Roy Billing: Downloaders steal from artists
Underbelly's Roy Billing has written a passionate piece on the repercussions of illegal downloading on the Australian industry.
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Following the outcome of the iiNet case, actor Roy Billing (Underbelly) has written a passionate piece in the Sydney Morning Herald on the repercussions of illegal downloading on the Australian industry.
Billing speaks from the heart as he outlines how actors and producers are directly impacted by online piracy.
He writes in part: “Contrary to popular belief most movies do not become profitable from their theatrical releases. A movie depends on its full life cycle from cinema tickets to DVD sales to online distribution before producers and investors can recoup their investment.
“Also contrary to popular belief, actors are not all earning millions. Some of us do very well, some of us just eke out a living — same as in every job. But, like the life cycle of a movie, our income has many streams, unlike an average job where you get paid one wage for the job done. Those extra income streams from the movie or TV show’s initial release to DVD sales or online distribution, make the difference between working for peanuts or getting a fair whack for what we do.”
Billing says production companies that employ actors rely on income to be channelled back into new productions. Producers need a return on investments in order to purse subsequent projects.
“Anyone who illegally downloads a movie or a TV show from the internet is taking money out of the pockets of everyone who was involved in it. And they are making it harder for us to carry on,” he writes.
“…..If you illegally download a movie that I am in from the internet, or buy a pirated DVD of Underbelly Two you are stealing from me and everyone who put their investment, talent and effort into that production.”
Nine’s first series of Underbelly was famously pirated and illegally distributed via DVD after it was banned in Victoria. The second series, starring Billing, included some episodes that Channel Nine allowed for legal download.
Nine’s Catch-Up video site with a Hiro player said, “You can also copy and share each episode or even distribute the files via file-sharing applications, such as Bit Torrent.”
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
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25 Responses
I hadn’t heard about underbelly 3 until Roy made this rant.
I don’t watch mainstream tv, listen to commercial radio or read the print media. I read quality on-line publications covering my areas of interest. If you’d made a copy available to me, I probably would have bought it.
But DVD’s just clutter up my lounge room, so I’ll forgo seeing this.
Congratulations Roy, you’ve converted me and have one less… ‘thief’ to worry about.
I am an actor, and I completely understand where both sides are coming from. For the industry to think that people are saving money from downloading illegally, is a joke. The industry needs to promote better downloading. Let’s take ‘itunes’ for example.
I always buy episodes off itunes for ‘2.99’. I thought i was doing my bit until my monthly bill came and i was charged a fortune for exceeding my download limit. Fine…. my fault. But why cant web servers negotiate deals with legal downloading services to promote doing things the right way. I would pay for my episode, and not have that deduct from my limit. People would be more inclined to do it the right way. Then you have the problem that itunes encrypt the file so u can watch it as an avi file. Its no wonder people resort to downloading things illegally.
But for people not to understand why actors and filmmakers are getting mad is stupid and ignorant. You may have your beef with tv stations yanking shows off early, but 9 times out of 10, those shows will be released on dvd… so you can wait and purchase it like you are suppossed to. The industry is in turmoil, as well as the music industry….. in the news people have complained about army uniforms being made in china leading to job losses and being seen as unpatriotic, but when it comes to entertainment, it doesnt matter that jobs are being lost and our whole arts culture is being threatened.
There…. theres my vent
I think it’s fairly obvious that Underbelly was the most pirated Australian television series of all time. You couldn’t find another instance in this country where an entire State got its hands on a television show through less than legal means.
And you know what happened? Underbelly 2 debuted to the biggest ratings for a drama series in 2009. You know why? Because people wanted to watch it as soon as possible. Nobody waited to pirate the show, they watched it as soon as it was on the air.
Also, when Roy says that pirating is the equivalent of you going to your neighbour’s house, hooking up an extension cord and stealing his electricity he’s wrong. It’s the equivalent of your neighbour taping last nights episode of Criminal Minds for you and then giving you the copy.
I wonder how many Australian movies have ever actually been downloaded from the internet … three?
I am going to write a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald stating why this happens and i urge everyone commenting on this page to do the same. Then maybe Billing will realise why this happens and actually look at the true cause.
Most people don’t really want to download it takes time and cost extra money for a bigger internet plan and if we were given a proper alternative i am sure a lot of people would take it.
Maybe Roy Billing should have written a letter to the TV stations urging them to put tv shows on quickly after they are shown overseas and once they are on to stop moving them around. I can see his point with movies, but not TV shows. I am so sick of TV stations moving shows around or simply showing a few episodes but not the rest of the series, or just not showing good tv series at all. They do this so often that most people cannot afford to buy all the tv series they want to watch so they download.
I have no faith in the Ch 7, 9 and 10. I did have a little faith in the new stations but Go have proved me wrong with Curb your Enthusiasm. If they think I am going to wait for them to put it on tv, they have another thing coming. Once a tv station starts stuffing a show around that is it for me I will get it by other means.
In saying that I am so happy Lost is on 7two, it has been shown within a week of America and hopefully it won’t get moved around. I am happy to watch it on TV if ch 7two treats it with some respect, otherwise forget it.
The actors really need to address this issue with the broadcasters. When you see the way they treat the viewing public – programs shifted all over the schedule or dropped or not screened at all, (or jammed so full of commercials it makes viewing an effort) is it a surprise that people will seek alternate means.
Make the most of it dear actors. What James Cameron can do for the Navi at great expense today, anybody will be able to do on a home computer not to far down the road.
I bought both seasons of Underbelly on DVD. Since I live in the UK, the only reason I had even heard of it was by downloading it on the net.
Of course if I lived by their rules I should have said ‘Oh Dear – its Region 4 and I live in Region 2 so I can’t buy it’. This is an industry that invented a whole DVD region code system to prevent customers from BUYING their products.
Stop making crappy television shows/movies, and you will earn more money.
Most people will pay money to own a high quality hard copy if they see that the quality of the production warrants it.
In the article he mentions his work on Charlie And Boots. Trust us, Roy, nobody is downloading Charlie And Boots.
Also, some of the things he’s saying don’t make much sense:
“Free access to the internet is fine but not when used to access our content for free.” – Where can I get some of this ‘free access to the internet’ and I’m pretty sure I watched Underbelly 2 for free on ‘free to air television’.
He says “Underbelly Three, for example, could not happen unless the people that produced and invested in Underbelly Two got a return on their investment.” – but Underbelly 3 did happen, which means that they did get a return on Underbelly 2, which means that this illegal downloading epidemic didn’t wipe out the industry after all.
I understand what he’s saying but his argument doesn’t make any sense. ‘If you download a movie he’s in you’re stealing directly from his pocket’. Okay, but by that same token if you choose not to see that movie at all you’re stealing from his pocket as well because both acts take away a paying customer.
One word: Avatar
2 billion dollars worldwide in the age of downloaders.
maybe not a excellent answer, but interesting to note.
This is like people turning their backs to him, covering their ears and gibbering “Ican’thearyouIcan’thearyouIcan’thearyouIcan’thearyou”.
“Billing speaks from the heart as he outlines how actors and producers are directly impacted by online piracy.”
Billing must be the smartest most knowledgeable man in the world. Not even the RIAA or MPAA and prove a downloaded copy equates to a loss of sale. Maybe they should hire him for their court cases since he seems to know for a fact that is does equate to a loss of a sale.
Its simple, adapt to digital content delivery or die crying.
As the others have said: sell it online in quick order, and people will pay for it. Then everyone’s happy. It’s not rocket science.
The 42 minute tv show is worth about one dollar for each viewer which includes a profit . If we could just pay that for each show without all the ads & fill ins on 9 i would be prepared to watch Underbelly etc.Iam one of the 4 million potential viewers not watching 9 , many more than downloaders. Movies are a pain to watch at my local cinemas , noisy, costly, loud silly ads, phones, fights etc make going to the movies hell.Fix up the cinema experience first before criticising any downloader.
What a simplistic and naive view of the world. Look for the cause Mr Billing dont blame the symptom.
I did not download Underbelly. I’ve never downloaded any Australian TV or movies.
But, if I had watched it, considering I am not part of the ratings survey, and it was on free to air TV, how much money are they making from me? And how much are they losing if I had downloaded it instead?
He does talk about DVDs, and though that’s part of the piracy problem, I think you’ll find it’s only a minor part. Most people rent or buy DVDs, and only download at original broadcast or theatrical release time.
What about those living in contries where Underbelly isn’t shown?
Did he write his statement as a direct result of the iiNet case verdict?
Seriously, I understand the need to stop piracy, but that case was ridiculous and in many ways contrary to the act of pirating stuff in general.
And while Billing’s sentiments are fair, its a bit rich that someone from an Australian produced TV series that is actually rating very well should talk about productions getting money back from their investments.
And the fact that it was banned in Victoria was half the reason it was pirated anyway! No one would have cared otherwise.
Boo hoo. It’s a necessity because of the blatant disregard of networks to finish what they start. I won’t list the programmes MIA we all know what they are and there are plenty of them.
Give uses a decent online alternative and people will come, just look at iTunes and iView. Fans one DL when the networks refuse to air shows they love and give no indication as to when or if they will air them. I’m sick of the ‘coming soon’ ads for shows like V, Surviver and Human Target that never eventuate or get pulled only 2 or 3 weeks into the series.
Seven has done the right thing with Lost, Heroes and 24 showing them in good time for most viewers.
If they treat the audiance with respect then viewers will watch shows when they air locally or even pay for them for a legal online service.
So under the industry’s claim that every download equals lost revenue, I’d assume that Underbelly 1, being widely posted online, must have ended up turning no profit at all because everybody simply downloaded it.
Where are the industry’s actual figures for their production costs vs. sales returns (including local networks, international and home DVD sales)? Seems to have been profitable enough to commission 2 sequels.
The film industry loves claiming meaningless speculated loss figures based on no more than a wild guess on how many potential sales may have been lost. Ask them for actual proof of those losses or actual income figures and they become very coy and vague.
Its also worth noting that studios and actors all made a healthy living back in the days before home video or DVD came along to supplement returns on product.
But the difference back then was there weren’t so many fat executives leeching off the distribution chain who contribute no more than arranging the physical publishing of content onto fixed media and circulating it out to retailers.
Well why don’t you tell all your tv and movie buddies to get with the times instead of sticking their heads in the sand over everything.
Oh my bleeding heart.
In regards to TV, maybe if Nein and the other networks treated viewers with a smidgen more respect, instead of: cutting shows for low ratings a few episodes into a series, constant broadcast time changes, showing episodes out of order, delaying boradcast times with no previous warnings, flooding shows with commercials etc etc then people wouldn’t download shows to watch them when they want and as soon as they are available.