Private copying rose in Finland in 2026

Private copying rose in Finland in 2026

In 2026, an estimated 386 million copies of music and video files were made for private use in Finland. Approximately 745,000 people made private copies in 2026, which is more than last year. These are the findings of the recently published Private Copying Survey.

According to the survey, an estimated 152 to 182 million music and video files within the scope of legal private copying were copied this year. When all other known sources of copying in households are included, the overall number rises to 386 million files. The corresponding figure was 339 million in 2025.

Video recording remains the most common form of private copying

Video file copying is considerably more common than music copying. Altogether, 655,000 people copied video files, whereas 115,000 people copied music. Video files are copied mainly from television broadcasts, which remain the most significant source of private copying.

For music, the most common source for saving content is a subscription-based streaming service from which content is saved for offline use. This method was used by 44 per cent of those who saving music. The second most common option was saving music from internet sources that are free of charge.

Mobile phones were the main devices used for saving music

Both music and video files are most commonly saved on mobile phones. When saving music, computers are also widely used. Video content is most often saved on mobile phones, but also in online services for recording television programmes, on computers and on digital set-top boxes.

Over the past year, more than four in five people living in Finland have copied articles, visual content and other published content in one form or another. The amount of visual content covered by the copyright levy system is estimated to be between 464 and 576 million pages.

More than half of those who copied music believed they would have acquired the music by other means if copying it had not been possible. Of these, more than one third would have used a paid service or another chargeable source. Around one third of those who copied video content would have acquired the content in some other way, and almost one fifth would have obtained it from a paid service.

Key findings of the 2026 private copying survey

The survey is carried out by Taloustutkimus. The study population of the survey consisted of 3,020 respondents aged between 15 and 79 residing in mainland Finland (excluding Åland). The interviews took place between 11 February and 5 May 2026.