The article below is reproduced from Torrent Freak:
The London School of Economics and
Political Science has released a new policy brief urging the UK Government to
look beyond the lobbying efforts of the entertainment industry when it comes to
future copyright policy. According to the report there is ample evidence that
file-sharing is helping, rather than hurting the creative industries. The
scholars call on the Government to look at more objective data when deciding on
future copyright enforcement policies.
Over
the past years there have been ample research reports showing that file-sharing
can have positive effects on the entertainment industries.
Industry
lobbyists are often quick to dismiss these findings as incidents or weak
research, and counter them with expensive studies they have commissioned
themselves.
The
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) jumps into the
discussion this week with a media policy brief urging the UK Government to look
beyond the reports lobbyists hand to them. Their report concludes that the
entertainment industry isn’t devastated by piracy, and that sharing of culture
has several benefits.
“Contrary
to the industry claims, the music industry is not in terminal decline, but
still holding ground and showing healthy profits. Revenues from digital sales,
subscription services, streaming and live performances compensate for the
decline in revenues from the sale of CDs or records,” says Bart Cammaerts, LSE
Senior Lecturer and one of the report’s authors.
The
report shows that the entertainment industries are actually doing quite well.
The digital gaming industry is thriving, the publishing sector is stable, and
the U.S. film industry is breaking record after record.
“Despite
the Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA) claim that online piracy is
devastating the movie industry, Hollywood achieved record-breaking global box
office revenues of $35 billion in 2012, a 6% increase over 2011,” the report
reads.
Even
the music industry is doing relatively well. Revenue from concerts, publishing
and digital sales has increased significantly since the early 2000s and while
recorded music revenues show a decline, there is little evidence that piracy is
the lead cause.
“The
music industry may be stagnating, but the drastic decline in revenues warned of
by the lobby associations of record labels is not in evidence,” the report
concludes.
The
authors further argue that file-sharing can actually benefit the creative
industries in various ways.
The
report mentions the success of the SoundCloud
service where artists can share their work for free through Creative Commons licenses, the
promotional effect of YouTube where copyrighted songs are shared to promote
sales, and the fact that research shows that file-sharers actually spend more
money on entertainment than those who don’t share.
“Within
the creative industries there is a variety of views on the best way to benefit
from online sharing practices, and how to innovate to generate revenue streams
in ways that do not fit within the existing copyright enforcement regime,” the
authors write.
Finally,
the report shows that punitive enforcement strategies such as the three strikes
law in France are not as effective as the entertainment industries claim.
The
researchers hope that the U.K. Government will review the Digital Economy Act
in this light, and make sure that it will take into account the interests of
both the public and copyright holders.
This
means expanding fair use and private copying exceptions for citizens, while
targeting enforcement on businesses rather than individuals.
“We
recommend a review of the DEA and related legislation that strikes a healthy
balance among the interests of a range of stakeholders including those in the
creative industries, Internet Service Providers and internet users.”
“When
both [the creative industries and citizens] can exploit the full potential of
the internet, this will maximize innovative content creation for the benefit of
all stakeholders,” the authors write.
Source:
http://torrentfreak.com/piracy-isnt-hurting-the-entertainment-industry-121003/
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