Phew! A generation of movie and music sharers breathed a sigh of relief last week.
In case you missed it, the Federal Court of Australia handed down an internationally significant decision that internet service providers are not responsible for the downloading habits of their customers.
The suit was brought on Perth-based ISP iiNet by an intimidating alliance including Disney, Warner Bros, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Village Roadshow and Sony who alleged iiNet were aware of, and allowed, Australian users to download pirated movies.
With that mob of studios after it, iiNet would have been wishing its father had never met its mother.
But the little ISP that could (with that annoying Irish dweeb in the ads) manned-up and, in a very reasonable verdict, the court found simply knowing customers were downloading movies did not amount to iiNet’s liability.
The Hollywood alliance is pissed. Where do they go on illegal downloader’s now? The music industry is jumping on board and are saying they may have no choice but to sue individuals unless the Government intervenes.
That means multi-billion dollar studios suing you and me if we ever had a dodgy track on our iPod.
The music industry is weird though.
On Wednesday, the Australian Recording Industry Association announced its first annual period of growth in six years.
Despite everyone chuckin’ a wobbly over the decline in hardcopy CD music sales, wholesale music sale figures actually jumped 4.81 per cent in 2009.
As reported in The Australian, the steady decline in physical music sales has been more than offset by sales of digital songs and albums over the internet.
Last year, online music sales increased by 46.23 per cent from the previous year. Over the same period, physical music sales declined a modest 1.23 per cent. A major win for the music industry.
Experts say illegal downloading over that time has increased also.
So where’s the missing link? Why was ARIA chairman Ed St John (nice rockstar name) still saying file sharing ``continues to erode profits and hamper investment into the local industry’‘.
Some say there is no link and illegal downloaders are also the music industry’s best customers.
In January, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents the recording industry in 72 countries, released its ``Digital Music Report’’ which, not surprisingly, blamed a massive global drop in physical music sales entirely on illegal downloaders.
What they failed to mention in their scary press release were their findings that, compared to music buyers, music sharers are:
* 31 per cent more likely to buy single tracks online.
* 33 per cent more likely to buy music albums online.
* 100 per cent more likely to pay for music subscription services; and
* 60 per cent more likely to pay for music on a mobile phone.
Music fans are music fans, the figures suggest, and their insatiable appetite is just not being met by online stores and record labels.
They’ll buy when they can and illegally share the rest. What many label big-wigs don’t know is that several illegal BitTorrent sites have a ratio system where users have to upload more than they download. Many buy lots of music simply so they can increase their ratio. Music sales still go up.
As the surprisingly articulate blogger ``Ernesto’’ of file-sharing website TorrentFreak wrote last month, the figures show that music pirates are ``the industry’s most valuable customers’‘.
``Have you ever heard of one of the major movie studios complaining about the decrease in sales of VHS tapes?’’ Ernesto wrote.
``The music industry on the other hand continues to blame the decrease in physical sales on digital piracy, ignoring the fact there’s a generation growing up that have never owned a physical CD.’‘
It might be time for studios to stop ambushing unsuspecting websites, ISPs or individuals and start thinking outside the square. Like more limitless subscription services, perhaps.
Would you steal a car? Nope. But you’ll rent one if you need it. And you’d definitely pay a monthly fee to drive it whenever you want.
I’ll use Ernesto’s words again because there’s no better way to say it. The same goes for pirated movies.
``We are not advocating that all music should be free and neither do most of the music lovers who share files online. However, the music industry continues to ignore that file-sharing is much more of a signal from the market that it is the increased demand for music that fuels piracy.
``The solution to the problem is easy. Start offering more unlimited and unrestricted music services and piracy will go into a free-fall. File-sharers are already paying for digital music, and they pay more than the average music consumer. File-sharing is simply a market signal showing that there is a need to compensate for the lack of high quality and affordable subscription services.’‘
Some food for thought for the major studios, who are still licking their wounds as they prepare to take iiNet to the High Court.
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