File-sharing Programs and their effect on the Movie Industry

So let's look at the benefits of downloading movies from the Internet: You can watch current films from the comfort of your own home, quickly have the films at your fingertips without the hustle and bustle of the cinema, and you can pause the film whenever you need a quick toilet break. Best of all, it's all absolutely free. You might wonder then: What is the downside of this?

Every year, film piracy and people downloading films from file-sharing programs mean that the film industry is losing out on a massive amount of its revenue. If people are choosing to download current films rather than go out and view them at the cinema then there is a knock on effect throughout the industry.

Cinemas themselves are losing out on money through your choosing to illegally download a film rather than viewing it there, and therefore everyone else is also losing out on their fair share at every level right through to the film directors and producers.

Millions of dollars and pounds are pumped into large scale films, with this money going towards costs such as advertising, promotions, cast wages, and the distribution of film reels themselves. If too many people are choosing to download movies from the internet rather than go out and view the films at cinemas then there are going to have to be some serious cutbacks made in the industry.

Cutting back means less cinemas showing the films, and less cinemas showing films means a lot of disappointed film goers. By downloading movies rather than going to view them at the cinema then you are potentially spoiling things for others as if this means a cut back of screenings then many will miss out on seeing the films they wish to, or perhaps will have to travel further afield in order to view these films and be more out of pocket than needs be.

It is perhaps the way forward for the movie industry to go the way of the music industry and embrace the digital revolution. The music industry was for several years losing large amounts of money from people illegally downloading music rather than going out and buying albums which they deemed to be overpriced. The music industry took note, notably closing down 'Napster' in 2000 which was at the time perhaps the largest file-sharing program guilty of the illegal distribution of music. There are now many programs such as the popular 'iTunes' on which songs can be purchased not only as a part of an album, but also separately making this a cheaper alternative to buying CDs for purchasing music.

Perhaps then the movie industry could implement similar technologies through which people could pay for a one time streaming of new movies from their computers. This would perhaps go some way to resolving the issue of file-sharing programs and their effect on the movie industry. Although there would still be some who would no doubt still choose to illegally download films; there is no doubt in my mind that a large proportion of people genuinely would pay for the streaming of releases rather than taking the illegal route.

For some, the whole cinema experience just won't work for them. They wont like the factor of chatting friends potentially spoiling films for them, perhaps won't appreciate the strong aroma of buttered popcorn that fills the cinema, and maybe not like the lack of leg room that there tends to be in movie theatres. I however am a massive fan of the whole cinema experience and would much rather pay to watch a film on a large screen with impressive surround sound, rather than have a tinny output from my home computer of a film in which bobbing heads will sometimes obscure the picture.

I will continue to view many a film at the cinema, however there is no doubt in my mind that for the foreseeable future countless others will choose to view films illegally downloaded from file-sharing programs. Although it will perhaps not entirely eliminate the issue; I feel the implementation of online 'Pay-Per-View' screenings of films will definitely be a good start in the overcoming of this problem. The fact that the movie industry has not already utilised the Internet has already cost them dearly, and the sooner this technology is exploited by the industry, the sooner file-sharing programs will have less of an effect. The problem of file-sharing programs can, without a doubt, be overcome.

Pay-Per-View online movie screenings is where the future lies, iTunes has been a great success in limiting the prevalence of illegal music downloads and I feel that online Pay-Per-View screenings of films would produce similar results in the world of film.

Online Pay-Per-View screenings is not the ultimate solution to all illegal movie download problems, it will however help matters as technology becomes more advanced and an increasing amount of options become accessible to the masses.