Damaging Effects of unauthorized copying of audiovisual entertainment to the original creators
In todays world, thanks to improving technologies and advancement in the internet and other file sharing programs, copying songs, movies, television shows and videos off the internet and other storage devices has become very easy. Online streaming sites, such as Youtube, provide a 24 hour database where any song, movie or show can be seen or heard. Similar applications such as Limewire and Ares offer sharing of songs and videos and other copyright material from one user to another with no royalty being paid to the creators.
Customers benefit the most through the copying of audiovisual entertainment and are able to benefit from this type of piracy. The effect of copying such material has been however proven to be exaggerated as studies indicate that the reduction in sales due to piracy is no greater than 20 of total loss, which can mostly be attributed to numerous other causes (Smith, 2009).
Affect on original creators
Within the music industry, artists earn their revenues in two manners. Firstly, they earn money from royalties which they receive from every album or record sold. However, there other source of income is through performing in concerts and tours which they conduct during the release of their albums. The artists however rely principally on their performances for generating income and attribute a small percentage of their popularity or wealth to royalties.
The effect of copying songs actually results in increased popularity of the band and in turn results in increased demands for concerts and live performances (Gopal, 2006). Statistically analyzing, bands benefit more from these illegal transactions which help in spreading good word-of-mouth for them and increase their market penetration than they could have obtained at the same negligible cost.
Copying songs off variable sources rather than purchasing them is a criminal offense which is under copyright infringement laws. Technological changes have been principle in reducing the sales of records and as technologies shifted from records to tapes, now the electronic format is most effective. The Apple iTunes in particular prove that sales are not determined by the physical existence of the medium.
Another affect that copying has had on creators is the level of benefit which they receive based on their popularity. Artists who are more popular and have higher budgets feel the worse of copyright infringements because it directly cuts into their sales, whereas lesser known artists can easily promote themselves and use the same channels to touch a larger audience (Blackburn, 2004). Lesser known artists benefit from the piracy of songs as they can get better concert opportunities as people can check out their creations for free. Also, studies have shown that when people download songs and popular movies for free, they have more disposable income to spend on experimenting with lesser known artists and their material. This leads to increased sales for the upcoming artists and helps them gain a market share (Gayer, 2006).
Experimentation increases thanks to free filesharing and allows for the audience to explore new avenues which they would have been apprehensive about earlier due to the risk of the investment in cds and tapes turning out sour if they did not like the material.
It is not just the music industry which feels the futility of spending on protecting their material, as the audio book companies are also following suite. They are of the opinion that if they allow for free access to the material, it would help build up interest in the industry as a whole which has been slightly lacking in recent times as audio books were declining with regards to sales (Oberholzer-Gee, 2007).
Two strategies can be applied in dealing with piracy issues which basically depends on the type of market and the differentiation of the product within said market. If the market has vertical differentiation, meaning that products vary based on the difference in the content and its quality, it is suggested to spend an amount corresponding with the quality of your product for protection, meaning that if the product is of poor quality a minimum amount on copyrighting and protection costs should be incurred and vice versa. However, it is believed that the protection would only be optimal if the protection implementation costs were low (Kwan, 2008).
In conclusion, what we can surmise from the researches undertaken in understanding the effects of unauthorized copying audiovisual entertainments results in benefits for the actual creators however the production houses and producers are the ones who feel the brunt of the decrease in sales.
With respect to the visual entertainment industry, it must be noted that often illegal releases and other such unofficial releases results in losses to the producers and production houses more because people may not be willing to pay the fees for the cinemas or screening venues as they can see the movie free of cost at home. This has led to rising prices of tickets and this hurts viewers who wish for watching movies on the big screen as well.
In todays world, thanks to improving technologies and advancement in the internet and other file sharing programs, copying songs, movies, television shows and videos off the internet and other storage devices has become very easy. Online streaming sites, such as Youtube, provide a 24 hour database where any song, movie or show can be seen or heard. Similar applications such as Limewire and Ares offer sharing of songs and videos and other copyright material from one user to another with no royalty being paid to the creators.
Customers benefit the most through the copying of audiovisual entertainment and are able to benefit from this type of piracy. The effect of copying such material has been however proven to be exaggerated as studies indicate that the reduction in sales due to piracy is no greater than 20 of total loss, which can mostly be attributed to numerous other causes (Smith, 2009).
Affect on original creators
Within the music industry, artists earn their revenues in two manners. Firstly, they earn money from royalties which they receive from every album or record sold. However, there other source of income is through performing in concerts and tours which they conduct during the release of their albums. The artists however rely principally on their performances for generating income and attribute a small percentage of their popularity or wealth to royalties.
The effect of copying songs actually results in increased popularity of the band and in turn results in increased demands for concerts and live performances (Gopal, 2006). Statistically analyzing, bands benefit more from these illegal transactions which help in spreading good word-of-mouth for them and increase their market penetration than they could have obtained at the same negligible cost.
Copying songs off variable sources rather than purchasing them is a criminal offense which is under copyright infringement laws. Technological changes have been principle in reducing the sales of records and as technologies shifted from records to tapes, now the electronic format is most effective. The Apple iTunes in particular prove that sales are not determined by the physical existence of the medium.
Another affect that copying has had on creators is the level of benefit which they receive based on their popularity. Artists who are more popular and have higher budgets feel the worse of copyright infringements because it directly cuts into their sales, whereas lesser known artists can easily promote themselves and use the same channels to touch a larger audience (Blackburn, 2004). Lesser known artists benefit from the piracy of songs as they can get better concert opportunities as people can check out their creations for free. Also, studies have shown that when people download songs and popular movies for free, they have more disposable income to spend on experimenting with lesser known artists and their material. This leads to increased sales for the upcoming artists and helps them gain a market share (Gayer, 2006).
Experimentation increases thanks to free filesharing and allows for the audience to explore new avenues which they would have been apprehensive about earlier due to the risk of the investment in cds and tapes turning out sour if they did not like the material.
It is not just the music industry which feels the futility of spending on protecting their material, as the audio book companies are also following suite. They are of the opinion that if they allow for free access to the material, it would help build up interest in the industry as a whole which has been slightly lacking in recent times as audio books were declining with regards to sales (Oberholzer-Gee, 2007).
Two strategies can be applied in dealing with piracy issues which basically depends on the type of market and the differentiation of the product within said market. If the market has vertical differentiation, meaning that products vary based on the difference in the content and its quality, it is suggested to spend an amount corresponding with the quality of your product for protection, meaning that if the product is of poor quality a minimum amount on copyrighting and protection costs should be incurred and vice versa. However, it is believed that the protection would only be optimal if the protection implementation costs were low (Kwan, 2008).
In conclusion, what we can surmise from the researches undertaken in understanding the effects of unauthorized copying audiovisual entertainments results in benefits for the actual creators however the production houses and producers are the ones who feel the brunt of the decrease in sales.
With respect to the visual entertainment industry, it must be noted that often illegal releases and other such unofficial releases results in losses to the producers and production houses more because people may not be willing to pay the fees for the cinemas or screening venues as they can see the movie free of cost at home. This has led to rising prices of tickets and this hurts viewers who wish for watching movies on the big screen as well.
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