internet piracy: how to compete with free

8/2/2019 Internet Piracy: How to Compete With Free

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Combating Internet Piracy:

How to Compete With Free

The entertainment industry has been at war with internet piracy for almost as long as

the internet has existed. What essentially boils down to file sharing of copyrighted material,

internet piracy costs just the music industry $12.5 billion annually.1

The American motion

picture industry lost a reported $6.1 billion worldwide in 2005.2

Most of these losses are

suffered by the large production companies, while the artists arent as effected do to their

contracts. In most cases actors and artists contracts give them only a small percentage of the

profits, while their record label or production company takes the majority of the profits. The

strategy of industry leaders to combat file sharing is pushing for legislation such as the Stop

Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act.

Artists have opportunities to protect their interests as well. Given the vast potential the

internet provides, there are multiple methods artists can use to break away from the

entertainment industrys mold to encourage the legitimate use of their content.

ThePirateBay.se is one of the most notorious piracy sites on the internet today. It

actively supports, encourages, and facilitates copyright infringement on a massive scale. Based

in Sweden, a country whose laws regarding copyright infringement are lax compared to

1Siwek, S. E. (2007, August 21). the true cost of sound recording piracy on the u.s. economy. Retrieved from

http://www.ipi.org/IPI\IPIPublications.nsf/PublicationLookupFullText/5C2EE3D2107A4C228625733E0053A1F4

2L.E.K. (2006). The cost of movie piracy.

Retrieved from http://austg.com/include/downloads/PirateProfile.pdf


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America, it has been able to avoid shut down. It provides links known as torrents that allow the

sharing of files between multiple users across the globe.

Recently ThePirateBay.sehas started a campaign it has coined The Promo Bay. The

idea is geared towards independent musicians, directors, and comedians to allow them to

promote their work on the front page of ThePirateBay.se. For instance, a musician submits a

short application containing their work, how they would like the advertisement to look, and up

to three countries they would like the advertisement to appear in. If it is chosen out of the pool

of applications, the advertisement replaces the sites logo for a short time. When clicking on the

ad, it would link the user to the artists work, whether it is a Youtube.com channel, or a

Facebook.com page. The only stipulation is that the content is free and easy to access.

This can benefit the artists in multiple ways. According to Alexa.com, a website that can

provide accurate internet traffic data, ThePirateBay.se is the 101st

most visited site globally

monthly, and the 84th

most visited site in the United States.3

It receives almost 2 billion page

views a month from over 4 million unique visitors. This is a massive opportunity for an

independent artist to release his or her work to global audience.

Toms Vergara, director of a short film called The Chase, was very successful

capitalizing on this idea. After the advertisement went up, his film received 250,000 online

3Alexa.com thepiratebay.se site info. (2012, April).

Retrieved from http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/thepiratebay.se


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views in three days. Afterwards he posted on his films website that ThePirateBay.se provided

him massive exposure he couldnt have received otherwise.4

George Barnett, an independent musician, also had great success with The Promo Bay.

On March 13th

, 2012 he uploaded his newest self-released album, entitled 17 Days. He sells

his music on his personal website georgebarnett.co.uk as well, and according to comments on

the torrent file of the album many fans purchased his other music to support him. This may be

in part due to his advertisement, which was simply a picture of him with a short statement:

You can now download a torrent of my showcase album 17 Days, on

which I play nearly every instrument. This was uploaded on 13 March 2012,

because although I like money and that people buy my songs, I also understand

what its like to be broke too and I still value your support.5

The Promo Bay promotion is still taking place, and it has gained massive popularity. The

Pirate Bay reports that theyve received more than 5000 applications since starting the event.

The future will show what the impact of the Pirate Bay promotion is. Im absolutely certain

that at least 2 or 3 of them have become superstars by then, stated Winston, a Pirate Bay

representative in a TorrentFreak.com article.6 Artists dont make a direct profit from being a

part of the promotion, but the exposure they receive is enough to put them in a public

4Vergara, T. (2012, February 24). The chase - the promo bay. Retrieved from http://thechaseshortfilm.com/

5Poling, J. (2012, March 14). Uk musician george barnett says he understands if you need to pirate his new album. Retrieved

from http://jamespoling.com/uk-musician-george-barnett-says-he-understands-if-you-need-to-pirate-his-new-album/

6Ernesto. (2012, April 05). 5000 artists line up for the pirate bay promotion. Retrieved from http://torrentfreak.com/5000-

artists-line-up-for-a-pirate-bay-promotion- 120405/


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spotlight. George Barnetts experience proves that just because something is free does not

mean people wont pay for it.

Megaupload.com was the most popular file sharing service on the web. It allowed users

to upload a file and receive a link which they could share so other users could download the

file. When Megauploadwas seized in December 2011, the founders were experimenting with a

system they called MegaBox. MegaBox would have been a download platform where musical

artists could upload their songs for sale. Kim Dotcom, Megauploads founder, stated it would be

their ITunes competitor. Megaupload would make most of their profits off advertisements,

allowing artists to keep 90 percent of the profits from music sales. In addition, artists who

upload their music for free access can still get paid by Megaupload from advertisement

revenue. This system was called MegaKey, and gave a portion of ad profits to the artists. The

more their music was downloaded, the more ad revenue was made.

Before Megauploadwas brought down, its partners for Megabox included 7digital, Rovi,

Gracenote, and Amazon. Unfortunately with the seizure of Megaupload, it would appear

MegaBox may never come to fruition. Megauploadwas very capable of changing the music

industry, being the 13th

most visited site on the internet before it was taken down, according to

Alexa.com.7

It also claimed backing by multiple popular musicians who wished to break away

from their record labels. Perhaps if the creators ofMegauploademerge from their current legal

battle triumphant, they can make Megabox a reality.

7Alexa.com megaupload site info. (2011, December).

Retrieved from http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/megaupload.com


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Those are just two options musicians can consider, but music is not the only thing being

affected by illegal file sharing over the internet. Stage performers, such as comedians, also have

their performances shared without their consent. A search for Dane Cook, a popular comedian,

on ThePirateBay.se brings up almost 50 results.8

Louis C.K. is a very famous comedian known for his stand-up comedy, supporting roles

in movies, and a show on the FX network. He executed an experiment involving the internet

community and his fans. In a letter posted to his website 4 days after its release, Louis states:

The experiment was: if I put out a brand new standup special at a

drastically low price ($5) and make it as easy as possible to buy, download and

enjoy, free of any restrictions, will everyone just go and steal it? Will they pay for

it? And how much money can be made by an individual in this manner?9

The production was a recording of two shows done at the Beacon Theater in

Manhattan. He paid for, directed, and produced the shows, the recording, and the website to

distribute the special. In total he claims to have spent $202,000. Ticket prices returned him

roughly $170,000 of that. $32,000 went into the website to ensure it was easy to access,

navigate, and could handle a large amount of traffic and downloading.

8The Pirate Bay. (2012, April 10)Retrieved from http://thepiratebay.se/search/dane%20cook/0/7/0/

9C.K, L. (2011, December 21). Louis ck: Live at the beacon theater.

Retrieved from https://buy.louisck.net/news


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In the same letter, he states 12 hours after release of the special, he sold over fifty

thousand copies, netting him around $250,000 dollars. Four days later that number was over

110,000 copies sold. Twelve days later he made over $1,000,000.10

I believe anyone would call that a success. Louis C.K. considered it a success, and hopes

to release all of his material in this fashion from now on. He attributed the low piracy rates to

the low price of the special, the ease of access, the lack of restrictions, and the lack of a middle

man raising the price. Louis stated in his letter:

This is less than I would have been paid by a large company to simply perform the show

and let them sell it to you, but they would have charged you about $20 for the video. They

would have given you an encrypted and regionally restricted video of limited value, and they

would have owned your private information for their own use. They would have withheld

international availability indefinitely If the trend continues with sales on this video, my goal is

that I can reach the point where when I sell anything, be it videos, CDs or tickets to my tours, Ill

do it here and Ill continue to follow the model of keeping my price as far down as possible, not

overmarketing to you, keeping as few people between you and me as possible in the

transaction.11

This model worked very well for him, being an established figure in the entertainment

industry and having the funds to make it a reality. I see this business model being difficult for

artists and entertainers to perform without the proper funds that production companies and

record labels can provide. Perhaps that is a trade-off inherent to the industry.

10 See 9.

11See 9


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Its clear there are ways for entertainers to release their creations to deter piracy. The

similarities visible are ease of access, low price, and the lack of a middle man raising the prices

for their own profit. These middle men, being record labels and productions companies, seem

to be fighting the internet, while artists and entertainers are embracing it. Its been shown in

the past that stiffened legislation on copyright infringement does not solve the problem of

internet piracy. If that were the case, new legislation would not have to be drafted to increase

penalties and censor or remove sites. If these models are repeated, the future of the

entertainment industry is freedom from the contracts and restrictions imposed by record labels

and production companies, content that is easy to access and enjoy by consumers, and

increased profits from the people creating it.


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Works Cited

Alexa.com megaupload site info. (2011, December).

Retrieved from http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/megaupload.com

Alexa.com thepiratebay.se site info. (2012, April).

Retrieved from http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/thepiratebay.se

Burns, M. (2012, January 25). Was megaupload targeted because of its upcoming megabox digital

jukebox service?. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/24/was-megaupload-

targeted-because-of-its-upcoming-megabox-digital-jukebox-service/

C.K, L. (2011, December 21). Louis ck: Live at the beacon theater.

Retrieved from https://buy.louisck.net/news

Ernesto. (2012, April 05). 5000 artists line up for the pirate bay promotion. Retrieved from

http://torrentfreak.com/5000-artists-line-up-for-a-pirate-bay-promotion- 120405/

L.E.K. (2006). The cost of movie piracy.

Retrieved from http://austg.com/include/downloads/PirateProfile.pdf

Poling, J. (2012, March 14). Uk musician george barnett says he understands if you need to pirate his

new album. Retrieved from http://jamespoling.com/uk-musician-george-barnett-says-he-

understands-if-you-need-to-pirate-his-new-album/

Resnikoff, P. (21, December 2011). Megaupload is a music service called megabox...

Retrieved from http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2011/111221airvinyl


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Siwek, S. E. (2007, August 21). the true cost of sound recording piracy on the u.s. economy. Retrieved

from

http://www.ipi.org/IPI\IPIPublications.nsf/PublicationLookupFullText/5C2EE3D2107A4C228625

733E0053A1F4

The Pirate Bay. (2012, April 10)Retrieved from http://thepiratebay.se/search/dane%20cook/0/7/0/

Vergara, T. (2012, February 24). The chase - the promo bay. Retrieved from

http://thechaseshortfilm.com/

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