Leung, Kretschmer and Meletti (2020)

Source Details

Leung, Kretschmer and Meletti (2020)
Title:	Streaming Culture: Research Report by AHRC Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre (PEC)
Author(s):	Leung, R., Kretschmer, M., Meletti, B.
Year:	2020
Citation:	Leung, R., Kretschmer, M. and Meletti, B. (2020) Streaming Culture: Research Report by AHRC Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre (PEC). CREATe Working Paper Series: 2020/3
Link(s):	Open Access
Key Related Studies:	Entertainment Retailers Association (2017) Entertainment Retailers Association (2018) Quintais and Poort (2018) Waldfogel (2018) Intellectual Property and Youth Scoreboard (2019)
Discipline:	O34: Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
Linked by:

About the Data
Data Description:	The study uses data gathered from five waves of Online Copyright Infringement Tracker surveys and is analysed longitudinally.
Data Type:	Primary and Secondary data
Secondary Data Sources:	OMeBa Online Copyright Infringement Tracker surveys
Data Collection Methods:	Survey Research (quantitative; e.g. sales/income reporting) Longitudinal Study
Data Analysis Methods:	Descriptive statistics (counting; means reporting; cross-tabulation) Correlation and Association Regression Analysis
Industry(ies):	Publishing of books, periodicals and other publishing Software publishing (including video games) Film and motion pictures Television programmes Sound recording and music publishing
Country(ies):	United Kingdom
Cross Country Study?:	No
Comparative Study?:	No
Literature review?:	No
Government or policy study?:	No
Time Period(s) of Collection:	2013-2018
Funder(s):	AHRC Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (grant: AH/S001298/1)

Abstract

“Using five waves (2013-18) of a representative survey of the UK population (commissioned for different purposes by the UK Intellectual Property Office), we investigate the changing online culture consumption behaviour of UK adults aged 12 and above, with a focus on streaming.  The demographic breakdown of digital consumers of feature films, TV programmes, video games, e-books, music tracks/ albums, and music videos shows that the propensity to consume digitally (as well as how much is spent on digital content) varies strongly with age for film, TV and music. Age and social class predict whether people participate in streaming at all. Not everyone will become a digital streamer. This has ethical implications (cultural participation) but also offers commercial opportunities for a large untapped market in the 55+ age group.”

Main Results of the Study

Streaming rapidly became an important medium for consumption of audiovisual content, and by 2018 was three times more popular than downloading for music videos, TV programmes, feature films and video clips. This difference is more marked for music tracks and feature films, with an increase of 8 and 9% respectively between 2015 and 2018.

Socio-demographics also play a role in streaming behaviour. Differences in consumption modes in age groups is significant; younger consumers are more likely to stream film, TV and music and video games, but not books. Younger people also spend more on average on cultural content. By contrast, members of older age groups (55+) for the most part consume nothing digitally; in 2018, 60% reported they had streamed or accessed nothing in the past 3 months. By extension, they also report the lowest spending on cultural products whether online or offline.

Overall, there appears to be a lack of awareness of legal options for streaming; for those who consume 100% illegal content they consistently report lower awareness of legal platforms. Further, only 8 out of 70 possible legal brands were recognised by more than 50% of the user population in 2018 (with the most well-recognised brands being YouTube, BBC iPlayer and Amazon).

Policy Implications as Stated By Author

Whilst the study does not offer any explicit policy recommendations, it cautions that a significant portion of the population are not digitally engaged with culture (based on age and class); as such, digital consumption cannot be discussed in a blanket manner.

Coverage of Study

Coverage of Fundamental Issues

Issue	Included within Study
Relationship between protection (subject matter/term/scope) and supply/economic development/growth/welfare
Relationship between creative process and protection - what motivates creators (e.g. attribution; control; remuneration; time allocation)?
Harmony of interest assumption between authors and publishers (creators and producers/investors)
Effects of protection on industry structure (e.g. oligopolies; competition; economics of superstars; business models; technology adoption)
Understanding consumption/use (e.g. determinants of unlawful behaviour; user-generated content; social media)

Coverage of Evidence Based Policies

Issue	Included within Study
Nature and Scope of exclusive rights (hyperlinking/browsing; reproduction right)
Exceptions (distinguish innovation and public policy purposes; open-ended/closed list; commercial/non-commercial distinction)
Mass digitisation/orphan works (non-use; extended collective licensing)
Licensing and Business models (collecting societies; meta data; exchanges/hubs; windowing; crossborder availability)
Fair remuneration (levies; copyright contracts)
Enforcement (quantifying infringement; criminal sanctions; intermediary liability; graduated response; litigation and court data; commercial/non-commercial distinction; education and awareness)

Datasets

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