New study claim studios lie about piracy

While it won't come as a surprise to many, it's good to have a bit of solid evidence of the fact. A new study from the London School of Economics is accusing the media industry of making out that “losses” to piracy are far worse than they really are and even found that the three strikes and internet cut off policies pushed by many lobby groups on behalf of movie studios and record companies, make no difference whatsoever.

The study suggests that it's not a case of piracy inhibiting sales of products, it's the industry's lack of willingness to adopt new distribution methods. Those firms that have made a push for digital sharing, have shown much more growth than those that try to corral their business and attack their customers with legal action.

“Neither the creative industry nor governments can put a stop to cultural change that is global and in many cases welcomed, including by other segments of industry,” said LSE's Professor Robin Mansel in the report (via the Register).

While he goes on to suggest that there is a place for copyright law, it needs to be consistent with, “21st century values and practices.”

No, but I might download one if I forgot my girl's birthday

As we reported at the opening of this year, the movie industry is far from floundering. In fact, last year alone it took in over $10 billion, despite the ever constant threat of piracy looming over it. Similarly the music industry is selling huge volumes of product digitally, without the cost of physical media setting it back.

“Contrary to the industry claims, the music industry is not in terminal decline, but still holding ground and showing healthy profits,” said  lecturer in the LSE Department of Media and Communications, Bart Cammaerts. “Revenues from digital sales, subscription services, streaming and live performances compensate for the decline in revenues from the sale of CDs or records.”

Comparatively, the game industry is doing incredibly well, making billions upon billions of dollars, thanks to its acceptance of digital distribution as a future-proof platform. This is something that other media industries need to take note of, the report suggests.

Likewise it needs to stop focusing on legislation and legal action against those that circumvent the law when it comes to media buying. The study found no evidence that industry revenue was improved by crackdowns on individuals or websites.

Other studies have in-fact said the opposite, showing that piracy helps smaller and medium movies make more money.

KitGuru Says: Always great to see more of this evidence coming out. I've said it for years and I'll say it again: let me pay for movies I want to watch and have them stream in HD, at a watchable speed, and I'll do it, every time. Tell me I can't watch what I want for whatever reason? Well then…

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