European cinema online could prove a success in the US

By Michael Osborn BBC News entertainment reporter

Indie music companies' success in internet sales should be emulated, a conference on the future of film in London was told.

Broadband's good uptake would prove a major advantage, said Phillipe Kern of the European Film Companies Alliance.

The European Commission is also set to announce an online film initiative.

New customers

"If the independent film catalogues were put together, they would be very formidable," said Mr Kern.

European cinema currently has a 26.5% penetration inside Europe - and only makes a 3.3% chink in the US market.

By digitally delivering film with a new initiative, the 35% market share that independent music enjoys in North America could be achieved with cinema.

Pirated films have made their way onto the internet

Mr Kern told delegates from the film industry that new customers and new deals could be captured - including the 77% of teenagers who regularly download music.

"Films that have not had cinema releases could become available, and new communities of film fans could develop," he added.

The peer-to-peer system of sharing material could also be harnessed, with millions of film titles already available.

But it was admitted there were big hurdles to overcome with any Pan-European film deal - the first of which is the lack of a collective approach in the past.

Different release dates, systems of certification, would all have to be tackled by independent film-makers and distributors.

Piracy

Countries such as Spain and Greece suffer badly with piracy, so initiatives to tackle that problem would have to be formulated.

"We must think of the business in a different way - it will require action," said Mr Kern.

Companies from two countries, Denmark and France, have already forged alliances for film distribution on the internet.

At the Cannes Film Festival in May, culture ministers from across Europe discussed the possibility of online film distribution.