Exec: Apple--Not Piracy--Is Movie Industry's Big Problem

04.10.2011
Piracy is less of an issue for the movie industry than is the dominance of the digital distribution channel by a single company, such as Apple.

That's what the CEO of Miramax told a movie industry crowd Monday at the annual event in Cannes, a sort of bazaar for entertainment content. While the audience listening to the executive's message was made up of industry insiders, the message has some interesting implications for consumers--namely, that when it comes to streaming video they should have more choice.

This is exactly the opposite stance that the music industry initially adopted toward digital media.

According to reports in and , Miramax CEO Mike Lang argued that while some in the industry fear digital distribution of content because they believe it facilitates piracy, the real problem is distribution.

"Piracy really is not the bigger issue for our company or for our library," he said. "It's been lack of exploitation, just not getting it out there."

Lang has obviously seen what happens when sources of legitimate content proliferate: piracy decreases. It took the music industry many years and many lawsuits to learn that. Of course, by the time the music industry learned this, it had lost something it can no longer get back: it allowed Apple to get a lock on distribution, which has stifled true competition in the market.