Russia considers $30,000 fines to help sap thriving web piracy
All those enjoying unrestricted music and movie downloads in Russia may have to change their old habits. The country's Ministry of Culture has threatened to punish online pirates with fines of up to $30,000.
Online piracy has become so common in Russia that even
experienced and internationally-known heavyweights in music and
film industry have long given up counting on any serious profit
from the sales of their products here.
“For Russian people it's kind of obvious to download music for
free now on the internet and they don't have such a thing in
their mentality to support artists you like, buy records, CDs,
vynils...” musician Yury Makarychev told RT.
According to official statistics, a staggering 99 per cent of
online media content in Russia is counterfeit. Up to seven out of
10 citizens confirm they choose to download for free.
In 2010, one of the largest and oldest film studios in Europe,
Russia’s giant Mosfilm, gave free access to over 500 films from
its golden collection, hoping to fight piracy.
“The financial losses are just as big as the black market
itself. And not only for cinema, but music, literature -
everything connected with intellectual property. It's simply
impossible to calculate how much we all lose until it's
legalized,” the head of the Mosfilm Studios, Karen
Shakhnazarov, told RT.
The illegal media market doesn’t just rip off the entertainment
industries' profits. It is also affecting the way future projects
get financed, with a number of private investors scared off by
the growing number of pirates.
“We believe that without piracy films would be able to return
twice the investment - state AND private. While, say, one month
after a movie premieres in cinemas, it could be released on to
the web for free, but with adverts. And legally,” the head of
Channel 1 Konstantin Ernst stated.
Last year alone, the Russian government invested over two hundred
million dollars in the domestic film industry. But even such
scale of investment fails to draw audiences into theaters and
away from the pirates.
Watch Egor Piskunov's full report for more.