Online piracy: Are the BPI their own worst enemy?

This week, an anonymous ISP revealed that the BPI’s battle to ban the Pirate Bay succeeded – for just seven days. The publicity around the ban caused peer-to-peer internet traffic (the hallmark of torrent data) to spike before the block came into place. After the block came in, file sharers seem to have taken no longer than a week to come up with alternative ways to access the Pirate Bay or switch to alternative torrent files. Traffic is now back at the same level as it was before the block came into being. The BPI blames torrent websites for the rise in digital piracy, but that’s not the problem. The problem is this: they completely fail to acknowledge their own role in encouraging piracy. In 2004, the first high-profile BPI intervention related to an online music store, CD-WOW! The site sold CDs from unofficial distributors and non-EU countries, dramatically cutting the cost of music. The BPI took the matter to the courts, forcing CD-WOW! to only sell CDs manufactured in the EU. Prices across the entire site rose by £2; an estimated one million customers were affected. CD-WOW! eventually absorbed the price increase to keep their client base sweet. Technically these CDs were grey imports, but the fact remains that the law could not cope and was not adapted to move with the times. The exact same problem is rearing its head with digital downloads. First the BPI blocked Newzbin2, then The Pirate Bay, but there are straightforward ways to get around both blocks. The music industry is continually missing the point: people who download torrents are far more clued up than the people who try to stop them. So, who is the internet pirate? Someone who maliciously, intentionally flat refuses to pay for digital content? Yes, some people do. But many of the people who download torrents are looking for content that simply isn’t available. I may have missed Eastenders a fortnight ago, or my friend may want to watch the newest HBO drama that may never be shown in the UK. These people have no other option but to go to a torrent site. It would be naive to claim that 100 per cent of pirates would pay, but the fact remains that there is another, more effective way of dramatically reducing the amount of pirated and torrented material. The future is, undoubtedly, in providing affordable, legal and accessible alternatives to traditional media. Apple’s iTunes store is a great example of a model which offers convenience and easy access, but some might say the cost is still too high. A site like Spotify pays its artists next to nothing, but it has the pricing model to encourage mass adoption. Perhaps we haven’t found the right solution yet, but there are plenty of companies pushing forward and trying new ways of delivering music, movies and games. If only the BPI were one of them, piracy would be all but a distant memory. Check out the rest of our blogs, and submit a brief now! Image courtesy of Free Digital Images Claire