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UK Will See 30% Increase in Piracy

One of the leading British law firms has published a report saying that around 30% of the file-sharers in the country admit that they are going to pirate more films, music, games, and e-books within the next year. Meanwhile, the same report says that 34%-36% of people who pay for their music and video will continue to purchase more.

Wiggin, one of the largest UK’s law firms, has published its 2012 Digital Entertainment Survey, which polled 2.500 citizens of the country and revealed quite interesting statistics. Its first part covered consumers’ entertainment activities, such as watching TV, listening to music or reading e-books. The results of the study showed that it wasn’t until the 34th position out of 40 when an illegal activity appears.

Moreover, 6% of respondents explained that they download films or TV shows from linking and hosting sites, and 5% admitted they download video content from regular file-sharing websites. As for the illegal music downloads, only 5% of people confirmed they did it, and 4% admitted to have downloaded e-books.

According to the study, file-sharing is mostly popular with male youth. 14% of 15-to-19-year-old men said they have downloaded films and TV-shows via file-sharing services, compared to 2% of women.

As the audience mature, the percentage drops, and it is only 1% for both men and women of 45 or older. The researchers point out that people who are already downloading from illegal sources aren’t likely to stop from their activities. Of people admitting about their file-sharing habits, 29% confirmed they would keep downloading more e-books, while 28% promised to download more games and software. The same number of respondents admitted they will continue downloading music content.

On the other hand, there’s a positive trend on the legal side of the issue. For example, of those already streaming ad-supported music, 27% promised do more within the next 12 months. In addition, 36% music enthusiasts already paying for a streaming subscription confirmed they would keep consuming more music in the future.

Finally, the survey also asked out the issue of regulating online content, and around 40% of respondents disagreed with the notion that the web should be regulated the same way as TV. However, a total of 58% said that it should.