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Spotify and Netflix curb music and film piracy
A new study in Norway has revealed that piracy rates are declining, thanks to the rise of legal alternatives

According to a new report published by Norwegian research body Ipsos MMI, almost 1.2 billion songs were copied without permission in Norway in 2008, but that figure had plummeted to 210 million – just 17.5 per cent of its level four years earlier.

Piracy of movies and TV shows has also reduced by around half, with 65 million film and 55 million TV shows illegally downloaded in 2012, compared to125 million and 135 million respectively in 2008.

Norway recently passed a new law aimed at reducing online piracy, but the report attributes the decline to the rise of legal alternatives, such as music streaming service Spotify and on-demand video service Netflix.

“When you have a good legitimate offer, the people will use it,” said Olav Torvund, former law professor at the University of Oslo.

The statistics suggest that the need for tough anti-piracy laws – such as the controversial Digital Economy Act in the UK – is reducing, and that a more market-led approach may be the best way to solve the problem of illegal downloading.

Of those questioned in the survey, 47 percent said they use a streaming music service such as Spotify to listen to music, and just over half said that they pay for the premium option.

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