India Tops Global Film Production, Faces Digital Piracy Challenges

Chennai: India is the top film producer, contributing 29 per cent of the global volume. India also occupies the fourth position in terms of publishing industry revenue and number of ISBN registrations.

According to a report by UNCTAD, 2022 saw the second-highest number of feature films produced, reaching a total of 8,748 films and representing a 15 per cent increase.

Overall, India held the top film producer position, contributing 29 per cent of the global volume while other developing economies such as Argentina, Brazil, China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mexico, Philippines, Russian Federation, and Türkiye were also among the top 20 film producing economies in the world.

However, digital video piracy leads to between $40 to $97 billion in revenue losses for the global film industry. The losses range from $40 billion to $95 billion for the global television industry. The Indian entertainment sector experiences an annual revenue loss of approximately $2.8 billion due to digital piracy.

The market studies by Competition Commission of India has identified competition concerns within the sector, such as imbalances related to the superior bargaining power of some competitors, unequal revenue sharing agreements, the challenges posed by new technologies in cinema, and tying and bundling agreements at the exhibition level. The Commission recommended self-regulation by the interested parties.

India also stood fourth in terms of publishing industry revenue with $9132 million. While the US topped with $26,152 million, Germany and Japan had less than $10,000 million.

Similarly, India recorded the fourth highest number of ISBN registrations at 2,81,091. The US had the highest ISBN registrations with 32,79,217 followed by Japan and South Korea.

With $21 billion, India also was the seventh largest exporter of creative goods in 2022 after China, the US and Hong Kong. Jewellery accounted for 59.6 per cent of the creative goods while fashion accessories amounted for 12.8 per cent. India had 2.9 per cent share in the global creative goods exports. India’s imports of creative goods was $5.6 billion, accounting for 0.9 per cent of global imports.

Further, the average share of women in the creative industries fluctuates from 80.5 per cent in the Dominican Republic to 6.5 per cent in India, alongside a global average of around 38 per cent. The difference might be due to the presence of gender stereotypes in specific careers, cultural norms, gender-based violence and harassment, financial constraints, access to education and training, or gender equality policies.

In India, creative jobs are significantly higher in urban areas, with a substantial share of 67.1 per cent.