This is a continuation of the thread on the main site, but more a discussion on which industry gets hurt more by piracy. I myself have an eduction in film (not gloating btw) and while it hasn't been a success yet, I am not going to lie and say that they're in much deeper shit than the music industry. Yeah, movies get downloaded, just like songs get downloaded; however, for the most part the film industry is still making a whole hell of a lot of money. Box office numbers are still pretty good. New record box office numbers (granted, it is a bit inflated) are still being executed. Overall, the film industry isn't in trouble.
Now, one would argue that a lot of the better films, i.e. indies are not being shown nationwide. This is true, but it has nothing to do with downloading. Most of my film friends I know of and some of the film forums I go onto, almost none of those people download artsy films. Some do, yes, but in general I would say the majority of downloaded and bootlegged films tend to be the bigger Hollywood films. While this may hurt some of their box office, they are typically outgrossing their production budget, so they really aren't in trouble.
The reason these films aren't nationwide is due to the lack of finances of independent filmmakers/studios and their inability to market themselves properly, get theaters interested in showing their films. Some are capable to grow in the marketplace, for example (500) Days of Summer and Crazy Heart last year, where they started out initially in about 20 theaters and grew to 1000+ theaters. This is typically how these films are put into theaters, and a lot of these films aren't even being streamed online. Some are, yes but not as many as you would think. Some of these indie distribution companies such as Apparition spent thousands of dollars to fight piracy of The Runaways upon its release.
For music, it's obvious that cd sales are down. While some may say a lot of it is due to lack of marketing of good bands/artists, ridiculous prices, the reality is that a lot of this is due to illegal downloading. I read the Rollingstone timeline magazine this year, and I found something very interesting. It started with 2000 or 2001, which I believe was the year of the iPod's initial release. It also was the most profitable year of music sales ever. However, I looked at the music sales from then and looked at them now, and it's jaw dropping how quickly this industry has fallen. I'm not blaming the iPod in of itself, but the trend of buying mp3s and downloading essentially created a fad of people who upload music for free. Once a couple, people do it, more people do it to the point where a high percentage of people nowadays are not buying cds anymore.
To end this massive post, Film definitely has not been hit like that. Sure, some people download booglegs or quality uploads online, but most of it is the movies that are going to make money anyways. The only thing the movie industry is having trouble with now is that rental stores are becoming a thing of the past due to Redboxes and Netflix. People are getting movies cheap that way, copying them and returning them. Not saying all do, but I know a number of people that do. However, sales records for DVDs and Blu-Rays still seem to be up. CD sales? Not so much.
Now, one would argue that a lot of the better films, i.e. indies are not being shown nationwide. This is true, but it has nothing to do with downloading. Most of my film friends I know of and some of the film forums I go onto, almost none of those people download artsy films. Some do, yes, but in general I would say the majority of downloaded and bootlegged films tend to be the bigger Hollywood films. While this may hurt some of their box office, they are typically outgrossing their production budget, so they really aren't in trouble.
The reason these films aren't nationwide is due to the lack of finances of independent filmmakers/studios and their inability to market themselves properly, get theaters interested in showing their films. Some are capable to grow in the marketplace, for example (500) Days of Summer and Crazy Heart last year, where they started out initially in about 20 theaters and grew to 1000+ theaters. This is typically how these films are put into theaters, and a lot of these films aren't even being streamed online. Some are, yes but not as many as you would think. Some of these indie distribution companies such as Apparition spent thousands of dollars to fight piracy of The Runaways upon its release.
For music, it's obvious that cd sales are down. While some may say a lot of it is due to lack of marketing of good bands/artists, ridiculous prices, the reality is that a lot of this is due to illegal downloading. I read the Rollingstone timeline magazine this year, and I found something very interesting. It started with 2000 or 2001, which I believe was the year of the iPod's initial release. It also was the most profitable year of music sales ever. However, I looked at the music sales from then and looked at them now, and it's jaw dropping how quickly this industry has fallen. I'm not blaming the iPod in of itself, but the trend of buying mp3s and downloading essentially created a fad of people who upload music for free. Once a couple, people do it, more people do it to the point where a high percentage of people nowadays are not buying cds anymore.
To end this massive post, Film definitely has not been hit like that. Sure, some people download booglegs or quality uploads online, but most of it is the movies that are going to make money anyways. The only thing the movie industry is having trouble with now is that rental stores are becoming a thing of the past due to Redboxes and Netflix. People are getting movies cheap that way, copying them and returning them. Not saying all do, but I know a number of people that do. However, sales records for DVDs and Blu-Rays still seem to be up. CD sales? Not so much.
