Despite the rise of streaming, young people continue to download music illegally

Europeans under the age of 24 continue to resort to piracy as a way of listening to their favourite songs. — AFP Relaxnews

Bad habits die hard. And the proof is in music piracy. While there has been a fall in illegal downloads of songs and albums in recent years, it seems that young Europeans are still listening to music illegally. So what’s going on?

For a long time, it was believed that Spotify and other music streaming services had succeeded in convincing the most reluctant music fans that it was in their interest to pay to listen to their favourite songs. It seems that this message might not have been heeded by Europeans under the age of 24. They still resort to piracy to listen to the latest tracks by their favourite artistes, according to a recent report by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).