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Survey: The amount of private copying has decreased

Ministry of Education and Culture
Publication date 18.10.2022 8.36
News item
Total amount of private copying in 2013–2022in bar chart.
Total amount of private copying in 2013–2022. Taloustutkimus 2022.

According to the study, the estimate of the total number of private copies (music and video files) is lower than in the 2021 study. Both music and video files were copied less than in the previous year.

According to the study, music covered by legal private copying was copied by 141 000 and video material by over 762 000 residents of Finland between 15-79 years of age. There were altogether about 851 000 copiers of music and video material. The number of people making copies has been in decline year by year.

The overall estimate of legal private copying of music and video files during the year is 197–213 million files. The corresponding estimate of the amount of private copying in the 2021 study was 226–257 million files.

Mobile phone and computer are the most common devices into which music content is copied. The most common platform for copying video content is still a recordable set-top box and the next most often used are online recording services for tv-programs.

The survey also investigated the consumer behaviour of the residents of Finland regarding the consumption of music and video material. Radio is still the most popular source of listened music. Of the 15–79 year olds who listen to music, 90 % listen to music from radio (95 % in 2021). The next most often used source is Youtube (80 %).

Live TV broadcasts are watched at least sometimes by 90 % of the population and Internet TV broadcasts are watched by 83 %. The next most often used channel to view video content is Youtube. Usage of Youtube has increased clearly during the past years.

Copying of graphic material

Four out of five of the residents of Finland have printed, saved, photocopied or scanned graphic material for private use during the past year. The most frequently used ways of copying are saving and printing, which also comprise the largest number of copies when considered in terms of pieces (number of pages).

The most recent graphic material photocopied or scanned for private use was most often a form, e.g. official form (25 %), or an invoice/bank statement or such (15 %). The most recent graphic material printed or saved for private use was most often a photograph (21 %), official form (19 %), a recipe (10 %), learning material (9 %), or an article (8%).

During the past year altogether 800 million pages of graphic material was copied by 15–79 year olds. The largest number of copying was from digital into digital (about 380 million pages).

The main objective of the survey was to determine the amount of private copying regarding music and video material in Finland. Similar information was last gathered in 2021 by Taloustutkimus.

Main findings of the 2022 private copying survey