For anyone who has yet to catch on to the idea that digital media piracy is in no way sticking it to the man, perhaps the simplicity in the graphics and data on this link will help. Based on a recent study sponsored by the Digital Citizens Alliance, the top 30 P2P and BitTorrent sites that derive revenue solely from advertising make over $4 million per year. Much of that revenue is coming from major brand advertisers, most of which end up on these sites haphazardly through low-end media buys. I’ve already written a longer post rejecting the notion that supporting or engaging in piracy is some sort of anti-establishment, anti-corporate choice; and I see no reason to repeat all that here. In fact, other than fending off tedious, juvenile rationalizations, there really is no argument to be had about piracy. Supporting the activity is taking revenue from people who make something the consumer wants and giving money to people who make…nothing.
The Digital Citizens Alliance is calling on major advertisers to work with media buyers to keep their brand ads off sites that hijack creative works. It should be noted that most brand managers do not actively seek to advertise on pirate sites where their brands often appear next to low-class ads for bogus foreign dating services and banners linking to malware. As such, the DCA is arguing that both the media producers and the advertisers are having their value hijacked and have a mutual interest in addressing the problem.
