Copyright Industry uses Fake Numbers, Lies

Did you know that the MPAA, RIAA and ESA use fake, made up, figures to justify their anti-piracy crusade? No! I can't believe it! How could this be! Yes, it's true and these made up figures are used to deceive politicians and garner sympathy from the ignorant public. Just like climate change nuts manipulate data and use scare tactics to attract people to their cause, the copyright industry uses the same play book by continually citing false figures and claiming that the economy is severely damaged by piracy.

But this shouldn't surprise you because it's been going on for many years now.

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The truth is that while piracy does take away sales and money away from the respective industries it's nowhere near as bad as they claim. This is mainly because the copyright industry views every download as a lost sale, and in the case of the videogame industry every legal used game sale is figured in as well. According to the game industry I'm a filthy pirate because I buy and sell used games on Amazon and they don't see a dime of that money.

No one can quantify intent so in reality it's practically impossible to know how much is really lost, but if I had to guess I'd say that less than half of all downloads are actual lost revenue. The fact is that people, a lot of people, download stuff that they never would have purchased otherwise. Everyone has a price they are willing to pay for something, and sometimes that price is $0.00. I can't tell you how many movies or songs I've wanted to check out but didn't because I wasn't going to pay the asking price. Piracy brings that price down to zero and allows people to experience something they otherwise wouldn't have because under no circumstances were they going to purchase it. In these cases, the industry lost absolutely nothing.

In the videogame industry some downloads really just act like demos that people play until the game reaches a price they are willing to pay. Others are ways to reclaim your rights as a consumer and bypass the increasingly intrusive DRM schemes that treat paying customers like criminals. While paying customers are suffering through locked content, forced online checks and locked game saves pirates are enjoying their frustration free versions of the same games. Essentially the pirated versions are the superior version a lot of the time which makes the content creators partly responsible for the very piracy they rail against. And now that the videogame industry is trying to block used game sales with online passes there will be even more piracy.

In yet other cases piracy is a sales tool that actually brings in revenue and customers. Those who might not have been fans of a game or movie download a copy of the content and are suddenly hooked. These people who were not willing to pay for the content before piracy are now willing to pay and support the creators of it. Some companies even use piracy to help their business grow and flourish.

Piracy is not the evil monster that the copyright industry claim it is. It is a complex entity with good and bad sides. However, instead of trying to tap into the good the copyright industry only wants to paint it all with the same broad brush because they want to squeeze every single penny out of every single person to maximize profits with as little effort as possible. Piracy has also become a bogyman that industries use to explain poor business decisions, slumping sales and failed ventures. CEO's are not going to blame themselves when things go bad so they blame piracy.

The truth about piracy is that it isn't the reason why the copyright industry is pushing for SOPA and PIPA. The truth is that piracy is the latest in a long line of excuses these industries use to get more control over consumers. If it was just about piracy would the videogame industry be trying to deny consumers their legal right to sell their used games? Of course not. It's all about control, and the more control these industries have the more money they can make and the more they can take advantage of consumers.

The copyright industry doesn't really care if you download a movie. They are making hundreds of millions of dollars regardless. What they really care about is getting the control they need so they can charge even more, charge you every time you play a DVD. The music industry wants you to pay them every time you listen to a song. The videogame industry wants to make it so you never own your games again and just rent them for a fee.

It's all about control, and this battle between consumers and industry goes back a long time. Unfortunately, they seem to have the upper hand lately.