Infographic: MPAA Looks At 'The Cost Of Content Theft' By The Numbers
As much as moviegoers, filmmakers and theater owners try and try, the fight against piracy seems to be a losing one. People can take all the precautions in the world but there's always going to be one person who pirates a movie, uploads it online and then it spreads like wildfire. Now the pirates would let you believe this is their right and what they're doing doesn't hurt the bottom line. They believe they're a small minority. The Motion Picture Association of America would disagree with that and have put out their own infographic to let everyone know just how much content theft hurts the entertainment industry. Check it out after the jump.
Oddly enough, we have a pirate news site, Torrent Freak, to thank for this info. They believe it to be "industry funded" and there by invalid but they're slightly biased.
While some of those numbers seem excessive, it's hard to argue that piracy and content theft doesn't have a negative effect on the economics of entertainment. What do you think?
My two cents is this. Not only do I get paid to go to the movies, I pay to watch movies. And I pay a lot. My regular movie theater is $16 on a Friday night for a non-3D movie because I like to be treated right and have the best possible presentation. Even if your movie is bad, I never want to see it in a less than ideal situation and if I have to pay for that, then so be it. Film and entertainment is something I'm passionate about and something I want to continue so I support it with my hard earned dollar. I'll even pay to see a movie I've already seen for free if I think it warrants it. So I get upset when someone I know says they've illegally downloaded a movie just because it was cheaper or easier. Just because the technology is there doesn't mean we should use it. If you were an artist and people were literally stealing your hard work, would you be sore about it? Of course.
So no matter if these numbers are cooked by the MPAA or not, I'm vehemently against any kind of piracy unless – in a very, very, very rare case – it's encouraged by the artist or absolutely necessary.
Where do you fall in this argument?