By David Farrier
The passing of the Copyright Amendment Bill continues to be debated online, as does the effect of the piracy it aims to stop.
While music labels and movie distributors say piracy is killing the industry, there are many who say it’s a good thing.
Wellington musician Luke Rowell tells 3 News he is happy for people to download his music for free.
“I put all my stuff up on bandcamp.com, which allows you to put music up for free, or a pay-as-you-like donation,” he says.
It is a view also held by Grammy-award-winning Nine Inch Nails star Trent Reznor, who won an Oscar this year for creating the Social Network soundtrack.
While touring his rock band around Australasia, he was dismayed with the price of his very own CD downunder.
“You know what that means… steal it. Steal and steal and steal away and give it to all your friends,” he says.
Reznor went further, videoing his own concerts and releasing the footage on Pirate Bay, urging fans to download and share.
“I can give you free music and in my opinion, that will contribute to more people coming to my show,” he says.
When it comes to TV, media commentators often cite the recent Battlestar Gallactica as an example of piracy actually driving people to television.
“A few people downloaded the episode and went ‘Wow, this is amazing sci-fi’ and they told their friends. All of a sudden, you have 3 million people watching a cable channel, which is amazing ratings – South Park ratings!”
While the box office is fairly flat, it’s unclear what part piracy plays in this.
Avatar made more money at the global box office than any other film in history, yet it’s also one of the most pirated films ever.
So the debate rages on and, funnily enough, the actual debate about piracy that took place in Parliament has now been pirated – and is available on Pirate Bay to download.
3 News