July 13, 2009 12:46

Illegal file-sharing among teenagers has fallen dramatically

Study claims streaming sites such as Spotify are now more popular among age group

Teenagers illegally sharing music has fallen dramatically over the past year, according to a new survey.

The study of 1,000 music fans shows that 65 per cent of teenagers are now streaming music through services such as Spotify and YouTube, with 31 per cent of 14 to 18 year-olds listening to streamed music on their computer daily compared with music fans overall (18 per cent).

It has also revealed that less than a third of teenagers now illegally download music. In January this year 26% of 14 to 18 year olds admitted file-sharing at least once a month, compared with 42% in December 2007.

The new research – which involved 1,000 face-to-face interviews and a series of focus groups – was carried out by Music Ally, in conjunction with media and technology research company The Leading Question.