I've spent the last few hours reading through some material on the web on Digital Piracy. Here are a few key things that I've highlighted -
The following notes have come from this research paper entitled 'RIAA, MPAA, and the Digital Piracy Issue: Comparing Public Relations Strategies and Effectiveness' and it can be found through the following link -
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/1/4/4/6/p14465_index.html
'While the motion picture industry has addressed the issue through educational efforts, consumer awareness programs, and legislative action, the music recording industry has pursued an aggressive strategy of legal action against file sharers while seeking to minimize negative publicity resulting from lawsuits'
The film industry have got it right. Addressing the issue of digital piracy through educating people is the way forward. Thanking their audiences for coming to see their films is also a nice touch.
'A recent American Online poll indicated that 70% of the respondents either did not know or did not feel that sharing motion pictures over
the Internet was illegal'
'The few pay services that were initially available could not compete with the existing sources of free music online.'
Music for me goes on how quick I can get my hands on it and personally how good the music is. If I'm having to pay for it then it must be worth it. I am however a big fan of streaming my music via Spotify. I believe that in paying for music you like, you are ultimately helping that artist create more music, which you will no doubt also like. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that the majority of the music industry is natural selection on a big scale. OK, thousands of good artists get their music passed around illegally but if their fans are true, loyal fans, wouldn't they be happy to pay?
Now onto what the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) say about Digital Piracy - http://www.riaa.com/faq.php
'Plain and simple: piracy is bad news. While the term is commonly used, "piracy" doesn't even begin to describe what is taking place. When you go online and download songs without permission, you are stealing. ...For every artist you can name at the top of the Billboard music charts, there is a long line of songwriters, sound engineers, and label employees who help create those hits. They all feel the pain of music theft.'
'One credible analysis by the Institute for Policy Innovation concludes that global music piracy causes $12.5 billion of economic losses every year, 71,060 U.S. jobs lost, a loss of $2.7 billion in workers' earnings, and a loss of $422 million in tax revenues, $291 million in personal income tax and $131 million in lost corporate income and production taxes.'
Don't get me wrong, seeing that music piracy causes losses of billions of dollars a year is a problem, but for me, seeing here that 71,060 people lose their jobs due to piracy is unbelievable! When you're download music tracks illegally you just don't see the repercussions of your actions. If people could see how it effects other peoples jobs wouldn't that be a more effective strategy rather than to say we lose X amount of money a year? Although we are told how much money is lost, how much money is gained for legal music downloads? What's the ratio between the amount they loose and the amount they gain?
'All the same, it?s important to note that across the board, piracy is a very real threat to the livelihoods of not only artists and record label employees but also thousands of less celebrated people in the music industry ? from sound engineers and technicians to warehouse workers and record store clerks. Piracy undermines the future of music by depriving the industry of the resources it needs to find and develop new talent and drains millions of dollars in tax revenue from local communities and their residents.'
Being educated on the livelihoods of the less celebrated people in the music industry is where the film and music industry really need to concentrate.
All this research has highlighted the bad point about digital piracy, but are there any good points I wonder? Oxford economist Karen Croxson suggests that 'piracy does not necessarily undermine profit as pirates may actually help to promote the product they steal.'
http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2008/080317.html
Reading the article, I somewhat agree with Karen. Computer games don't have the same problem with piracy due to their methods of safeguarding their games but also due to the audience they aim at.
Looking at software producers, for example Abobe, they put a lower effort into protecting their products because they have guaranteed sales through professional users. Professional users tend to 'attach a higher worth to office software than, for example, students.'
I think the main point here regarding software is this - If I wasn't going to purchase it in the first place, surely that means you haven't lost any money? This theory could also be used on the download of movies and potentially music too, but is that just finding a reason for you to say it's OK for me to steal?
'With valuable users shying away from copying, the sellers in the business software market find themselves more naturally insulated against lost sales. Those more inclined to pirate, perhaps students, probably wouldn't have bought the product anyway, so represent virtually free promotion. This helps explain why business software companies do not put as many resources into protection as computer games manufacturers.'
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