Nice little article in the Independent about online film piracy, with Number 1 Pirate aXXo used as the story hook:
Posted below my favorite passage from the article:
In an article written for Torrentfreak.com in January, Matt Mason, author of The Pirate’s Dilemma, wrote that “when pirates enter our market spaces, we have two choices. We can throw lawsuits at them and hope they go away. Sometimes this is the best thing to do. But what if those pirates are adding value to society in some way?… In these cases, what pirates are actually doing is highlighting a better way for us to do things; they find gaps outside the market, and better ways for society to operate. In these situations the only way to fight piracy is legitimise and legalise new innovations by competing with pirates in the marketplace.”
Mason’s book demonstrates that the history of piracy is also a history of innovation, one that includes the names Thomas Edison (inventor of the record player) and William Fox (founder of Hollywood). Ernesto agrees: “The ever-increasing piracy rates show there is a demand that the entertainment industry has not satisfied. Thanks to the internet, access to media on demand has become reality, and people seem to love it. It’s now up to the movie and music industry to come up with a model that can compete with these filesharing networks.”
iTunes has proved that the music industry can compete with a parallel black market online. In the US, Hulu.com, a website set up by the major television networks to stream their programming online, has done the same. Project Kangaroo, the UK equivalent, is currently in the works. “If it’s very easy to find and has a lot of content, people will use it,” says Price. “Hulu is bringing in huge amounts of advertising revenue for the TV companies, and it’s bringing people back from the piracy networks.”
I remember I was sitting in a dingy Belfast Cafe downloading ‘something’ off their dodgy wi-fi when I had that WTF moment = when it occured to me that something I was getting for free had more value than a ‘paid for’ version of the same ‘object’ = it had no DRM, could be transferred to any of my movie players, etc.
Slowly, slowly, slowly the studios are beginning to get it.
(Photo at top courtesy of telegraham)
I was given a “Dark Knight” DVD for christmas and noticed that they include a free digital download of the movie as well. While I'm sure it has DRM restrictions, I do like this added bonus (I haven't downloaded it yet to see).
I had the pleasure of making this point to a set of content distribution execs at the digital Hollywood (2 ls) conference in London in late 2005. I was far from the first, but my bit was in response to a call to reaffirm traditional copyright values by one of the big three studios (so late in the day). There was a point where the “service gap” between illegal file sharing/streaming and legally legitimate means was super massive. The gap is finally closing with BT vision on demand hulu, itunes etc. but the studios will need to out deliver the pirates as file transfers get easier and easier.
One place where the pirates may have an ultimate advantage is one stop shoppery. Project Kangaroo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo_(video_on…) which would have seen an iplayer that bridged 3 major uk content owners was recently stopped short by UK government anti-trust business http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/780820…
It was the same with kazaa for working out the real music charts (after clever cd tactics corrupted the legitimacy of the UK official chart) for ages in the earlier 2000s (before itunes)
Nice to see DRM falling away in the new iTunes -
Jett, do you think that the “movie theater”, as we know it, will become obsolete? Or will there still be enough demand for the “movie-going experience” to keep them around?
I mean, in 10 years or so, it will be reasonably affordable to purchase larger and larger high-definition television sets. And if the ability to download movies digitally becomes easier and easier (and cheaper), what will be the point of going to the movies to spend $20 for a ticket and popcorn (in 10 years maybe it's $30 or $40), when they can watch a high-def movie on their 60″ TV in the comfort of their home?
Or will the desire to see a film in it's purest sense still be what keeps us going to the theater?
I think it's already that way – at least if you're older (teens still go the movies as a communal experience).
But, anyhew I think the communal experience is important and people will always want to go 'venues' to see things. That + the move to 'digital delivery' = turning movie theatres into places where you can watch live events + specials (as in showing old eps of Star Trek, etc.) mean that they won't go away – at least not entirely – but surely there will some shrinkage in the number of theatres (and the concessions = $4 for a bottle of water – c'mon!).
Jett, do you think that the “movie theater”, as we know it, will become obsolete? Or will there still be enough demand for the “movie-going experience” to keep them around?
I mean, in 10 years or so, it will be reasonably affordable to purchase larger and larger high-definition television sets. And if the ability to download movies digitally becomes easier and easier (and cheaper), what will be the point of going to the movies to spend $20 for a ticket and popcorn (in 10 years maybe it's $30 or $40), when they can watch a high-def movie on their 60″ TV in the comfort of their home?
Or will the desire to see a film in it's purest sense still be what keeps us going to the theater?
I think it's already that way – at least if you're older (teens still go the movies as a communal experience).
But, anyhew I think the communal experience is important and people will always want to go 'venues' to see things. That + the move to 'digital delivery' = turning movie theatres into places where you can watch live events + specials (as in showing old eps of Star Trek, etc.) mean that they won't go away – at least not entirely – but surely there will some shrinkage in the number of theatres (and the concessions = $4 for a bottle of water – c'mon!).