We have to admit that people pirate a lot of data. Whether it’s for video games, movies, professional and costly products, or operating systems, people pirate stuff and there is no end in sight. Whether that is a good or bad thing is up to your own opinion.
One highly pirated form of media is music. In fact, there’s a pretty high demand for music as it doesn’t take much before you’ve already spent $100 to fill your iPod by about 5%. So here comes an interesting thought – what kind of music do people want the most, or in other words, which are the most pirated?
In case you’re wondering how I got my results, I simply organized a list of current torrents by the number of seeds each one has. A seed is a system that has the complete torrent on their system and is ready to upload any parts of it to other systems. The number of seeds represents the number as tracked by the torrent site, but there are more than likely plenty more seeds when combining other trackers. As for where I got my list of torrents from, you can do some Googling to find out if you don’t already know, or look here and here.
The Top 10 List
The following top 10 list are torrents, so some may be complete albums while others are just songs.
1. Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch The Throne (Deluxe Version) [Album]

The combination of Jay-Z and Kanye West seems to be pretty popular as this album hits the top of spot with 9,495 seeds. This is pretty impressive, considering that there aren’t that many torrents that reach a seed number that high.
2. Lil Wayne – The Carter IV (Deluxe Version) [Album]

Lil Wayne has always had success, and this is proven again as his album The Carter IV is the second most pirated music torrent. His genre, like most on this list, is Hip Hop and Rap.
3. Adele – 21 [Album]

Adele is the only artist on this list that doesn’t have too much in common with any of the others. Instead, this album has pop, soul, blues, rock, alternative, R&B, and indie rock as its listed genres.
4. David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj & Flo Rida – Where Them Girls At [Song]

Where Them Girls At is the first song on our list of torrents. Therefore, it can probably be described as the most pirated song, as most of the others are entire albums.
5. LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem [Song]

LMFAO is the only artist group on this list that does hip hop and a number of electro and techno genres. Party Rock Anthem‘s genre, for example, is electro house.
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers – I’m With You [Album]

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been a household name for quite some time now. This recent album is proving to be a success for them as well.
7. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pit Bull – On The Floor [Song]

Jennifer Lopez has lots of fans as her career is currently at one of its peaks. She produces some great music, and having a song that features Pit Bull is also a plus. This song has elements of dance-pop and electro-house.
8. Black Eyed Peas – The Beginning (Deluxe Version) [Album]

Yes! The Black Eyed Peas do in fact have something in this top 10 list! By the time a song or album has been well received by the public, it doesn’t take long before they have something new to offer. Their latest album is pretty popular in the 8th spot on our list.
9. David Guetta – Nothing But The Beat [Album]

This is the second torrent in our top 10 list where David Guetta’s work appears. His music is very popular, and that trend won’t be going away anytime soon.
10. Rihanna – LOUD [Album]

In the last spot on our top 10 list is Rihanna’s latest album. She’s been a household name just like Red Hot Chili Peppers, and her career is still going strong. Her album barely made the top 10 list, which is still a good “achievement”.
Conclusion
Overall, the list is pretty impressive, considering the number of seeds they have. You can see that Hip Hop and the like are well-sought after, which for me isn’t such a surprise. However, if you go outside of the top 10, you’ll start to see other genres appearing.
What are your thoughts about pirating in the music industry? Should being in the top ten most pirated list be considered an indicator of an artist’s popularity or success? Let us know in the comments!
Image Credit: Shutterstock
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Hide 8 Comments
I wouldn’t download any of that noise, even if it WAS free!
While I agree with you for the most part, Adele IS the exception to your rule.
The only crime here was the production of this media (with an exception to 4 and 9)
Don’t you mean 3 and 6?
Get with it!!!!!!!!!!!
how do you know this?
With the exception of RHCP, all of this music is sh*t!!!
“She’s been a household name just like Red Hot Chili Peppers.”
Before I accused the authour of being 12, I checked his bio. Close…17? The Chili’s have been a household name since Rihanna one 1.
Good effort though!