Ofcom says number of pirated tracks, from artists such as Adele and One Direction, fell to 199m from 301m in the past year

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

The number of pirated music tracks in the UK has fallen by a third to 199m in the past year, according to research published by Ofcom.

The volume of ilegally downloaded songs, from artists such as One Direction and Adele, dropped from a high of 301m in March 2012 to 199m in the March this year.

The finding comes after a year in which the recorded music business declared itself "on the road to recovery," with the growth in digital sales helping total revenues increase – albeit by 0.3% – for the first time since the height of the CD era in 1999.

However, research published by Ofcom on Wednesday showed that it may be premature to start popping the champagne just yet.

It found that one in six internet users in the UK had illegally streamed or downloaded files in the past year and 9% had pirated music between March and May.

Over a quarter of those who listened to music online in the three months did so illegally, according to Ofcom's report which was based on research by Kantar Media.

It also showed that a hardcore of pirates – 2% of the total – was responsible for almost three-quarters of all online copyright infringement. Those who breached copyright said they would be encouraged to stop by cheaper legal alternatives and if all the content they wanted was available legally.

Ofcom said that awareness of legal streaming services – including Netflix, Google Play and Tesco's Blinkbox – "rose significantly" between March and May, compared to the previous quarter, providing further hope for the creative industries.

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