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Private copying in Finland is at the same level as last year

opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö
Publication date 3.7.2018 15.23 | Published in English on 3.7.2018 at 15.39
News item
Almost 2 million Finns use music streaming services. Photo: Mostphotos

Based on the latest survey, altogether about one million Finns copy music, movies and TV-programs for private use. Music and video material covered by legal private copying is copied by less than a quarter of 15-79-year-old Finns. The number of people making copies has been in decline in the last couple of years.

In 2018, the estimate of quantity of private copying is at the same level as in the 2017 survey. Finns, 15-79 years of age, made altogether 242-264 million files of legal private copies during the year. The total amount of copying in private households (also including non-remunerated private copying) is approximately 418 million files per year (15-79 year olds).

Mobile phone and computer are still the most common devices into which music content is copied. The most common device for copying video content is, as in previous years, a recordable set-top box.

The usage of streaming services for music and audio-visual content, online storage services for music and video files, as well as the usage of web TV has increased further. Traditional methods of listening to music and viewing video content are still used.

Two out of five of those who had copied music would acquire the copied material from some chargeable source, if the possibility of copying did not exist. Less than fifth of those who had copied video files would use chargeable sources for acquiring the materials, if the possibility of copying did not exist.

According to the survey almost 3.9 million 15-79 year old Finns have a computer for their private use, over 3.6 million have a mobile phone on which music files can be saved and almost 3.4 million have a USB flash drive. Almost 2.7 million Finns have a tablet device. Less than 1.2 million Finns use a separate MP3-player or iPod.

Almost 2 million Finns use music streaming service Spotify, or some corresponding service. In 2017, there were over 1.8 million users.

The numbers regarding music and video services do not describe the number of customers of these services. The respondent can for example use the service, while another resident of the same household subscribes to it.

Radio is still the overwhelmingly most popular source of listened music

The survey also investigated the consumer behavior of Finns regarding music and video material. Radio is still the overwhelmingly most popular source of listened music. Physical recordings and YouTube are the next most common ways of consuming music.

Live TV broadcasts are watched at least sometimes by 92 % of Finns. Internet TV broadcasts are watched by 74 % of Finns. Material saved on recordable set-top boxes is watched by 38 % of 15-79-year-old Finns. Of those who use Internet TV, online storage services and VOD streaming services (e.g. Netflix), 92 % also watch TV as live broadcasts. A larger share of the users of these services still saves TV content on recordable set-top boxes, than Finns in general.

Cross-usage regarding equipment and services remains visible in the results.

Traditional methods of consuming music and video material are still used alongside the new devices and services.

Copying of graphic material

Three out of four have copied some graphic material at least sometimes during the year. A majority of the saving events are digital printing on paper and saving digital material digitally.

Of those who had copied graphic material (book, newspaper article, picture, sheet music etc.) at least sometimes 36 % printed it, 29 % photocopied it, 19 % saved it and 13 % scanned it on the most recent occasion of copying. The most recent graphic material printed or saved for private use was most often a form (19 %), photograph (19 %), learning material (12 %) or a recipe (10 %)

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The main objective of the survey was to determine the amount of private copying of music and video material in Finland.

Similar information was recently gathered in 2017 by Taloustutkimus. The survey also gives a comprehensive view into the use of entertainment electronics by the Finnish population, as well as their consumer-behavior regarding music and video content. The study also investigated the harm caused by copying of music and video material. In addition, the private copying of graphic material was investigated.

Taloustutkimus Oy implemented the private copying survey by commission of the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Main findings of the 2018 private copying survey  (PDF)