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fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2 to CXM_Splicer

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to CXM_Splicer

Re: BitTorrent Piracy Doesn146;t Affect US Box Office Returns

I agree with you on many levels that the arguments made by the RIAA and MPAA is off and dis-genuine. They demonstrate that they're not competent at running a business, or an industry for that matter. (And contrary to popular belief, THEY are not "the industry".. they just represent a good portion of it.. they're just PART of an "industry" at best)

One thing I won't budge on is theft.. taking a product or service with out paying for it and snubbing one's nose at the law in this case is theft and I don't think anyone here can say they are not aware that laws exists. But with that said, .....

The music industry is upset they aren't making the money they'd like, but they fail to see why and state the truth.

They say that 750,000 jobs are lost due to theft and piracy which with out even doing any research on this matter is false. They never state where these jobs are lost, for one. And second they forget that they're actually making more movies today than they were even 20 years ago,.. yet they're losing jobs? That's pure FUD.

Movie attendance is down especially these days for a few reasons, but the uber rich can never see this fact. (Many rich people are out of touch these days and I see it in real life experience on a daily basis. The economy sucks right now! It's not the price of a ticket alone that is the reason, per say, but the price of the snacks which people equate to the over all cost of a movie - so they don't go. Theater tickets can be had anywhere from$5 for a matinee up to $15 depending on the theater and experience but the average ticket cost is about $9.00 for adults. It's not a huge deal breaker for many.. but introducing the home theater.

People are waiting for movies to come out on DVD and BR.. more people, especially who are too busy these days busting their butts to make the money to spend, aren't necessarily in a hurry to rush to a theater to see a movie any more. They'd rather buy the DVD or such for about $20 and stay at home and watch it.. There's nothing wrong with this.. it's just another step in evolution. Home movie experience is much better today than 20 years ago.

Movie actors are running out of control with their pay requirements... Tom Cruise anyone?? The spoiled brat expects WAY too much money for putting on his little plays than what most people think is reasonable.. that eats up a HUGE chunk of the profit that hollywood wants to make.. when the revenue falls, hollywood once again turns to the argument that theft is "the cause of loss revenue".. it's a dis-genuine argument to be made, backed by propaganda to make people believe it's a valid point. THIS is where I have my issues.

Next comes the people themselves... there are too many IDIOTS (we call them sheep) who blindly idolize these actors because they're something special and can't be bothered with little things like facts as to how these wonderful people are a major cause as to why they can't stream movies easily at home, or pay as much as they do for the DVDs and so on. Anyone who's been on facebook as can whitness as stupid post with no substance get thousands of likes followed by thousands of replies of "I love you" and "you're awesome!" and "I want your baby" should tell you what I'm talking about.. people just can't be bothered to be informed.

But, being informed has nothing to do with trying to put a legitimate face on piracy either. The way you change an industry is to stand up against what you don't believe in and not patronize it.. you exercise your right not to patronize something. However, people feel that entertainment is about on the same line as a public utility and that they have a right to have it, when they don't.

The two AAs can't adapt to the change in our evolutionary ways so instead of embracing it and innovating to meet the requests of their customers, the old dinosaur executives continue to think that their 1950's logic will win in the end, and when it doesn't they can manipulate the market with congress which only pisses people off.

Amazon has the right theory working for them with their prime streaming service. I am a member of prime for $79 a year.. I LOVE the free 2 day shipping and $3.99 over night service which wins my business.. I love the streaming as a perk. They aren't too blind to look past a single profit center to realize that prime video benefits them in their retail side to see that the loss they take on the streaming video is more than made up in their retail.. so they see it as a marketing expense. All too many executives have to have a profit in EVERY profit center, or it's a failure.. it's one of the biggest mistakes made in business today.

Hollywood just needs to encourage purchase and reward loyal customers (as amazon does, many times over) and they will win in the end.. and cut out the crap of trying to put leashes on people and take the FUN out of ENTERTAINMENT with their crap. People like me, for example, don't spend thousands of dollars on home entertainment equipment just to be told how I can and can't use it and later find the investment I made to be useless because some exec woke up and farted too hard one morning. I find it insulting because my income level doesn't allow me the freedom to throw thousands around like they do and not be insulted when my money is wasted because I, unlike many of them, bust my ass to make the money I do, while they can buy their profit off the backs of others...

In short, Hollywood needs to be proactive and change with the times and stop trying so hard to criminalize their own customers. There will always be thieves, but I don't see where they are losing billions like they say they are.. I'm not willing to give up my freedoms in this country because of some battle they have over the pond.. but I still respect the law which is why I don't steal.
CXM_Splicer
Looking at the bigger picture
Premium Member
join:2011-08-11
NYC

CXM_Splicer

Premium Member

I agree with most of what you said., though I don't have any beef with the industry beyond their 'tactics'. You won't budge on theft... thats fine; you are entitled to your opinion as am I. One thing I will mention though is that in your model, it is the use of the content without payment that constitutes theft. This is not reality, none of the laws are actually against THAT. As an easy demonstration, if I borrow a DVD from a friend, I can watch the movie without paying anyone anything yet no theft has occurred. So it is actually not the viewing of the content that constitutes anything 'wrong'. Of course your rebuttal would be that my friend paid for the DVD so there is no theft. That bypasses the point that I watched the movie without paying. As soon as you allow the sharing of a DVD with a friend (or two or ten), you encounter the logical problem that the sharing method is really immaterial to the fact that the content is being legally shared. It is simply not as cut-and-dry theft as people claim it to be.
quote:
The way you change an industry is to stand up against what you don't believe in and not patronize it.

Yes, that is one way. Snubbing one's nose at the law is another very well documented way to get things changed. Especially when that law is the only thing that allows the business with an outdated model to continue.

Ultimately, what the consumers want is instant access to the voluminous content. This is easy to accomplish but the industry is refusing to listen. Consumer demand is what drives the free market and dictates what products the corporations make. Unfortunately, the corporations in this case think it is the other way around. Only by continuing to demonstrate the 'proper' product to industry (whether legally or illegally) will they finally realize that THAT is where the money is.
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

sonicmerlin to fiberguy2

Member

to fiberguy2
Your ranting makes rush Limbaugh seem well behaved.
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2

Premium Member

said by sonicmerlin:

Your ranting makes rush Limbaugh seem well behaved.

Oh, I'm terribly sorry that I was raised with morals and that I don't spend my time trying to find ways to tear down a society over a fucking movie that people feel entitled to. Society isn't important.. so please,.. I'll stand aside while the hackers around here enjoy finding new ways to convince themselves they're right on their skewed views.

Seriously...