Movie Piracy and its Effect to the Economy (Essay Sample)

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Argumentative Essay
Movie piracy does not undermine the economy, as majority of people believe in the entertainment industry. Society should look beyond what lobbyists have always said about movie piracy though this argument does not support piracy in its entirety. Therefore, this perspective will enable the enactment of the entertainment copyright policy. There is sufficient information, which clearly indicates that file sharing is in fact helping rather than destabilize the industry of entertainment. To understand this argument, it is vital to consider looking at and analysing data that are more objective before making critical decisions about movie copyright policies and the right and most effective ways of enforcing them. This data should critically lay down the analysis about the magnitude of file sharing in the entertainment industry especially in movie production.
For the best part of the last two decades, there have been ample research findings, which have indicated how file sharing in the movie industry can have positive effects on the industry, specifically for movie production. Lobbyists in the industry are often hasty to dismiss such findings by terming them ‘weak’ and replacing them with expensive and snobby ones; they have commissioned and financed themselves. At any given time, their research findings have been found to be exaggerated and only desired to achieve the lobbying effect in itself. To support this position, the findings of the London School of Economics and Political Science would be of great significance. In its media policy brief, the school made recommendation to the United Kingdom Government to widen the scope at which it perceives movie piracy. The report has conclusions that categorically state contrary to the common belief that lobbyists have consistently offered the public. Unlike the doom and devastation that lobbyists have always cited, the School of Economics and Political Science concludes that the industry is not devastated by piracy. It highlights the numerous and significant benefits of file sharing to the society a whole.
Senior Lecturer Bart Commaert, an author of the report, stated the following about the impact of piracy on the entertainment industry:
“The entertainment industry is not on the verge of collapse and decline, but still thriving and holding ground. It is showing healthy turnovers. Revenues from sales on digital sources, subscription services, YouTube stream and live performances are the source of compensation for the income lost through pirated music and movies.”
The report asserts that the industry is expanding extensively, as well as generating more profits. If the industry could be on plummet as lobbyists have portrayed, the public could not be talking of the huge sales that record labels make over the years. In addition, growth in technology has provided more avenues through which the industry can have its content on the market. YouTube is one of the sites, which movie stars and other players in the industry can use to promote and advertise their creative work. Consequently, more income can be realised through downloads and live streaming of such content.
Another great example similar to the movie industry is the digital gaming industry. By record, digital games are the most pirated in the entertainment industry. Fortunately, it is still thriving with artists making the highest revenues in the history of digital gaming. Consequently, if digital gaming can do this well even though they have the highest rate piracy in the industry, it would be misleading to make everyone believe that movie piracy is a vice to the economy. In addition, facts that articulate the flaws of the argument that piracy is fleecing the economy are the results of Hollywood revenues from the movies that premiered in