How to beat piracy
Piracy seems to be a major headache for content
'owners'.
it is evident in their never ending quest to squelch their
'non-paying' customers.
the word 'pirate' is being touted so often, one might imagine
we are living in the dark ages of privateers. here be monsters!
in fact, none of this true. considering all p2p users 'pirates'
is a tactic used by media giants to marginalize and criminalize
otherwise law abiding, normative people. 'pirates' are those who
make thousands of duplicates in china and offer you Office '08 for
$29.99. millions of others, who just want to watch the latest 'Lost'
episodes, are simply engaging (freedom surfing) in a business
model yet to be exploited by said media giants.
It's the business model, stupid!
in the past, having access to a media, meant owning the medium.
the last group to have monopoly on knowledge and information
was the church. they lost their monopoly with the invention of the
printing press. of-course, the church didn't let go easily, and went into
the ever expected "devil's device" fit.
governments weren't so happy with the free distribution of ideas, as they
are always unhappy with thinking people, so they started taxing and
providing 'print licenses' (more accurately, withholding those licenses).
within a few decades the printers won and we got free press and good
books. the business model is, 'you buy it, it's yours' proved itself and was
second to the 'pay us for the performance' model used in theaters and
concerts.
along comes the radio.
now there is a need for a new model, since it is impossible to charge by
the show. in some places, the radio receiver is taxed, and fees are paid
to some governmental broadcasting agency, but the most common method
is advertisement. what advertisement means is, the broadcaster is selling
your (the listeners) attention.
attack of the videotape
the radio and film had the money coming in, and had little to fear on the
subject of content ownership. just as in the good old days of the printing
press, you had to buy a medium (a tape, rolls of film) since there was no
(convenient) way to record the information.
when the video tape became popular, the industry had to adapt. first, they tried
to block the video tape by suing the tape makers. the courts ruled in favor
of the tape ('a technology has many uses, and can not be made illegal categorically
just because someone might use it against the law').
so a new business model emerged; renting the medium. while not really new
(aka library) tape rentals became a major income for studios.
the digital age
nowadays, the medium is almost unwanted. you may still be enticed to buy a dvd disc,
since it has all these extra good extras, but most likely, you just want the movie.
just as the printing press made it possible to make exact clones of books (hence the
'devils' nickname), the digital age makes it possible to clone any information.
the problem occurs, again, when advanced technology meets outdated business
models.
are studios really expecting us to keep buying discs, when all we want is the
(freely available) content? criminalizing p2p as a technology is parallel to deeming
the printing press 'the devil's device'.
hopefully, they (media giants) will repent their erroneous ways, with new and exciting
business models.
i dont have any problem with paying for content. at the moment, i download from
a service that provide fast, secure and stable connection. it costs 1/5 of cable tv,
and i get all and only what i want. when the quality of the movie is important, or i
want the extras, i will rent. iTunes could have been nice too (but i am out of the region).
point is, people will pay for what they want, given that the price is right and the deal is fair.
i am willing to bet that as iTuneTV (and the likes) market share rises, studios will stop harassing p2p
users, as they will see that money can be made after all.
'Pirate' should be left for describing the criminals who profit from counterfeiting, as i am not a crook!
it is evident in their never ending quest to squelch their
'non-paying' customers.
the word 'pirate' is being touted so often, one might imagine
we are living in the dark ages of privateers. here be monsters!
in fact, none of this true. considering all p2p users 'pirates'
is a tactic used by media giants to marginalize and criminalize
otherwise law abiding, normative people. 'pirates' are those who
make thousands of duplicates in china and offer you Office '08 for
$29.99. millions of others, who just want to watch the latest 'Lost'
episodes, are simply engaging (freedom surfing) in a business
model yet to be exploited by said media giants.
It's the business model, stupid!
in the past, having access to a media, meant owning the medium.
the last group to have monopoly on knowledge and information
was the church. they lost their monopoly with the invention of the
printing press. of-course, the church didn't let go easily, and went into
the ever expected "devil's device" fit.
governments weren't so happy with the free distribution of ideas, as they
are always unhappy with thinking people, so they started taxing and
providing 'print licenses' (more accurately, withholding those licenses).
within a few decades the printers won and we got free press and good
books. the business model is, 'you buy it, it's yours' proved itself and was
second to the 'pay us for the performance' model used in theaters and
concerts.
along comes the radio.
now there is a need for a new model, since it is impossible to charge by
the show. in some places, the radio receiver is taxed, and fees are paid
to some governmental broadcasting agency, but the most common method
is advertisement. what advertisement means is, the broadcaster is selling
your (the listeners) attention.
attack of the videotape
the radio and film had the money coming in, and had little to fear on the
subject of content ownership. just as in the good old days of the printing
press, you had to buy a medium (a tape, rolls of film) since there was no
(convenient) way to record the information.
when the video tape became popular, the industry had to adapt. first, they tried
to block the video tape by suing the tape makers. the courts ruled in favor
of the tape ('a technology has many uses, and can not be made illegal categorically
just because someone might use it against the law').
so a new business model emerged; renting the medium. while not really new
(aka library) tape rentals became a major income for studios.
the digital age
nowadays, the medium is almost unwanted. you may still be enticed to buy a dvd disc,
since it has all these extra good extras, but most likely, you just want the movie.
just as the printing press made it possible to make exact clones of books (hence the
'devils' nickname), the digital age makes it possible to clone any information.
the problem occurs, again, when advanced technology meets outdated business
models.
are studios really expecting us to keep buying discs, when all we want is the
(freely available) content? criminalizing p2p as a technology is parallel to deeming
the printing press 'the devil's device'.
hopefully, they (media giants) will repent their erroneous ways, with new and exciting
business models.
i dont have any problem with paying for content. at the moment, i download from
a service that provide fast, secure and stable connection. it costs 1/5 of cable tv,
and i get all and only what i want. when the quality of the movie is important, or i
want the extras, i will rent. iTunes could have been nice too (but i am out of the region).
point is, people will pay for what they want, given that the price is right and the deal is fair.
i am willing to bet that as iTuneTV (and the likes) market share rises, studios will stop harassing p2p
users, as they will see that money can be made after all.
'Pirate' should be left for describing the criminals who profit from counterfeiting, as i am not a crook!