With many pirate sites pulling in 10, 20, 50 or even 90 million visits per month, debate over popularity seems pointless. However, when compared to some platforms already declared illegal by rightsholders, even 200 million visits per month is nothing. Last month a single YouTube-ripping domain received a staggering 343 million visits and is still trending upwards, so who gets the blame?

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the availability of unlicensed music “remains an issue for the
whole music ecosystem.”

In its 2022 ‘Engaging With Music’ report, IFPI estimates that almost a third of people say they have used illegal or unlicensed methods to download and listen to music. The major threat in today’s market has been growing for many years, mainly because it’s so quick and easy.

The official explanation from IFPI reads as follows: Stream ripping is the illegal practice of creating a downloadable file from content that is available to stream online. It is now the most prevalent form of online music copyright infringement.

The rest of this article can be read on TorrentFreak.com

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