This week saw the unveiling of a new music and video portal on the Runet, which will make it possible for Russian Internet surfers to download the website's content on a free-of-charge basis.
The new portal is all but sure to open a new page in the pirate content-infested Runet, experts say. As of this week, users are welcome to download terabytes of free music and video on the ivi.ru website, whose owners have already clinched a deal with copyright holders to jointly capitalize on online advertizing. Experts say that next year may well see 20 percent of the Runet's advertizing content controlled by the ivi.ru website owners.
Remarkably, the new portal was created following the closure of the torrent.ru file-sharing website over copyright infringement. Torrent-tracker websites are not uncommon on the Runet, and they are a tit bit for those keen to download their favorite films and music for free, experts explain. The owners of such websites raise eyebrows when being warned against violating intellectual property rights. They point to the fact that a torrent file-sharing system stipulates downloading music or video file on a step-by-step basis - something that they insist is on the right side of the law. Lawyers have, for their part, repeatedly lashed out at what they labeled as "sources of mass Internet piracy", citing counterfeit music and video content of Russia's largest social network VKontakte.ru, as an example.
In an interview with the Voice of Russia on Thursday, noted Russian composer and producer Alexander Shulgin praises the unveiling of the new video portal, which, he says, may add to fighting Internet piracy.
"Small doubt, this is a big event for the Runet, Shulgin says, adding that the ivi.ru website will surely have tougher times ahead trying to stay afloat. The past few years have seen more such websites emerge all across the world, Shulgin goes on to say, remaining downbeat about their ever-lasting popularity. People get used to downloading the content for free, which is why the ivi.ru website may well collapse at the end of the day, Shulgin concludes, citing the website leaning on advertizing payments".
It only remains to add that the Digital Access company injected several million dollars into the website, which is expected to be repaid already in 2013.
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