Piracy: The Rise of ‘Stream Ripping’
For those amongst you that thought Streaming. (with all it’s free-tier ‘value for money’ goodness) Would bring an end to piracy. I’m afraid you’re going to have to think again. New research released from the Intellectual Property Office and PRS for Music sheds light on just how many people are abusing: new websites, apps and piracy software to take streamed content services. It is claimed by record labels that this method, known as ‘stream-ripping’, is allowing the copying and distribution of millions of tracks every month.
New Research On Piracy.
The statistics are huge, with one service attracting more than 60 million monthly users. 15% of adults in the UK are thought to make regular use of these illegal services. With a clear demographic of 16-24 year olds making up the bulk of those. Between 2014 and 2016, use of stream-ripping services rose by an incredible amount. Those older methods of piracy, done using file sharing websites. As well as software where the content was hosted on one computer or server and illegally shared with the world. Are becoming less and less used, perhaps due to the bigger risks and policing involved with them.
Included in the BBC article are a list of people surveyed about stream-ripping. The similar excuses trying to justify downloading. 31% didn’t want to purchase the music again, 26% wanted to listen to it offline, 25% wanted the same but on the move, 21% said they couldn’t afford the music and 20% felt music is overpriced. Without the means to justify their actions and the ability to steal the content to begin with, people should go back to either streaming the content or purchasing it themselves. In theory, of course.

He discovered the gem when he was 12 years old and still has it now, claiming it to be why he fell in love with music. He likes to play disc golf when he's not writing about music. He is a one-of-a-kind individual who is always the first to bust out his air guitar on the dance-floor.
George graduated with first-class honours in music journalism in 2012 and promptly found work in the music industry. Also, he has written about some of the world's most famous musical stories throughout his time at GSGM, which he joined in 2016.
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