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Freemium music streaming service Spotify is pulling people away from illegally downloading music, a new report suggests.
In a survey of 2,310 British adults, nearly two-thirds (62%) of those who admitted to regularly pirating music claimed that Spotify has encouraged them to curb their habit.
“The number of people looking for unlimited broadband packages is rising, which is an indicator that downloading and streaming are becoming a bigger part of online behavior,” said James Parker, broadband manager at moneysupermarket.com.
“With Spotify joining the ranks of legal music sites, illegal downloading seems set to become much less popular, he added.
“With the new Spotify iPhone application it will be interesting to see how these new mobile music services take-off. Streaming music for free or for a reasonable fee whilst on the move could spell the end for illegal downloading.”
The survey, which was carried out on behalf of moneysupermarket.com, found that 12 per cent of those polled have downloaded content via torrent websites such as The Pirate Bay.
That figure climbs significantly for younger people, with 30 per cent of people under 20 claiming they illegally downloaded goods.
