Entertainment industry bodies such as the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFP) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have clamped down on individuals using peer-to-peer networks to acquire digital downloads of music and movies.
“They have resorted to suing consumers who use these channels to get entertainment content, and have used their might to shut down companies such as Napster, which promotes file sharing,” says Matthew Tagg, MD of Web Africa.
For the protection of copyright and a bid to safeguard the revenue of content creators, the industry has taken these steps, Tagg says. Many commentators also see this as the industry's attempt to retain control over distribution channels and launch times to different markets.
“The fact is that consumers' behaviour patterns are evolving. People want to view content on their terms via a medium that suits them - and it is unlikely that this will change. Rather than fighting the tide, there is an opportunity for the entertainment industry to embrace digital developments and find a way to make it work,” says Tagg.
Insipid attempt
The entertainment industry's anaemic response to the e-revolution has been to implement Digital Rights Management (DRM), Tagg says. DRM is a combination of hardware and software that works together to restrict users' ability to copy content, although it can extend to restrictions such as how many times a video can be watched.
Due to complications and additional hurdles legitimate users have to jump through as a result of poor implementations, consumers are rejecting DRM. Apart from costs, DRM is also believed to create more headaches for end-users than unencumbered peer-to-peer content.
There are a number of options available for a constructive engagement between the entertainment industry and Internet users, Tagg says. “One approach would be to embed advertising in the content, providing an additional advertising revenue stream. Another would be to consider a licence-based approach, where users would pay a fixed amount per month to download music and movies.” The latter is similar to a satellite TV model where users are paying a premium for premium content.
“Yet another approach would be to impose a content tax on Internet Service Providers (ISPs). ISPs could provide stats on what was being viewed, and a percentage allocated to that content provider. For example, if the latest episode of Prison Break counted for 2% of total views, Prison Break content creators would receive 2% of the content tax.”
It is not clear where the answer lies, but Tagg believes it could be in a combination of all these approaches. The entertainment and Internet industries should work together to find a solution, he concludes.
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