Concerned About Music Piracy & Leaks? Secure Music Sharing Could Have Your Back
Music piracy is on the rise. Again. So, if you’re worried about getting your music pirated, it’s because you should.
Music piracy has been a significant issue in the industry, causing annual losses of around $12.5 billion. While piracy had been decreasing in recent years, partly thanks to music streaming, it started to grow again in 2021. Traffic to music piracy sites is now increasing, largely driven by the growing demand for stream-ripping websites, which allow users to rip and download audio from platforms like YouTube, accounting for 39.2% of all music piracy globally in 2021, according to Music Business Worldwide.
As per the data that Music Business Worldwide has recently shared, unlicensed streaming sites account for 31.5% of all music piracy visits in 2021, while illegal downloads made up 24.3%. The global reach of music piracy is obvious, with the United States, Russia, and India being the top three countries pirating music the most.
Despite the availability of legal streaming services, which are also relatively cheap, a significant portion of global internet users still resort to illegal downloading. So no matter how noble the ambition of Daniel Ekwas at the beginning, piracy hasn’t been eradicated by Spotify, and further measures to combat it still need to be taken.
💡Read also: YouTube Bans Ad Blockers. Are We Heading to the New Piracy Era?
Music leaks — another nightmare of an artist
Piracy isn’t the only thing artsits, labels, and rightsholders need to face and constantly fight with. There have been numerous cases of (unintentional?) leaks of not-yet-released albums and songs. Kanye West’s debut album, The College Dropout, leaked online before its planned release. Radiohead’s iconic album OK Computer faced an early release, and the band’s response was officially releasing a deluxe edition with some of the leaked material.
Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy album was leaked by a blogger, who was sentenced to two months of home confinement, one year of probation, and required to appear in an anti-piracy public service announcement. Mastodon’s Blood Mountain album was leaked by a retail employee, who was fired sometime later, Lil’ Wayne’s Tha Carter III album was leaked by DJ Chuck T — the list is nonexhaustive.
And these leaks don’t go unnoticed not only for the “leakers” who face fines and legal action but for musicians and their teams as well. Financial losses and loss of control over the release strategy are just a few cases, as leaks undermine potential revenue from official releases, disrupt the carefully planned release timeline, and might even damage an artist’s reputation.
Can a music leak turn into a smart publicity move, though?
It might. Although music leaks are generally detrimental to artists and record labels, there have been some instances where leaks have been actually successful for the artist. Controlled leaks have indeed generated buzz and sparked discussions among fans, amplifying anticipation for the official release, but these cases are rare and mostly intentional; most music leaks aren’t funny business.
For example, Lady Gaga’s song “Stupid Love” was leaked in early 2020, and the artist responded by releasing the song officially a few weeks later, which was well-received by fans and critics.
Another case is American pop star Zella Day’s album “Kicker” leak before its official release. It went unnoticed, though, due to her obscurity as a yet-undebuted artist. But it’s better to have full control of what, when, and how you release, right? So, if you’re not planning to have your unreleased album intentionally leaked as a PR move, at least consider secure music sharing.
