The Issue of Media Piracy - Case Study Example

Executive Summary Digital Media Piracy is an increasing social concern of the 21st century which needs to be controlled. This report proposes a strategy wherein by providing alternative sources of free entertainment, media piracy can be controlled. The report gives an overview of Internet piracy. Besides providing a historical overview of how peer-to-peer music sharing sites and programs paved the way to Internet piracy, the report also discusses the three main factors that tend to promote it; high costs of entertainment, online availability of pirated media and release delays in different countries. The report also discusses the negative impact media piracy has on not just the entertainment industry but also on a country’s economy. The report proposes alternative means of alleviating the issue of media piracy and funding the industry. The report suggests how by placing additional entertainment products and facilities extra funds can be generated. It also explores the currently available alternatives that can be employed to provide free entertainment while still paying the industry labels. Introduction 21st century has witnessed a marked increase in the digital media piracy. Its major victim is the entertainment industry and the main sectors affected are the music and movie sectors. Digital media piracy is a major social and ethical issue that needs to be harnessed. It is required that practical alternative opportunities are proposed which would provide free entertainment, thus diminishing the need of piracy. The purpose of this report is to propose such an alternative opportunity. The report provides an overview of the major causes of Internet piracy, its historical background and its effects on the entertainment industry and national economy. Furthermore, the report also explores a few prominent Internet privacy alternatives and assesses their effectiveness in maintaining a balance between the entertainment industry rights and free entertainment demand. The report discusses how the prevailing entertainment products have become outdated and must be be revised to keep up with the growing societal demand of free entertainment. History of Internet Piracy In contrast to the technology that was available to the consumers in 1990s, the present day technology is highly advanced. Due to common availability and easy technological access, means of digital storage and file sharing increased (Fowler, 2002: p.39). With respect to file sharing, one of the pioneers of music piracy over the Internet was a website called ‘Napster.com’. The site offered peer-to-peer sharing which allowed users to share copyrighted music with people online. By 2000, the site gained worldwide popularity at an exponential rate and the trend of peer-to-peer sharing was set up as similar sites started emerging (Fetscherin & Zaugg, 2004: p. 2; Kwong & Lee, 2002: p. 2481). As the digital files usage became a norm, files could be reproduced and shared worldwide instantaneously without any cost. As Internet advanced, the file sharing advanced from mere music piracy into a “criminal enterprise” where all digital media sharing was considered fair. ‘History of the Internet Piracy Debate (2011, P. 261). Kwok (2004) shows in his study how the advancement in Internet technology has led to the foundation of many peer-to-peer file sharing programs (e.g. Bit-Torrent, Lime-Wire, etc.) that are piracy driven. These programs share pirated files related to music, movies, TV shows, books and computer software. Main Causes of Internet Piracy The main reason that consumers opt for piracy over purchasing digital media is the global spread of Internet culture where media is freely available to users online Kwong & Lee (2002, p. 2481). Some other reasons that lead consumers towards piracy are: High Entertainment Costs Unreasonably high costs of entertainment are considered as a major cause of digital media piracy. Based on a study by Ramayah et al. (2009), a group of Internet users were chosen for a survey. From the participants admitting to having engaged in Internet piracy, 88% were between the average university student ages (i.e. 18-19 years) who stated that they could not afford to buy the music so the only alternative they considered was obtaining it free from the Internet. 30% of the participants stated that they would purchase the media if they had the resources. While discussing the effects of high cost entertainment, Fowler (2002, p. 44) shows that high entertainment costs cause a ‘death spiral’ as fewer people buy the digital media, the prices get raised even further and eventually people are driven towards piracy by the entertainment industry itself. Availability of Pirates Media Online In 2002, Napster.com alone was estimated to be granting access to nearly 25 million music files. With time this figure have increased up to 5 billion Kwong & Lee (2002, p. 2481), White et al. (2010, p. 3). As a vast quantity of pirated media is now freely available online and due to the spreading trend of ‘why pay when you can get it for free’ mindset, Internet users consider obtaining pirated media illegally an easier choice as compared to buying it Marshall (2004, p. 172). Delays in Release When media release gets delayed around different countries of the world, it leads to piracy. American music, movies and TV shows are usually released in the US first and then to the rest of the countries. So the American consumers, who purchase the digital media, make copies and share them with their online communities. Potential consumers from countries where the media is yet to be released would choose downloading a pirated copy of the media rather than waiting for its release in their country and so would eventually not buy the music and movies when finally released White et al. (2010, p. 7). Effects on the Economy and the Entertainment Industry The effects of digital media piracy go beyond the economies of individual countries such as US and Australia. It affects the global economy. This is because 24% of the global Internet bandwidth is involved in digital media piracy. Based on the US Senate inquiry of 2011, in a period of five years, digital media piracy has costed the media creators and producers billions of dollars annually and has caused the industry massive job losses ‘Growth of Internet Piracy (2011, P. 258). Similarly, according to Groc (2007, p. 21), in only 2007, global piracy of music alone costed US economy $12.5 billion and the industry over 71,000 jobs. The article further states that if the piracy media was not so readily available online, 20% of the Internet users would pay for the music and movies. As the piracy trend has been increasing constantly, so have these numbers. The issue can have long lasting potentially damaging effects on not only the economy but on the record labels and production companies of the entertainment industry as well. In 2011, the value of US entertainment industry’s worth declined to $7.7 trillion from over $7.9 trillion from the preceding years. Thus, the steadily rising piracy trend is gradually devaluing the entertainment industry and leading countries towards an economic turmoil. Marshall (2004, p. 177), ‘Growth of Internet Piracy (2011, P. 258). Alternatives to Internet Piracy Having established the drastic effects of piracy from financial aspect, this section explores the current opportunities to substitute the need of piracy and the alternatives available. According to Fowler (2002, p. 39), major alterations are needed from two aspects; the creator’s and producer’s payment and the entertainment (e.g. music) to be free. With regards to the latter, the obvious solution is through the traditional entertainment means i.e. the radio and television. But in the fast paced society of today, public entertainment is a somewhat dying concept as people lack the patience to follow public entertainment schedules when they can easily fit entertainment into theirs. For instance, majority of university students prefer watching movies and TV shows on their computers rather than waiting for them to air on television Ramayah et al. (2009, p. 208). Due to this reason, students form the majority of piracy users. In view of this shift in public entertainment practices, the entertainment industry must pursue alternative funding methods. With regards to this, Russel (2002, p. 307) shows that advertising products within movies and TV shows is a lucrative market which has room for remarkable growth and acceptance. Through advertising products the creators and producers can get their aimed profits and in turn they can provide that entertainment either free or relatively cheaper. Another alternative to piracy includes use of a public entertainment system e.g. TV but through the Internet. Through this facility the issues of following public TV schedule can be avoided. Under this setting, instead of reserving times slots, the media networks would pay the TV systems when a user’s TV connected to the Internet accesses a specific TV show which the network offers for immediate watching. Similar to regular TV, the ads would still show. However, based on the show being watched and the user history, companies can utilize target advertisement schemes which would generate funds for the industry. Additionally, other alternative to piracy emerging in the market include smart devices’ (phone, tablets, etc.) apps and websites which offers free streaming of the music in their archives while they pay the record labels for using their music. This piracy alternative is highly effective as the users can freely access music of their choice while the industry would also be getting their royalties. This alternative would decrease the need for piracy and thus promote the economy as well as the entertainment industry. The website www.spotify.com is an operational example of this alternative. Conclusion As can be deduced from the facts gathered in this report, digital media piracy has become a pressing issue of the present time. While taking initiative towards controlling the issue, it is important to understand the reason why the percentage of Internet users indulged in this illegal activity is constantly rising. The report discussed that the key reason for the constant piracy rise is the high entertainment cost and the growing Internet culture based on the idea that everything online should be free. The report shows how piracy has drastic financial effects on the entertainment industry, the individual as well as global economy. The situation will continue if the issue is not controlled. And with every passing year, the losses become graver than before. To address the piracy issue, the report explained how the existing entertainment products have become outdated and recommends implementing up-to-date alternatives such as Spotify to provide for the constantly increasing societal demand of free entertainment. Read More