Piracy in film?! R rated

http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/03/06/tv-and-film-piracy-threatening-an-industry/
TV and Film Piracy: Threatening an Industry? (2013, March 6). Retrieved January 22, 2015, from
 http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/03/06/tv-and-film-piracy-threatening-an-industry/


Forbes magazine is a biweekly American publication that reports on topics such as business, marketing, industry, and investment.  More specifically, some subfields within these areas of interest that might be explored include technological advances and modern communications.  This particular article from the popular news source's online magazine titled, "TV and Film Piracy: Threatening an Industry?", explains how popular piracy and free streaming resources made possible through modern technology may pose a threat to the film industry.  The real question is, how much do these free ways of viewing TV/film take away from the revenue collected by production and distribution companies within the industry?  Contrastingly, might these rapid and free streaming sources perpetuate revenue by allowing for more exposure that may incite a bigger fan base?  Let's take a closer look:

 

Important Quotes Explained...

 

 

1. "The pirates have outnumbered the watchdogs. If you don’t believe that, ask the watchdogs... The watchdogs can’t possibly keep up—they’re overrun like a hobbled survivors fleeing a horde of zombies on AMC’s 'The Walking Dead.'"
• This quote is not only fascinating, but also quite witty.  As new forms of technology inundate the media, the film industry is being attacked by free streaming services and piracy sites that are as predatory as flesh eating zombies.  Nowadays, the people looking to gain satisfaction from free streaming of movie content outweigh the number of workers attempting to profit from toil and labor within the film distribution, marketing, and production business.
2. "...it does seem fair to assume that not every pirated copy of an audiovisual work represents lost revenue to the content producer.”
• Of course, one must take into account that each piece of pirated film would not have necessarily been purchased by consumers in the first place.  It really makes you wonder whether the attention and recognition garnered through free streaming and piracy compensates for the revenue lost in the film industry by these same means.
3. " In a business where recognition of your work, your name and your face is paramount, free streaming is just another way of upping your visibility."
• It is evident that the bottom feeders in the film industry food chain suffer far greater than film officials do from losses caused by streaming services and piracy sites.  After all, big name directors and actors will profit enormously from their work in film despite setbacks caused by technological 'inconveniences.' such as these  In fact, the director of the critically acclaimed television program, "Game of Thrones", is thankful for all the extra exposure that free streaming offers to the show.  In  his opinion, it helps to create a culture and additional fan following that otherwise would not have been created without this extra coverage.

To Keep it Simple...

The threat that piracy sites and streaming resources pose on the film distribution and production industry isn't as clean cut as it may seem.  After all, with advances in technology exponentially on the rise, the way we ethically consume media is entering a gray area.  It is hard to determine whether piracy is directly correlated with loss of revenue, because the question remains whether these consumers would have purchased the viewing of film/TV content if it had not been offered for free through streaming services, or at a bargain deal in the black market.  The answer to this lies somewhere between the scope of a intellectual property lawyer and an economist. 

 

Regardless, even the slightest of marginal losses in revenue will wind up being detrimental to workers at the lowest ranks in the industry.  Piracy is not only illegal, but also unstoppable, and hazardous in the sense that it keeps companies within the industry from making optimal amounts of money.  Loss in revenue means a smaller number of jobs, and lower salaries for those who work in the film/TV distribution and production industries.  Fortunately for the actors and directors behind motion picture productions, the effects of piracy aren't felt as acutely.  Even so, not everyone is as fortunate...

 

However, there is a Brightside to all this piracy and free streaming nonsense, which provides hope for the film industry in the midst of all these problems that new entertainment technologies ensue.  Hubs of subscribed video streaming content such as Netflix, vimeo, and Hulu are slowly but surely decreasing the prevalence of piracy within society.  Of course, these legitimate streaming sites will not totally eradicate the problem, nor will they completely wipe out sources that offer streaming for no charge.  The good news is that piracy issues are being addressed, and technological advancements have allowed for legal streaming services to take over as the preferred type of media consumption, while simultaneously providing more payback for film distributors and producers.

 

 

So is piracy truly threatening the film industry?  Perhaps in a certain regard it is, but at the same time, it has led to streaming sites such as Netflix and hulu.  These sources up the exposure-game for deserving media content, and create a larger fan base for many film and television programs that would otherwise have not been viewed.  In the end of the day, maybe the film industry had to suffer an initial loss in revenue in order to gain much more in the long run.

 

 

Stay tuned for the next posting which will provide a case study on subscription streaming sites as related to film distribution.  Streaming sources are a recent phenomenon in the film entertainment industry and... I mean... who doesn't love Netflix or Amazon prime nowadays?...