Music piracy statistics show a mixed picture: 29% of surveyed online music consumers across 26 leading markets reported using copyright-infringing or unlicensed methods in 2023, while traffic and access measures capture a different part of the market. The figures below distinguish self-reported behavior from website visits, and identify each period and geography.
Key Music Piracy Statistics
The most broadly useful findings are:
- In 2023, 29% of online music consumers aged 16–64 in 26 leading music markets reported using copyright-infringing or unlicensed methods to listen to or obtain music.
- In 2023, 43% of respondents aged 16–24 in those 26 markets reported using copyright infringement to listen to or obtain music.
- In 2023, 26% of respondents in the 26 markets reported using stream-ripping sites to listen to or obtain music.
- In 2023, 41% of respondents aged 16–24 reported using stream-ripping sites in the same international survey.
- In 2023, 20% of respondents reported using an unlicensed mobile app to illegally download music.
- In 2023, 55% of stream-ripping users said they downloaded music to avoid paying for a streaming subscription.
- In 2023, China and India recorded self-reported unlicensed-use rates of 74% and 75%, respectively, in the IFPI survey.
- In 2023, Indonesia recorded 66% self-reported use of unlicensed or illegal ways to listen to music.
- In 2022, 25% of UK music consumers had used an illegal source in the prior three months in Wave 12.
- Among UK music downloaders, the only-illegal category rose from 13% in 2019 to 21% in 2022.
- Among UK music streamers, 97% were in the only-legal category in 2022, while 2% used mixed legal and illegal sources.
- EU music piracy accesses declined 41% in 2020 from 2019 across EU Member States and the UK.
- In 2020, music represented 10% of all EU accesses to infringing websites.
- The average EU internet user made 5.9 infringing-content website accesses per month in 2020.
- In 2023, stream-ripping websites accounted for over 40% of traffic to music piracy websites in MUSO’s global panel.
- In 2023, Iran, India and the United States represented 11.8%, 11.5% and 9.9% of music-piracy visits, respectively, in that panel.
- In 2023, 229.4 billion total piracy-website visits were recorded across MUSO’s covered industries.
- In 2023, audio streaming represented 32% of respondents’ music-listening time across the 26 leading music markets.
Contents
- Global music piracy participation and stream-ripping
- UK music piracy downloading and streaming trends
- EU music piracy access volumes and formats
- Music piracy website traffic by country
- Legal alternatives and listening behavior
- What music piracy measures show—and miss
Global Music Piracy Participation and Stream-Ripping Statistics
IFPI’s Engaging with Music 2023 surveyed the online population aged 16–64 in 26 leading music markets. Its figures are self-reported survey results, and “unlicensed” methods are broader than downloading alone.
- 29% reported using copyright-infringing or unlicensed methods to listen to or obtain music in 2023.
- The rate was 43% among respondents aged 16–24.
- 26% reported using stream-ripping sites, compared with 41% among 16–24-year-olds.
- 20% reported using an unlicensed mobile app to illegally download music.
- Among stream-ripping users, 55% said avoiding a streaming subscription payment was their reason for downloading.
These findings describe reported participation, not a count of unique people or a calculated revenue loss. The same study reported an average of 20.7 hours of music listening per week in 2023, providing context for the size of the listening activity being measured. IFPI Engaging with Music 2023
The survey also measured how respondents spent listening time, rather than whether each activity was licensed. Audio streaming accounted for 32%, video streaming 31%, radio 17%, purchased music 9%, and live music 4% in 2023 across the 26 markets.
| Listening activity | Share of listening time, 2023 | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Audio streaming | 32% | 26 leading music markets |
| Video streaming | 31% | 26 leading music markets |
| Radio | 17% | 26 leading music markets |
| Purchased music | 9% | CDs, vinyl, DVDs and downloads |
| Live music | 4% | Includes livestreaming |
Country results illustrate why an international average should not be treated as universal prevalence. In the same 2023 survey, respondents reported unlicensed or illegal listening or obtaining music at rates of 74% in China, 75% in India, and 66% in Indonesia.
These are country subgroup, self-reported estimates. IFPI Engaging with Music 2023
UK Music Piracy Statistics: Downloading and Streaming Trends
The UK Intellectual Property Office’s Wave 12 tracker measured music consumers and category-specific source use; its percentages are not population-wide piracy rates. In 2022, 25% of UK music consumers had used an illegal source in the prior three months.
Among UK music downloaders, the source mix shifted across the reported years:
| Year | Only-illegal | Mixed legal/illegal | Only-legal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 13% | 17% | 70% |
| 2020 | 15% | 19% | 66% |
| 2021 | 15% | 18% | 67% |
| 2022 | 21% | 24% | 55% |
The tracker also reported that the illegal-source share among music downloaders rose from 33% in Wave 11 to 45% in Wave 12, using the report’s survey categories and base. Executive summary: Online Copyright Infringement Tracker Survey (12th Wave)
Streaming showed a different pattern, with only-illegal use rounded to zero in each year and mixed use remaining small:
| Year | Only-illegal | Mixed | Only-legal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 0% | 2% | 98% |
| 2020 | 0% | 1% | 98% |
| 2021 | 0% | 2% | 98% |
| 2022 | 0% | 2% | 97% |
Thus, only 2% of UK music streamers used a mix of legal and illegal sources in Wave 12, while the report said music, film and TV overall infringement increased even as music’s only-illegal share remained low and stable since 2019. These are separate measures and should not be combined. Executive summary: Online Copyright Infringement Tracker Survey (12th Wave)
EU Music Piracy Access Volumes, Formats and Change Over Time
EUIPO’s 2021 report measured accesses to infringing websites across EU Member States and the UK. It did not count unique people, unique files or direct financial losses.
Music piracy accesses declined 41% in 2020 compared with 2019, while music represented 10% of all EU accesses to infringing websites in 2020. More than 80% of total EU piracy accesses used streaming, but that format figure covered all included content types, not music alone.
| EU measure | 2020 result | Definition or scope |
|---|---|---|
| Average monthly infringing-content accesses | 5.9 per internet user | EU Member States and UK |
| Music share of infringing-site accesses | 10% | All covered website accesses |
| Streaming share of piracy accesses | More than 80% | All covered content types |
| Music-access change from 2019 | -41% | Average monthly accesses |
The broader year-over-year series for all covered content types was -11% in 2017, -20% in 2018, -6% in 2019, and -34% in 2020. The 2020 music result and the overall-content series are related but not interchangeable.
Country-level access rates also varied. Latvian internet users made almost 14 infringing-content accesses per month in 2020, while Polish internet users made fewer than 4.
EUIPO’s dataset contained more than 240,000 aggregates and 133 billion accesses from January 2017 through December 2020; these are dataset-scale measures, not unique-user totals. Film piracy declined 51% in 2020, a separate comparative content-category measure. Online piracy slows down, but Europeans still access pirate content 6 times a month
Music Piracy Website Traffic by Country and Site Type
MUSO’s 2023 data measured website traffic in a global panel. It is therefore a traffic distribution, not a country’s population prevalence or a count of unique listeners.
- Stream-ripping websites accounted for over 40% of music-piracy website traffic in 2023.
- Iran represented 11.8% of music-piracy visits.
- India represented 11.5%.
- The United States represented 9.9%.
| Location or site type | Share or volume | Period and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Stream-ripping sites | Over 40% of music-piracy traffic | Global MUSO panel, 2023 |
| Iran | 11.8% of music-piracy visits | Global MUSO panel, 2023 |
| India | 11.5% of music-piracy visits | Global MUSO panel, 2023 |
| United States | 9.9% of music-piracy visits | Global MUSO panel, 2023 |
MUSO tracked more than 1.4 trillion visits to piracy websites over seven years. Across the covered industries, it recorded 229.4 billion total piracy-website visits in 2023; those totals include other media industries and may include repeat visits or automated traffic. 2023 Piracy by Industry Data Review
Music Piracy, Legal Alternatives and Listening Behavior
The IFPI survey also describes legal listening contexts that sit alongside piracy measures. In 2023, 76% of radio listeners said they listened mainly for the music, 67% said they tuned into a favorite station because of its music, and 63% said they would not listen to radio without music.
A hypothetical substitution question found that 85% of radio listeners would seek music elsewhere if radio did not provide music, most often subscription streaming. This is stated behavior, not observed switching or causal evidence. IFPI Engaging with Music 2023
Recent physical-purchase behavior was also measured:
- 13% purchased a CD in the last month in 2023 across the 26 leading music markets.
- 9% purchased vinyl in the last month.
- 5% purchased music on cassette in the last month.
The study reported purchased music as 9% of total listening time, but that category included CDs, vinyl, DVDs and digital downloads, so it should not be read as a physical-sales share.
What Music Piracy Measures Show—and Miss
Different datasets answer different questions. IFPI and the UK tracker report survey responses from defined groups, while EUIPO and MUSO report website accesses or visits; none of these measures alone establishes the number of unique pirates or the direct financial cost of infringement.
The UK Wave 12 music-download analytic base included 789 respondents who had used an illegal source at least once in the prior three months, while the music-consumption base included 3,103 respondents who had consumed music in that period. These are sample bases for analysis, not estimates of the whole UK population. Executive summary: Online Copyright Infringement Tracker Survey (12th Wave)
IFPI’s study covered 26 leading music markets and the online population aged 16–64, not the entire global population. Its reported 95% confidence-level standard-error range was ±1.55 to ±2.95 percentage points across territories, which describes sampling error and does not correct self-reporting or coverage bias. IFPI Engaging with Music 2023
The measures should therefore remain labeled: a self-reported participation percentage is not a website-traffic total, and a website visit is not a unique person, song, subscription avoided or lost dollar. Cross-source comparisons are informative only when their populations, periods, definitions and denominators stay explicit.