How to improve your protection strategy

10 strategies to mitigate piracy's impact on your content

Piracy remains a challenge for content creators across various industries. While eliminating it entirely might not be feasible, proactive measures can significantly reduce its impact. Here are 10 strategies to consider:

1. Stay Informed: Piracy is a reality for content owners. By understanding its scope, you can prepare better. Utilise MUSO to track and remove instances of unauthorised access to your content.

2. Gauge Piracy Levels: MUSO's analytics provide insights into piracy activity surrounding your content. Additionally, exploring popular piracy websites can offer further context regarding your content's popularity within these platforms. This information helps prioritise which content requires closer monitoring or protection.

3. Plan for Peak Piracy Periods: Certain periods are more susceptible to piracy spikes. This includes pre-release weeks for new content (music, film, publications), especially when press copies or releases are involved. Additionally, renewed media attention surrounding your artists, authors, or brands can also lead to increased piracy attempts for both new and existing content. Plan your piracy protection strategy alongside your media campaigns.

4. Be Proactive in Protecting Content: Don't wait for launch day to address piracy concerns. While takedown requests can be submitted anytime, preemptive action is crucial. Ideally, start protection measures around a month before release, and ensure sufficient time before weekends for campaign activation (removal requests might take up to 24 hours to process).

5. Utilise Additional Monitoring Tools: Supplement MUSO's analytics with other tools like Google Alerts. Set alerts for your artist/author/director/title to stay informed whenever they're mentioned online. This can help identify potential piracy instances early on.

6. Monitor Social Media Platforms: Platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit are popular spaces for content discussions and, unfortunately, pirated content sharing. We recommend regular checks, especially in the first month after release. Utilise MUSO's "Add Files" tool to remove any unauthorised links you encounter.

7. Understand Piracy Terminology: Distinguishing between genuine piracy and "spoof sites" is crucial. Real piracy involves readily available unauthorised copies online. Spoof sites advertise content but lack actual copies. They deceive users into subscriptions or ad views without providing the promised content. While annoying, spoof sites are less damaging than real piracy. MUSO still offers takedown options for both.

8. Protect Your Back Catalogue: Renewed interest in artists, actors, genres, or notable events can lead to increased piracy attempts for your back catalogue content as well. Monitor this using MUSO's tools and implement protection measures if necessary.

9. Explore Automated Takedowns: Consider utilising MUSO's auto-takedown feature to automatically remove the majority of detected piracy instances. Additionally, MUSO's search and filter settings allow you to customise further how the system searches for your infringing content.

10. Join Industry Trade Bodies: Collaboration and shared knowledge prove valuable in combating piracy. Trade bodies like AIM, BPI, RIAA, A2IM, and IFPI offer resources and support to members, including anti-piracy seminars and training.

Remember, MUSO is here to empower you to maximise your content's value and ensure your creative work reaches the right audience on your terms.