Tackling Internet Piracy
Internet piracy is a growing problem for many media companies. File sharing of copyright material is estimated to cost the music industry alone nearly three million dollars a year. Piracy also presents a major problem for TV series and the film industry, with files becoming available over the internet often before they are released for legal purchase.
This seems to be a problem with no real solution. File sharing and the downloading of media would appear to be something that is going to stay with us for the foreseeable future. Perhaps it is time for our media industries to consider working with this new technology then, rather than fighting against it.
Typically most people would prefer to be operating within the bounds of the law. Certainly most parents would prefer their teenage children, some of the primary offenders of internet piracy, to be acting legally. Presenting a sensibly priced, easy to use alternative to illegal file sharing may be a viable solution then. As well as this, if you are paying for your material you can expect a certain quality in the production; another incentive to using a legitimate alternative service.
Some companies are now looking at allowing music downloads for a small monthly fee. This may be something many families will sign up for assuming the cost is small enough not to make a huge dent in their disposable income. This isn’t a complete solution to the problem. There are still questions such as the division of royalties between artists. This could become a complicated issue with a subscription service to download as much music as you like. Perhaps it is even time for the music industry to consider how they generate their revenue and consider material they release to be promotional, helping to sell tickets for live events.
With TV and film there may be a similar solution. In many cases, downloads of TV and film are for a single viewing. Buying a DVD can be expensive, particularly for TV series, if you only want to see the material once. If the major film and TV companies were to buy into the idea, a subscription based scheme, or even a pay-per-view system might present a solution. TV or film could be screened directly from the internet might present a good, practical alternative. Streaming shows on demand over the internet is already well established and if a good sized database with a wide selection of film and TV broadcasts this could be a very successful enterprise.
There is a new form of media available on the internet now as well seeing increasing growth. As we enter the age of the eBook and the Kindle, our literature is increasingly available on the internet and so becomes more prone for piracy.
With the content available online ever increasing, perhaps it is time for our media industries to stop fighting the new technologies. Considering alternatives to existing business models may allow them to embrace the internet and offer a better service instead of fighting a war they cannot win.
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