Music, Movies and Books: How Much Does Legal Content Cost in Ukraine?

Ukrainians are among the most active online pirates.

Ukraine has serious piracy problems. In 2018, Ukrainians visited pirate sites more than 6 billion times, according to Muso. Based on the results for 2019, the European Commission placed us on the list of countries of second priority, along with Turkey, India, Indonesia and Russia.

Second priority means "serious systemic problems in the field of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, causing significant harm to EU business, with no progress or minimal progress compared to the previous year".

Why should you pay for content?

It's fair. Content is created by people who want to be paid for their work and time. Previously, music and movies were on cassettes and discs, and books were only in print, and we paid for all of it. A paid product becomes psychologically more valuable: you will definitely read the book you bought and watch the film you bought, rather than putting them off "for later".

It's convenient. For a small monthly fee, you get high-quality content without ads, a recommendation system and convenient management in one place. Bonuses include tech support, the right to demand quality service, constant release of new content, and sometimes access to a community of like-minded people.

Where can you listen to music legally?

Leaving aside less popular services and those banned in Ukraine, only three remain: Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube Music. Each has a separate app, playlists and a recommendation system.

Apple Music (3 months free):

• individual: $4.99 (~139 UAH)
• family: $7.99 (~222 UAH)
  
• student: $2.49 (~69 UAH)
  

Spotify (3 months free):

• individual: $4.99 (~139 UAH)
• duo: $6.49 (~180 UAH)
  
• family: $7.99 (~222 UAH)
  
• student: $2.49 (~69 UAH)
  

YouTube Music (1 month free):

• individual: 79 UAH
• family: 119 UAH
  
• student: 39 UAH
  

It is more profitable to subscribe to YouTube Premium right away, at 99, 149 and 59 UAH respectively. Besides music, Premium includes ad-free YouTube and video playback in the background or with the screen off.

Where can you watch movies legally?

The main problem with legal films and series is that they are spread across different platforms. A true movie buff would have to subscribe to at least Netflix, Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video, which is not a cheap pleasure. But most people will be fine with a subscription to Netflix or one of the Ukrainian services.

Unfortunately, the popular Disney+, HBO Max and Hulu are still unavailable in our country. Local services Megogo, DivanTV, OllTV, SweetTV and Takflix do not produce exclusive content; they legally distribute other people's content. However, they cost less (on average 50-100 UAH) and provide access to TV channels. New films on these services must be purchased separately.

Netflix (30 days free):

• basic (1 device, 480p): $7.99 (~222 UAH)
• standard (2 devices, 1080p): $9.99 (~278 UAH)
  
• premium (4 devices, 4K+HDR): $11.99 (~333 UAH)
  

Amazon Prime Video (7 days free):

• first six months: €2.99 (~98 UAH)
• after six months: €5.99 (~196 UAH)
  

Apple TV+ (7 days free):

• family: $4.99 (~139 UAH)

Buyers of new Apple devices will get a free one-year subscription to the service. A student subscription to Apple Music also includes free access to Apple TV+. And Apple plans to introduce a unified subscription to its services this autumn.

Where can you read and listen to books legally?

E-books can be bought individually or read by subscription. The latter option is cheaper and more convenient: for a monthly fee, you get access to a huge library.

Bookmate (7 days free):

• books and comics: 139 UAH (1,390 UAH/year)
• audiobooks: 139 UAH (1,390 UAH/year)
• premium (books, comics, audiobooks): 149 UAH

Storytel audiobooks (14 days free):

• standard (1 account): 549 rubles (~201 UAH)
• family (2 accounts): 699 rubles (~256 UAH)
• family+ (3 accounts): 899 rubles (~330 UAH)

Russian Mybook (14 days free):

• standard (limited catalog): 229 rubles (~84 UAH)
• premium (all books, audiobooks, podcasts and lectures): 549 rubles (~201 UAH)

E-books can be bought individually at Ukraine's largest online bookstore, Yakaboo, or at the popular Russian service Litres. They regularly run various promotions and discounts and give promo codes to newcomers and regular readers.

How much does legal content cost per month?

Let's take a typical user. He wants access to a music library with a separate smartphone app and the ability to listen on a PC, ad-free YouTube, a large selection of exclusive films and series in high quality for 2 devices, as well as a subscription to a catalog of books, comics and audiobooks.

That is not so expensive for constant access to a huge choice of content: music, films, series, books, separate apps, playlists and collections, recommendation systems and no ads. For comparison, for the same money you can buy just 2-3 paper books.