In 2020, it was revealed that Italian book publishers are losing €528M to piracy every year. But recently, the amount of the loss has increased from €528M to €705M annually.
As reported by Publishing Perspectives, Italy’s book industry is facing a big challenge due piracy. The Association of Italian Publishers commissioned the market research firm IPSOS to study the impact of piracy on the country’s book market. The findings showed that the cost of piracy is higher than a quarter of the market’s overall valuation, or 28 percent.
Here are the key findings of the research:
- Nearly 4,900 jobs are being lost to piracy.
- Thirty-one percent of the general Italian population older than 15 is using books, ebooks, and audiobooks illegally.
- Much higher levels are being reported for students and professionals, who were tracked at 78 percent and 49 percent, respectively.
- Some 70 percent of respondents who said they used illegally obtained publishing products also said that they don’t think they’re likely to be punished for it.
- Nearly 300,000 acts of piracy are committed daily in Italy.
- In economic terms overall, the loss to the country’s system is estimated to be some €1.75 billion (US$1.9 billion), with €298 million in lost tax revenue (US$326 million).
- In a single year, there may be nearly 108.4 million piracy acts committed in the country.
However authentic the claim of being unaware of the illegality of piracy from one consumer to another, the new Italian report indicates that things may be going the wrong direction: The percentage of those who have told IPSOS researchers that they are aware of the illegality of piracy is 79 percent in 2023—as compared to 84 percent in 2019.
The IPSOS research for AIE was conducted in October 2023 with about 4,000 interviews (CAWI) : 2,700 cases representative by gender, age, geographic area, center breadth, profession, and educational qualification (more than 15 years); 867 college students representative by gender, age, and geographic area; and 743 freelancers representative by geographic area.
Navkiran Dhaliwal is a seasoned content writer with 10+ years of experience. When she's not writing, she can be found cooking up a storm or spending time with her dog, Rain.