Piracy and how it POSITIVELY affects our economy

In the current economical melt-down, while many jobs and payrolls are being cut, our governments still find the time (and money) to propagate a message that piracy is linked to organised crime and affects negatively on our economy, when, if anything, the opposite is true.

"A loss in income means a loss in jobs. Some major record companies have had to cut jobs worldwide, drop 20 percent of their recording artists and outsource their DVD and CD manufacturing, in part because of piracy" The RiSA Anti-Piracy Unit (RAPU) - South Africa's Anti-Piracy organisation.

The website goes on to say "RAPU's policies and beliefs are made up from independent studies conducted by it's members ..." An emphasis must be placed on the words 'made up', for that's what they are, made up works of fiction used as political tools to garner our governments more of our money, while lessening our own countries' economies.

As piracy increases, the number of album/movie sales decrease (obviously). Governments (grossly, across the world) lose an estimated $200 million a year from tax revenues due to piracy. Which, contrary to what anti-piracy organisations would like us to believe, is a fairly small loss; considering America's turnovers, alone, are well in excess of trillions of dollars.

If piracy was eradicated, such a small influx into our economies would hardly affect government sectors, and the working population. It wouldn't improve job shortages nor would it help fight poverty. Piracy, on the other hand, promotes job creation within the working and lower classes.

Apart from offering a means of income for the men and women who copy and sell the pirated media, piracy also contributes to job growth within the legal sectors of our workforce. With the rise in the number of piracy vendors, governments have had to increase the number of patrolling policemen and women to combat the sale of piracy. Police and Federal agencies have also had to employ more staff to to keep track and monitor the virtual world and piracy rings. Increase in internet downloads has meant an increase in revenue for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as well as digital media manufacturers - such as Verbatim - who benefit from the increase in writable CD/DVD sales. Not to mention the ironic financial aid it has to the anti-piracy organisations.

While it is true that the artists/actors themselves lose capital (and for the agencies, royalties from album/movie sales) because of piracy, it is also true that these men and women still earn far more each year than the average, working person anyway. Those affected within the commercial industry (the most targeted industry within entertainment) still make millions each year, and if anything, piracy is a solution to their greed.

I'm not saying piracy does not affect the underground, because it certainly does, but a whole new factor comes in to play here. Underground artists (those who don't sell their works for commercial or mainstream success) are more affected by the lack of monetary support because of their lesser following. They, more often than not, lead normal jobs and have their passion on the side. Because that is what it is, a passion. For those who have chosen for their passion to still be their income, they knew of the financial barrier they would have to face, compared to their commercial colleagues. Because of this, these underground artists have grown talented in the art of 'Hustling' (Immortal Technique having personally sold 40,000 copies of his records) and are still financially successful in their own right. The underground also effectively incorporates the art self-piracy, called bootlegging, which encourages people to pirate music to further an artist's success and sales.

So why is it that organisations, such as RAPU, want us to believe the opposite of piracy? Well, the answer lies within their name, they want to rape you of your money to further governmental and self greed. So the next time you feel the urge to buy an album from a mega store, rather do yourself AND your country a favour by pirating it instead.