Illegal music downloading is on the decline in the UK, according to a new Ofcom study.
The findings suggest the number of tracks illegally downloaded online dropped from 301 million in the March of 2012 to 199 million in March this year.
Figures also pointed to a relatively small number of active users (2%) being responsible for the majority of pirated music (three-quarters), while one in six UK internet users quizzed as part of Kantar Media’s research admitted to illegally streaming or downloading music at some point during the past 12 months.
Meanwhile, earlier this year a report published by the European Commission Joint Research Centre suggested illegal downloading can in fact be slightly beneficial for the music industry.
After studying the online habits of 16,000 European residents over the course of a year, it found there to be a trend for a 0.2% increase in visits to legitimate digital music stores for every 10% increase in clicks on illegal music downloading websites.
