Exploring the impacts of P2P networks on the entertainment industry

Any solution that will solve the problem the entertainment industry is currently facing will need to address the underlying theme in the decline of self‐policing and morally acceptable behavior in terms of intellectual rights. It has become a norm to download music off the Internet and transfer them onto compact discs (CDs) without compensating the artist who created the music or the firms that created, packaged, promoted, and distributed the music materials. Within the repackaged application will be technology that will allow the consumer to sample the product as well as make a purchase instantly over the Internet. This will benefit the entertainment industry in several ways: expanding the number of distribution channels (providing greater reach); utilizing the P2P‐related networks to their advantage rather than disadvantage (providing greater richness); opening international markets with relative ease; and providing faster delivery times and the ability to provide a much richer content than what is currently offered. Through a succession of models, the basic conclusion is that the Internet plays a much more important role with regards the entertainment industry than currently believed. Although the artists should rightfully be compensated for their artistic talents, it is time that a new model is created to compensate them, since the existing model is not going to work due to the inadequacies of the current distribution channels that are being used by the entertainment industry.