Stream-ripping… Oh my!

Music piracy is at an all-time high. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, live concerts have been cancelled and many consumers won’t be going back until they feel it’s safe to do so. Without concerts, musicians are using live-streaming platforms to connect with fans, be it via Instagram Live, YouTube Live or Twitch.

Even though many digital music-streaming services, such as Spotify, offer free plans, it’s never been easier to illegally download music. Stream-ripping is the biggest form of music piracy globally. It’s what happens when someone downloads a music track off an online streaming site for personal use and to share between their devices. Why is it an issue? The answer is ‘streaming royalties’. When a track is pulled down and then listened to outside of a streaming service platform, artists don’t make any money from their work.