If you were to listen to leaders of the copyright-focused industries, you’d think that they were on the verge of collapse. The rationale for the (temporarily-shelved) SOPA and PIPA was that Hollywood and the recording industry are being financially steamrolled by piracy. They routinely make claims of billions of dollars in losses, and they’re rarely questioned. We all know that piracy is rampant, and since piracy means free content, it must be hurting these industries… right?
Not necessarily. New data uncovered by Techdirt shows that the copyright industries are doing booming business. Here are some of the most eye-popping figures:
- The value of the recording industry jumped from $132 billion in 2005 to $168 billion in 2010
- Recording artists’ share of music revenue jumped 16% to $16.7 billion
- Worldwide box office revenue grew from $25.5 billion in 2006 to $31.8 billion in 2010
- Book publishing revenues grew from $26.5 billion in 2008 to $28 billion in 2010
- Entertainment spending as a fraction of income rose by 15%
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