Internet Piracy

One of us just wrote this up to the BBC website. We aren't telling you which one, and this isn't the official band stance or anything, however it is both music related and food for thought. Let us know what you think.

"I first started downloading illegally in the Napster era. Then into the Kazzaa, then Limewire and now into the Torrent era.

In my experience, although there will always be a hardened core who will, music downloading is no longer a big issue. Back when albums cost £15 for their first 6 months of release it was rampant, however with ease of delivery and better pricing, music downloads aren't a major issue. The only downloads of Music I have made in the last few years has been to replace albums that have been lost, stolen or damaged.

The problem with downloading TV & Film, which is what the lions share of modern downloading is, is caused by two underlying problems and both of them are at the studios end.

The first is odd program scheduling. If a film is released in the UK a week, or even at all, after a USA or Japan release then studios cannot expect hardened audiences to wait for a release when the film will be available online. The same for television, as most series are broadcast in the UK 6 to 12 months after the USA, and so asking audiences to wait when the media is available online is highly naive.

The second is archaic delivery techniques,an issue that the Music industry took far too long to correct. Instead of fighting hard to keep current distribution channels open, they need to embrace new ways to spread, and profit from, their product. Any look at the number of seeders and downloaders on a torrent site shows how popular they are, along with the viewers on streaming channels.

However, this is the crux of where the problem lies. US Studios do not have agreements in place with distributors to allow them to broadcast better online, and they do not have good deals in place with Unions in terms of online royalties. They have tried to meet halfway, with sites such as Hulu, however it simply won't come to pass. End users do not want to catch up on last weeks show, or see selected clips, or see an advert for next weeks. They want to watch their show, whether it be the the latest episode or the first ever broadcast. Turning a profit from advertising embedded in online film and TV should also be much easier than the failed attempts to do so with media, as audiences are used to seeing advertising on television.

Changing the culture will also be harder. Music acts finances aren't as widely known, and musicians are generally more respected artistically than actors. Unlike when prominent bands such as Metallica spoke out against music piracy, actors will not find the same sympathies. Especially when the struggling student, low paid shift worker and debt ridden post grad hears a lead actor who earnt $20m for a movie asking not to download it for financial reasons.

It is also harder for ISPs to crack down, as before they could act based on high download and upload figures for an IP addy. However, with the rise of digital delivery for software and online gaming, it can be hard to distinguish a genuine high traffic user from a rampant pirate.

I am not defending what I do. I know that legally it is wrong, however the crime is viewed by many with an amount of non-chalance. This is how I choose to view my media, and it is not provided by official channels. Film and TV studios need to see the struggle record labels went through before realising they needed to embrace, and not fight, new distribution channels and business models. There are those who do steal because they don't want to pay, but many others do it as a matter of convinience.

Although, as most studios have no intention of adjusting themselves to suit customers needs, the only way to control the current form of media sharing would be to laws similar to prostitution. Do not make it a crime to download, however make it a crime to solicit. Each time an illegal stream is caught broadcasting copyrighted material, and each time a poster places a torrent file to copyrighted media, punish them. This will lead to fewer users risking uploading, providing less chances for those to download and start to put studios back in control."