Piracy Isn’t Killing The Entertainment Industry Say London School of Economics Scholars

TorrentFreak’s Ernesto reports that The London School of Economics and Political Science has released a new policy brief urging the UK Government to look beyond the lobbying efforts of the entertainment industry when it comes to future copyright policy, noting that according to the report there is ample evidence that file-sharing is helping, rather than hurting the creative industries. The scholars call on the Government to look at more objective data when deciding on future copyright enforcement policies.

Ernesto observes that over the past several years there have been ample research reports showing that file-sharing can have positive effects on the entertainment industries, although industry lobbyists are often quick to dismiss these findings as incidents or weak research, and counter them with expensive studies they have commissioned themselves.

However, now no less than the prestigious and respected London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has jumped into the discussion this week with a media policy brief urging the UK Government to look beyond the reports lobbyists hand to them. Their report concludes that the entertainment industry isn’t devastated by piracy, and that sharing of culture has several benefits.

Ernesto cites LSE Senior Lecturer and one of the report’s authors Bart Cammaerts arguing that:

“Contrary to the industry claims, the music industry is not in terminal decline, but still holding ground and showing healthy profits. Revenues from digital sales, subscription services, streaming and live performances compensate for the decline in revenues from the sale of CDs or records.”

Moreover, he says the report shows that the entertainment industries are actually doing quite well. The digital gaming industry is thriving, the publishing sector is stable, and the U.S. film industry is breaking record after record.

For the full report visit here:
http://goo.gl/Ms4Vj6

The LSE policy brief can be downloaded here:
http://www.scribd.com/mobile/doc/172985274