[i_cannot_hack]

As you say, the laws aren't widely applied yet, and I hardly think britain has had a 50% cut in piracy.

Buy hey, let's take my country (Sweden) as an example then. Digital sales went up a whopping 65% in 2011[0], and I can promise you that although we've have had some digital rights laws (like IPRED) no pirates here are actually afraid of getting caught, and the Pirate Party are still going strong. Actually, the only country with a sizable reduction in piracy (France) seem to be the one with the least increase in digital sales.

My guess is that the large increase in digital sales in Sweden is mainly due to the popularity of Spotify.

[0] http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/GLF-f%C3%B6rs%C3%A4... (in swedish)