Piracy in South East Asia

Here in South East Asia you can buy pirated copies of new DVDs on the street for a couple of Euros each before the films have even been shown in cinemas. That’s why most films are premiered in South East Asia at the same time as in the US.

Likewise, you can find almost all of the most popular music CDs, computer programs and games, also for about two Euros per disc.

Asian soap operas fly off (and are transferred through the internet) from South East Asia to the US for the local Thai, Malaysian, Pilipino and Vietnamese audiences as soon as they have been broadcast on TV. The sale of pirated TV series is a business worth millions of Euros annually.

Back in the Commodore 64 era, there were dozens of pirated copies for every sold copy. Without the pirated copies, many legal copies would not have been sold at all. In this sense, piracy does not only create losses.

So how many legal copies really go unsold because of piracy? Many people buying these pirated versions in South East Asia cannot afford the original products. In fact, the brand value of Bart Simpson only multiplies because of piracy.

On the other hand, piracy of course destroys the profit margins of music and film companies. According to the well-known argument, piracy reduces the resources these companies need to produce quality films and music.

I think we could continue this debate forever without actually solving it. I believe that technology will give us a partial answer: If and when content buying on the internet becomes easier and cheaper, more and more people will buy their stuff on-line.

The times are changing for the film and music industries, and I believe that the reduction they now face in their business profits will pass as internet sales take off and start growing exponentially.

Published at 20:00

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