Independent filmaker networking community speaks out about the future of free downloads
In response to the news of the jailing in Sweden of four men behind Pirate Bay, the world's most high-profile file sharing website, Shooting People polled its members - thousands of them holders of intellectual property in their films - for their reaction.
The poll found the members of the 35,000-plus strong network of independent filmmakers divided.
The majority of Shooting People members did not welcome the Pirate Bay verdict.
48% disagreed with the court's decision, and 62% thought the jail term was too severe. 26% thought it was a justified sentence and 12% thought the ruling was too lenient.
As a network for the independent film community, a perhaps unsurprising 35% said they would never download a copyrighted film without paying, whilst 17% would consider it if there was no easy way to pay. A fair proportion have also been on the other side of the fence, with 30% claiming they have had their film pirated. For those that hadn't, 21% said they would be bloody furious if it happened to them, but 35% said they would be happy for the extra distribution.
For the last week, the debate has raged in Shooting People's nine Daily Bulletins: "it's been like discussing politics over Christmas lunch", observed Shooting People co-founder Jess Search, who has strong opinions on the issue.
"God did not give us copyright - society chose it as a progressive way to organise things at a particular time in our industrial development (1710 in Britain). Yet people talk about 'rights' as if they are inalienable human rights. Surely it's an issue of pragmatism? If the digital economy makes copyright almost impossible to defend - except by throwing increasingly large amounts of state intervention at the problem, it's probably time to concede that new business models are needed to fund creativity. Once your fans are also your enemy, you know there must be another way to configure the equation." (Jess Search, in the UK Filmmaker Bulletin).
"Piracy is theft. Whatever way you look at it, it is stealing. Now I don't think the big companies are losing as much as they claim, because in reality more than half the people who download something for free would not download something if they had to pay for it. All artists are entitled to a fair return for their work and the people who want to enjoy their creativity without paying for it don't deserve the pleasure creative people give to them". (Shooter Ron Aberdeen, in the Screenwriters' Bulletin).
"Pay artists so they can continue to make your life better than the crappy round of bills and mortgages it will be without it. We are not the dregs of society and we are not pursuers of pointless whimsy. We contribute to the soul of existence and if you think that's not worth a token fee - then throw away every album you have bought, break every film you've purchased and burn every book on your shelf. If you don't think the creative forces and imaginations behind these works deserve a little kick-back - then you don't deserve to own them". (Lee Kern, filmmaker and editor of the UK Filmmaker Daily Bulletin).
"A fan base represents value - either because they'll buy your products / services or because brands will pay to get access to your particular demographic. Pirate sites don't generate much revenue and they don't provide viewer data. But they can be useful as a shop window and lead generator to send your audience into places where you can ask for their email and offer them something to buy. It's all about the audience ...". (Caroline Bottomley, in the UK Filmmaker Bulletin).
"As someone who has had a film extensively pirated, I can't tell you how galling and unpleasant it is to see this pirating happen and be powerless to stop it. Life is tough enough for indy film-makers anyway. In future we will hopefully all be selling our work online and therefore this judgement and sentence is an unequivocal victory for us. These are criminals who happily ripped off film-making talent. Throw away the key, I say!" (Stuart Urban, in the UK Filmmaker Bulletin).
The myriad issues raised were discussed at length in Shooting People's blog, edited by filmmaker and writer Ben Blaine: http://shootingpeople.org/bensblog.
The question posed and full results are here:
Do you welcome the pirate bay verdict??
The poll found the members of the 35,000-plus strong network of independent filmmakers divided.
The majority of Shooting People members did not welcome the Pirate Bay verdict.
48% disagreed with the court's decision, and 62% thought the jail term was too severe. 26% thought it was a justified sentence and 12% thought the ruling was too lenient.
As a network for the independent film community, a perhaps unsurprising 35% said they would never download a copyrighted film without paying, whilst 17% would consider it if there was no easy way to pay. A fair proportion have also been on the other side of the fence, with 30% claiming they have had their film pirated. For those that hadn't, 21% said they would be bloody furious if it happened to them, but 35% said they would be happy for the extra distribution.
For the last week, the debate has raged in Shooting People's nine Daily Bulletins: "it's been like discussing politics over Christmas lunch", observed Shooting People co-founder Jess Search, who has strong opinions on the issue.
"God did not give us copyright - society chose it as a progressive way to organise things at a particular time in our industrial development (1710 in Britain). Yet people talk about 'rights' as if they are inalienable human rights. Surely it's an issue of pragmatism? If the digital economy makes copyright almost impossible to defend - except by throwing increasingly large amounts of state intervention at the problem, it's probably time to concede that new business models are needed to fund creativity. Once your fans are also your enemy, you know there must be another way to configure the equation." (Jess Search, in the UK Filmmaker Bulletin).
"Piracy is theft. Whatever way you look at it, it is stealing. Now I don't think the big companies are losing as much as they claim, because in reality more than half the people who download something for free would not download something if they had to pay for it. All artists are entitled to a fair return for their work and the people who want to enjoy their creativity without paying for it don't deserve the pleasure creative people give to them". (Shooter Ron Aberdeen, in the Screenwriters' Bulletin).
"Pay artists so they can continue to make your life better than the crappy round of bills and mortgages it will be without it. We are not the dregs of society and we are not pursuers of pointless whimsy. We contribute to the soul of existence and if you think that's not worth a token fee - then throw away every album you have bought, break every film you've purchased and burn every book on your shelf. If you don't think the creative forces and imaginations behind these works deserve a little kick-back - then you don't deserve to own them". (Lee Kern, filmmaker and editor of the UK Filmmaker Daily Bulletin).
"A fan base represents value - either because they'll buy your products / services or because brands will pay to get access to your particular demographic. Pirate sites don't generate much revenue and they don't provide viewer data. But they can be useful as a shop window and lead generator to send your audience into places where you can ask for their email and offer them something to buy. It's all about the audience ...". (Caroline Bottomley, in the UK Filmmaker Bulletin).
"As someone who has had a film extensively pirated, I can't tell you how galling and unpleasant it is to see this pirating happen and be powerless to stop it. Life is tough enough for indy film-makers anyway. In future we will hopefully all be selling our work online and therefore this judgement and sentence is an unequivocal victory for us. These are criminals who happily ripped off film-making talent. Throw away the key, I say!" (Stuart Urban, in the UK Filmmaker Bulletin).
The myriad issues raised were discussed at length in Shooting People's blog, edited by filmmaker and writer Ben Blaine: http://shootingpeople.org/bensblog.
The question posed and full results are here:
Do you welcome the pirate bay verdict??
- No (48%)
- Yes (34%)
- Neither (18%)
- No (31%)
- Yes (45%)
- Don't know (24%)
- No, too severe (62%)
- Yes (26%)
- No, too lenient (12%)
- No, never I think it's wrong (35%)
- Maybe, if there was no easy way to pay (17%)
- Maybe, if the price was unfairly high (15%)
- Maybe, if I knew the filmmaker was already rich (9%)
- Never, I wouldn't want to get caught (2%)
- Definitely, because I don't have a problem with it (22%)
- No (70%)
- Yes (30%)
- Happy to be getting extra distribution (35%)
- Bloody furious (21%)
- Not particularly happy (19%);
- Resigned (19%)
- Don't know (6%)
- No (70%)
- Don't know (18%)
- Yes (12%)
- Shooting People is the international networking organisation dedicated to the support and promotion of independent filmmaking.
- The organisation's 35,000 Members share tips, recommendations and news, and cast and crew their films using the nine Daily Bulletins. Members can upload their work for video streaming. Over 300 films are cast and crewed every week using Shooting People.
- Shooting People maintains the Independent Film Calendar, hosts interviews, podcasts and free filmmaking resources, and Members-only special offers. Shooting People publishes books, DVDs and distributes independent film releases, DVD collections of award-winning short films 'Best vs. Best'.
- Patrons of Shooting People include Mike Figgis, Morgan Spurlock, Richard E Grant, Sally Potter, Danny Boyle, Stephen Woolley, Christine Vachon, Nick Park, Martha Fiennes and Stuart Beattie.
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