Earlier in the month, the details of the internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement were leaked, and it should give anyone who uses the internet cause for concern. Should the treaty go into effect as-is, it has the potential to not simply crack down on piracy, but change the entire nature of the internet.
I’m a music and movie fan, so that’s invariably where my brain goes to when this subject comes up. The ACTA has had me thinking a lot lately about internet piracy and how the entertainment industry in particular is completely backwards in the way they approach it. I’m not an expert on legal anything, so bear that mind.
The first thing that needs to happen is that the industry needs to accept the fact that there is always going to be piracy. They would like you to believe that the internet is responsible for creating it, but the truth is that there has been a thriving market for piracy ever since magnetic tape became the standard delivery method for music and movies. If you were alive and listening to music back before CDs, don’t tell me you never owned a cassette or video tape that wasn’t copied from somewhere else. Granted, the onset of digital technology means that we can now create copies without any loss of quality, but the fact remains, media piracy has been commonplace for a very long time.
Furthermore, pirates are smart. Do what you may to protect your media, but people will always find a way to crack it. Methods for protecting digital media are doing little but giving the studios a false sense of security and wasting their money; if people want to get at something, they will, and usually much more easily than you’d give them credit for.
Considering those very clear facts (And they are facts, unless the world plans on becoming a police state), what can the entertainment industry do to combat piracy? Well, it’s pretty fucking simple: Stop being reactive and start getting proactive.
All the money that’s being invested in putting a stop to piracy (Which is a waste, if we’re accepting the above truth) should be used towards improving overall technology and preparing for the changes to the industry that have been coming down the pike awhile now. You can’t eliminate the piracy, so make legitimacy a better option. You manage that one simple way: Convenience.
Let’s take movies for example. If I could quickly and easily download a copy of a newly-released movie for, say, $5—Significantly cheaper than going to the theatre—I would do that all the time. Maybe I get 2 viewings for my $5. Maybe I decide I really like the movie and pay an extra $5 for a permanent digital copy. Just like when you go to the video store, older films would cost less.
Now, you might be wondering what happens to the theatres in this futuristic scenario wherein new media is available at the click of a button, but as much as I enjoy going to the movies, I think we all need to take a step back and consider the reality of that sinking ship. Slowly but surely, attending the theatre is becoming less about having access to content and more about the ambiance, and eventually theatres are going to go the way of music stores: We’re going to see less and less of them, and they’re going to be more about serving a niche market. This is going to happen whether you apply my scenario or not.
Back to the point, though: I’m not just pulling this concept out of my ass. It’s a proven formula: Just look at the massive success of iTunes. Pirated music are possibly the easiest illegal downloads to find on the internet, and still millions of people give iTunes and other mp3 retailers their money every, single day. Why? It’s more convenient, and the the price is low enough to not be prohibitive to that.
It’s a win-win scenario, too: While downloads will cost less, they will invariably net the studios more money, as they’re eliminating things like middlemen, packaging and shipping costs. They could charge more for the actual product, and we’d all still feel like we were getting a great deal. We’d feel good, they’d make money; everybody’s happy. All that’s prohibiting us at this point is an antiquated way of approaching the situation.
So, what’s up, entertainment big-wigs? When can we expect you to stop telling us to get off your damn lawn and start actually looking ahead? I wouldn’t expect it of you guys, but you’re thinking way too small: There’s a whole, untapped market out there just waiting for you to wake up. Change is scary, I know, but it happens whether you’re ready for it or not.
