£2 million funding for ‘Get it Right’ campaign announced by Government

The next phase of Get it Right from a Genuine Site will launch later this year, following the news that the UK Government is to invest a further £2 million in the consumer campaign as part of its industrial strategy to promote the creative industries.

Get it Right is a successful education initiative that engages with consumers, in particular younger fans, in new and exciting ways to encourage them to value the creative process and to access content legally. The Government has committed to this funding over three years as part of its Creative Industries Sector Deal.

The campaign focuses on engagement through digital content and encourages respect for the value of creativity by telling the story of those that work within the creative community to produce the films and TV, books, games, music and sport that people love.

Since January 2017 the campaign has also been supported by a programme of educational notices, funded by rights-owners, that are sent by ISPs to their subscribers when infringing activity is detected.

Get it Right seeks to impress on fans who love film and TV, music, books, sport and other entertainment that an enormous effort of time and personal commitment goes into the creative process, and so making the right choice really matters.  By sourcing content from a growing number of legal sites they are themselves investing in the creative process – and are helping to generate even more new content as a result.

Ipsos polling shows that, since the consumer programme was first launched in October 2015, one in four of the UK population has been exposed to the Get it Right campaign, with a 26 per cent drop in last month piracy among that group.

The Get it Right campaign has been supported by over 50 organisations across the Creative Industries and has worked with over 20 creative leaders from music, film and TV, sport, publishing and gaming. 

Margot James, Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, said: “The Get it Right campaign is a proven way to reduce copyright infringement and educate fans about the importance of enjoying content legally. We are determined to ensure that our world leading creative industries are not losing out and this investment will help us protect content creators online now and in the future.”

Ros Lynch, Director of Copyright and Enforcement at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), said: "I am delighted that we are able to provide joint funding with the Department for Digital Culture Media and Sports to support the next phase of the Get it Right from a Genuine Site campaign.

“Consumer education plays a vital role in helping to tackle online piracy. It's important for government and industry to work together to help address this problem in new and innovative ways and show consumers that legal content can be accessed easily online.”

Marianne Grant, Motion Picture Association UK Representative for the Get it Right campaign, said:  “We and our member companies thank the UK Government for supporting Get it Right – and for recognising and encouraging its performance to date and the potential of the campaign.

“As a key component of the thriving and economically critical creative industry, with the film and TV industry contributing £7.7bn to the economy in 2016, we think that it is really important that those numbers are understood. It is crucial the stories of the individuals of all races, ages and abilities who work in the industry are exposed, along with the many amazing craft, artisan and technical career opportunities in the UK creative industries.”

Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI & BRIT Awards, said:  “We are delighted the UK Government continues to recognise the value of the Get it Right campaign and the vital importance of promoting legal sources of content – underlining its firm commitment to the Creative Industries in the process. 

“‘Get it Right’ is making a difference, and where consumers are exposed to its central message we are seeing a drop in infringement and a greater regard for accessing content from legal sources. That means lower uptake in the use of newer avenues to infringement as well as reduced use of more established routes.”

Get it Right also highlights the range of career opportunities supported by the Creative Industries as part of a wider drive to encourage people of all backgrounds into the sector. The initiative aims to build on the success of the initial phases of the Get it Right campaign, which was launched first in October 2015.

This is the second stage of a jointly-funded project – which, in its first phases, brought together the Government and Creative Content UK, along with a network of organisations including the MPA, the BPI, PPL, PRS for Music and the Entertainment Retailers Association. It is expected that, under the terms and spirit of the Sector Deal, other groups and individual companies from the creative sector will step forward to support the campaign with content assets, distribution avenues to reach the key audiences or other “in kind” contributions and/or funding.   

The campaign will operate through a dedicated website and social media engagement. These platforms provide consumers with information about the Get it Right from a Genuine Site campaign as well as links to legal sources of content, both free and paid. 

To find out more about the campaign to date, and after the relaunch, visit:  www.getitrightfromagenuinesite.org or https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=getitrightfromagenuinesite