I read an article that is linked at the bottom of this article that was published by Complex Tech that described how Netflix was using internet piracy to actual make a profit. The way they did so was by monitoring internet piracy and find the TV shows and movies that were being pirated the most. They utilized this information so that they could can update there library of movies and TV shows to satisfy their new users and current ones as well.
The article also stated that internet piracy is not hurting the economy and in fact it is actually boosting it. How you may ask? Studies last month stated that piracy was actually helping small and medium-budget films because it was spreading the word of them by peer-to-peer interaction. In China they believe that piracy has significantly helped the world economy because companies are starting to make imitators of the popular products in the world. Kal Raustiala and Christopher Sprigman argue in this story, "For every instance of potential revenue lost to someone pirating Windows or cracking iOS to steal bits of code, there is something potentially generative added back into the world."
Do you think companies should follow Netflix's new game plan? Do you agree or disagree that internet piracy is actually boosting the economy?
http://www.complex.com/tech/2013/09/netflix-internet-piracy
I think that piracy is boosting the economy but it doesn't have much further to go. Netflix is using piracy to see what movies and television shows are the most popular and other companies are using it to make cheaper versions of popular products, but I don't think there is much more that can be done with it from here.
ReplyDeletePiracy may be boosting the economy, but is it ethical? I know that there are a lot of unethical things that happen on a daily basis, but do we want to try and build on our economy in such a way? Sure it's good for spreading the word around, but isn't that what advertising is for?
ReplyDeleteI don't think piracy is boosting the economy, because if the pirated material is a movie they are not just stealing the profits from the studio or actors but from the less paid stage hands and such. It is interesting that Netflix is using piracy as a way to monitor trends, but I think they could do that from simple data mining.
ReplyDeleteThere is only so much people can do to stop piracy, so it is inevitable that some companies have to find ways to use piracy to their advantage. Even if Netflix uses piracy to get the opinions of what people like and to make products that fit those needs, soon that will not be enough. People can always start pirating those products as well. The question then becomes how long can Netflix use piracy to their advantage?
ReplyDeleteMichael, the reason those companies don't use advertising is because they do not have a large amount of money for advertising. The article was taking a study using small and medium budget films as the example. That is why this peer-to-peer interaction is spreading the word of their move and as a result boosting their sales.
ReplyDeleteMany entertainment companies have been monitoring piracy trend just as much as social network sites to have a good picture of the market. I think beyond monitoring piracy, Netflix and firms of its like should try to find a solution to reach this huge population of users.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, piracy is not beneficial to the economy, in my opinion. It may act as an advertising way to help spread the words for small artists or films, but it has been severely hurting established companies putting a lot of money and time into their products.
Triet Pham
yes i think that piracy boosting the economy. It is illegal and yet people still do it because it is easy apply. I don't think they will punish everyone that they still do it. However i agree that music and movie company should follow Netflix plan because it have been successful.
ReplyDelete