Larry Magid: Internet Piracy May Help Some Filmmakers

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – A new study shows that Internet piracy may actually help some movies do better at the box office.

The study from economists at the Munich School of Management and Copenhagen Business School compared box office revenues before and after the shutdown of Megaupload.com, a file-hosting site. Megaupload was shut down in January of 2012, meaning many of the pirate videos that were available online were no longer available.

Researchers found in their nearly five years of data that the shutdown of Megaupload didn't have much of an impact on most movies. They found that piracy does impact big blockbusters, but it could actually help smaller and medium-sized films.

The study found that in many cases, these pirated versions of smaller films actually built buzz for the movies, as more and more people were talking about them.

Not everyone is convinced about the findings from the study, as some have questioned its methodology and conclusions.

You can hear Larry Magid's Tech Report Monday through Friday at 3:50pm on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

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