On Monday night I went to a sneak preview of the new comedy “Adventureland’. It was a pretty entertaining film; however, I was so distracted by the security guard inside the theatre that kept flashing his light on people to make sure they were not trying to film the movie. Is this what movies are coming to? Intense security guards checking everyones’ bags to make sure they are not carrying video recording devices? I guess movie theatres are starting to take this whole digital piracy issue a little more seriously.
According to the New York Times, media companies say that piracy — some prefer to call it “digital theft” to emphasize the criminal nature of the act — is an increasingly mainstream pursuit [1]. Because of widely available broadband access and a new wave of streaming sites, it has become surprisingly easy to watch pirated video online — a troubling development for entertainment executives and copyright lawyers. It has been said that illegal downloads and streams are now responsible for about 40 percent of the revenue the industry loses annually as a result of piracy [1].
Now, people do not even have to worry about having to download movies. Using a search engine, anyone can find free copies of movies, still in theaters, in a matter of minutes. A wave of streaming sites, which allow people to start watching video immediately, are making it easier than ever to watch free Hollywood content online [1]. This new trend is becoming to second nature to people, they no longer need to go to the theatre and pay $10 to see a film; rather, they can sit in the comfort of their own home and watch movies that have yet to air in theatres. Especially with how things are playing out with the economy…who would want to pay $10 for a movie these days?
So will there ever be an end to this digital piracy? ‘Many of these sites are located in countries with lackluster piracy enforcement efforts, like China, and are hard to monitor, so media companies do not have a clear sense of how much content is being stolen’ [1]. In other words, as long as new sites and technologies are being created, the more digital piracy will continue to prevail on the internet. Therefore, media companies need to start looking to new technologies and the mistakes that the music industry made if they want a chance in winning the battle against digital piracy.
Sources:
[1] Stetler, Brian. (2009). Digital pirates winning battle with studios. Retrieved on March 25, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/business/media/05piracy.html?pagewanted=1
