Piracy in Canada
Canada Likes Movies
Sympatico MSN has posted an unsurprisingly banal article on the state of movie piracy in Canada. All quotes, if not otherwise mentioned, are from that article.
“A few years ago Hollywood began to ‘watermark’ films sent to theatres, so if a movie leaked online, it could be run through a process that could prove what theatre it originated from” begins Frith. “And so this is how we know in 2005, for example, roughly 24 percent of pirated movies online emanated from Canadian theatres, mainly from the Montreal area.”
Anyone who’s lived in Montreal could have told you that.
Another reason why Canadians may download movies more per capita than our American neighbours is because we don’t have a legal alternative. In the U.S., for example, you could download movies for a few bucks apiece from online stores such as iTunes, Movielink, CinemaNow, Real Starz on Demand, Amazon’s Unbox, and soon, Wal-Mart. Warren agrees: “Once we can download movies legitimately in Canada we should see a bit of a drop in piracy.”
No evidence to back that up? It’s a shame there wasn’t a striking analogue like the digital music industry. Oh wait!
Dated Discussions
“I’m not persuaded by the argument that a single price deters piracy,” [EMI Group Chairman Eric] Nicoli said at a news conference in response to comments from Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs, who last month called music companies greedy for seeking variable prices for song downloads. “I’m not persuaded of the fact that a lower price deters piracy. What I am persuaded of is that making music more convenient and better value is a deterrent to piracy.”
- Via MacNN.
DRM does work. The problem is, it?s too easy to find alternatives. Every year, 20 Billion songs are sold DRM-free on CDs (as opposed to the ~2 Billion sold with DRM on iTunes), and Billions more are shared on the internet through p2p programs. So, DRM isn?t failing- it?s simply just as cheap, or cheaper, in terms of money, time, and security to download a song on p2p as it is to download a legal copy. That?s the problem, and that?s not DRM?s fault.
- Via Exchange.
Question for You
Does anyone have access to recent stats that show if illegal downloading has been affected by the advent of online music stores?
Nothing New
“Piracy might not affect the stars as much, but what about the lighting guys, script agents, grips and other unionized workers?” asks Warren rhetorically. “Not going to the movies because you downloaded the film for free hurts the overall pot of money, so studios may slash the budget of new films or they don’t produce as many.” Jobs will be lost, and smaller independent films, actors and directors will also suffer as investors might be less likely to take chances on new ideas.
That’s simply absurd. Studios will not slash the budget of a movie if they think that budget cut will affect eventual profit. If a movie is good enough, people will WANT to see it in the theatre and will buy the DVD. There are reasons why bands can give away their music for free/have it stolen, but still make a living through CD/mp3 sales, concert tickets, and merchandise. I’m also fairly unconvinced that the backers of our country’s independent films are going to be swayed by a medium that actually allows people to WATCH their work as opposed to hearing about the week-long engagement that I hadn’t heard about and now it’s too late to see. And have they never heard of Canada Council? I can’t remember the part of that grant application where it says “we are unwilling to fund your project due to fear of piracy.”
Give in to your Urges!
And keep in mind many Canadians are employed in the movie business, especially in markets such as Toronto (“Hollywood North”) and Vancouver. By downloading that free movie from the Internet you may be hurting that neighbour you drink beers with.
Until the laws get tougher to make pirating movies a deterrent, Warren urges Canadians to simply “resist the urge.”
Oh they called Toronto “Hollywood North” and mentioned beer! I’m so distracted by national pride that I’ve forgotten about the article’s lack of a cogent argument! Maybe we can just continue doing things as we are and let the cream rise to the top? Or maybe Hollywood/”Hollywood North” will realize that if someone REALLY wants to watch a movie, that TC-Cam version probably isn’t going to suffice. Make movies that reject the objectively shitty quality of internet downloading and people won’t download them from the internet.
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