

A line graph illustrating the proportions downloading content by category from 2015-2022.

Base for Wave 12: n=5,749 (total sample). Break in the series between Wave 8 and Wave 9 represents change in methodology.

Streaming/accessing

In this wave the proportions streaming content in each category either remained stable (within 1% of previous wave) or saw a slight increase compared to Wave 11. As such, all categories remained at the highest point we have seen in the study so far.

music, film and TV remained the most streamed content categories by some way, with similar proportions accessing each (40%+)
each of the remaining categories were streamed/accessed by between 6-18%

A line graph illustrating the proportions streaming content by category from 2015-2022.

Base for Wave 12: n=5,749 (total sample). Break in the series between Wave 8 and Wave 9 represents change in methodology.

Reasons for accessing content online

For each category, respondents were asked what their top three reasons were for choosing to access content online. There were some recurring themes across many of the categories:

immediate access to content: Being able to access “instantly whenever I want” was the top selected option for most categories
choice and variety: Having a “wide range” of content to choose from featured in the top three for almost all categories
cost-effective way to access content: “It’s free or cheap” was in the top three for most categories, with “value for money” also featuring for some

What are the main reasons that you choose to access online (i.e. downloading or streaming)? Please select your top 3 (% of consumers in each category)

Music

Being able to listen to music instantly whenever I want	53%
Having a wide range of music to listen to	47%
It’s free or cheap	39%

Film

Being able to watch films instantly whenever I want	49%
Having a wide range of films/movies to watch	48%
Having film/TV nights at home with friends/family	30%

TV programmes/series

Being able to watch TV programmes/episodes instantly whenever I want	52%
Having a wide range of TV programmes/episodes to watch	52%
It’s free or cheap	30%

Live sport

Being able to watch live sports instantly whenever I want	43%
Having a wide range of live sports events to watch	34%
Exclusive access to live sports events (not available anywhere else)	30%

Video games

Being able to play video games instantly whenever I want	44%
Having a wide range of video games to play	43%
It’s free or cheap	34%

Software

It’s free or cheap	37%
Getting value for money	36%
Security/protection from malware	31%

E-Books

The convenience of storing books digitally (e.g. not needing physical storage space in the home)	48%
Being able to access e-books instantly whenever I want	47%
Having a wide range of e-books to choose from	46%

Digital magazines

It’s free or cheap	42%
Being able to access publications instantly whenever I want	37%
The convenience of storing magazines digitally (e.g. not needing physical storage space in the home)	33%

Audiobooks

Being able to access audiobooks instantly whenever I want	46%
Having a wide range of audiobooks to choose from	42%
The convenience of storing audiobooks digitally (e.g. not needing physical storage space in the home)	38%

Base: those who downloaded, streamed or accessed content in each category (music = 3,196, film = 2,935, TV programmes/series = 2,825, live sport = 1,162, video games = 1,355, software = 1,148, e-books = 1,170, digital magazines = 532, audiobooks = 560)

Question 3

Infringement trends

Accepted Answer

As highlighted in the methodology section, in 2019 there were changes made as to how the infringement figures are determined, which should be kept in mind when making comparisons between waves before 2019 (i.e Waves 8 and under) and 2019 or later (i.e. Waves 9 and above).

The main change was that a less direct approach was taken to finding out whether illegal sources are used, in order to encourage more honesty. More specifically, rather than asking this outright, respondents were shown a list of options and the classification of legal vs. illegal was done based on the options chosen.

Although the list was exhaustive, to reduce instances of the wrong source being selected and, thus, results being biased, for each category an option was included for those who may have been less familiar with the terminology. However, this option (“Download/access for free from the internet, without really being sure where it comes from”) was not included within the overall calculations for legal or illegal. We also excluded from the base those who only consumed content via this source.

Overall infringement

Infringement figures are based on the number of people who had used at least one illegal source in the previous 3 months.

The overall level of respondents who had infringed across any category (excluding digital visual images ^{[footnote 2]}), increased from 25% in Wave 11 to 32% in Wave 12. It is however important to note why changes to this overall figure should be interpreted with caution. Fluctuation may arise due to new illegal source options being included for certain categories, or increases in some categories more so than others.

In most categories the proportion of the sample who had infringed increased to some extent compared to Wave 11, although remained lower than previous peaks.

after a decline in waves 10 and 11, perhaps due to the impact of the pandemic, music returned to the proportion seen in earlier waves (25%)
film and TV saw similar decreases in waves 10 and 11, and this year returned to slightly higher levels but remained lower than previous peaks
video games saw an increase after declining since 2019, but (at 17%) remained below prior waves
live Sports saw an increase from 2021, but remained in-line with prior waves (36%)
software saw a notable increase from prior waves, rising to 38% (10%+ on its previous peak)
changes in the e-publishing categories were mixed – infringement in relation to Audiobooks remained stable (22%), while both E-books and Digital Magazines saw an increase of 10% or more
it is important to note that there was an addition this wave to the infringement sources in question (“Streaming audiobooks for free from sites such as YouTube”)

Those who have used an illegal source at least once in the last 3 months (% of consumers in each category)

Base for 2022: those who have used an illegal source at least once in that category during the past 3 months with ‘’Download/access for free from the internet, without really being sure where it comes from” not counting as either legal or illegal and those who only selected this option not included in the base (music = 789, film = 694, TV programmes/series = 535, live sport = 338, video games = 205, software = 271, e-books = 225, digital magazines = 165, audiobooks =155)

Types of infringement

In comparison to the overall infringement levels, a more nuanced view can be gained by looking at the combination of legal and illegal sources used. This year, while there were increases in overall infringement levels, for most categories the proportion using only illegal sources remained stable.

while music, film and TV all saw increases in overall infringement in Wave 12, the proportion using only illegal sources remained low and stable, following the trend since 2019
video games also maintained a low level of those who only use illegal sources
while Live Sports continued to have one of the highest proportions of those using only illegal sources, the proportion was relatively in-line with Wave 11 and remained lower than those using a mix of legal and illegal. E-books followed a similar trend
software and Digital Magazines saw a notable increase in the proportion using only illegal sources. This group was larger than the proportion using a mix of legal and illegal sources
audiobooks remained in-line with Wave 11

Types of sources used at least once in the past 3 months (% of consumers in each category)

A bar graph illustrating infringement levels by % of users who infringe and % of the whole sample by category. Dgital magazines had the highest levels of infringement at 41%, whilst TV had the lower levels of infringement at 19%.

Base for 2022: those who have consumed content (i.e. downloaded or streamed/accessed) at least once in that category during the past 3 months. ‘’Download/access for free from the internet, without really being sure where it comes from” does not count as either legal or illegal and those who only selected this option not included in the base (music = 3,103, film = 2,872, TV programmes/series = 2,749, live sport = 949, video games = 1,242, software = 999, e-books = 1,070, digital magazines = 408, audiobooks = 500)

The difference between downloading and streaming

For music, film and TV, we are also able to look at infringement levels for downloading and streaming separately. Across all three categories there were higher levels of infringement for downloading when compared to streaming:

music continued to have considerably lower levels of infringement for streaming with 2% using a mixture of legal and illegal sources and 0% using only illegal sources. The proportion using illegal sources to download increased to 45% from 33% in Wave 11, and continued to be considerably higher than for film and TV
film remained relatively unchanged compared to the previous wave in terms of those who use illegal sources to download and stream (up to 4% changes). Compared to music it also had a higher proportion using illegal sources to download (26%) than to stream (18%) although this difference wasn’t as pronounced
TV remained behind film for both downloading and streaming infringement (22% and 14% respectively). Downloading using illegal sources did however see a notable increase from 16% in Wave 11 to 22% in Wave 12