I suppose something like this would be too noisy, even if satisfying.
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Iâm thinking more along the lines of Sweeney Todd barber chairs.
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Or⌠rich people shouldnât lie about the actual impact of piracy, in order to enact draconian laws that often infringe on individual privacy, and impose astronomical fines that are way out of proportion to any actual loss. Right?
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Stop.
Youâre being far too rational and making way too much sense.
No matter what the regime, no matter how cruel, repugnant or inhumane; there will always be someone trying to defend the indefensible - from walking âStockholm syndromesâ to those who benefit from said regimes keeping the status quo.
Not that Iâm saying that all this whining about mere copyright infringement in anyway equates to humanityâs worst atrocities and failings, mind you; just that thereâs always âthat one.â
Always.
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Although Hollywood is famous for its bullshit, to be fair box office has little to do with profitability for most films. Theatrical releases are essentially loss-leaders for various forms of home video (disks, VOD, broadcast rights, etc.), where movies actually make their money and where âpiracyâ* could actually impact their profits**. The whole thing is even more absurd now that Hollywood is really into blockbuster films - Batman v Superman apparently needs an estimated $800 million in box office to break even. That is, almost a billion dollars in ticket sales, a record only a handful of movies have ever achieved. They might not get it, given how quickly ticket sales are dropping off, but they still expect the movie to be profitable because of the other revenue streams. So talking about box office returns doesnât say anything about how profitable the movies actually were.
*More accurately, copyright infringement.
**Although, since weâre being fair, probably not all that much, and certainly not to the degree Hollywood claims.
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This is especially ironic since former MPAA President Jack Valenti did everything he could to halt the development and distribution of home VCRs.
If the movie industry had gotten their way in past efforts to fight piracy then the most profitable part of their current business model wouldnât even exist.
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Weâre already paying for the externalized costs of their goofy campaign to privatize public gains of digital technology, for multiple purchases of the same content, and for federal law enforcement agencies to act as a private debt collection enforcement agency.
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Yeah, itâs true for both the movie industry and the music industry - technologies that they fought hard against ended up being the things where they eventually made all their money. Theyâre so busy fighting to maintain the status quo that they often canât see massive business opportunities when dangled right in front of them⌠(Though they certainly saw the possibilities of television before it even existed - which is why they simply wanted to add it to their existing vertical monopolies.)
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The sad, sort of ignorant thing about your comments is that you think Hollywood is the only entity damaged by todayâs online piracy. Look at the kind of films being made now by HollywoodâŚall regurgitated blockbusters. Gone are most of the marginal films that tell stories that may not draw mega-millions at the box office. Indie filmmakers, musicians, etc. donât have the deep pockets that Hollywood does. Do you really want all our movie choices to be Star Wars Part XIX???
You act as though piracy exists only due to bad business decisions. Seems like your idea of a good business model is making everything free. Get ready for cans of Diet Coke in every shot if thatâs your model.
Quality art takes investment in the artists who make it. Your flippant dismissal of piracy shows you fail to understand whatâs at stake.
As for business models, itâs a lot easier to do things illegally than it is to do things by the book. Distribution contracts (and development deals) are made over years, not months and it takes time to redirect and/or evolve the models. Doesnât make theft okâŚexcept in your book.
Itâs not theft. Itâs never been theft. Theft is an incorrect term. Nobodyâs being deprived of their property, therefore theft hasnât happened.
Also, since the internet and piracy took off, thereâs actually been far more art available to the public because small producers, like the guys who made Primer, for instance, donât have to play ball with the nasty gross MPAA.
People can monetize however they like.
But donât call piracy a threat of any kind when youâre raking in record profits.
Itâs just not true.
You donât hear the indie movie guys complaining about piracy because they know itâs good for business. If nobody knows about you, then nobody buys the movie anyway.
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Welcome to boingboing! 
Play nice. Here are the guidelines. Beware of dragons.
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Not if we get everyone to stop drinking Diet Coke, it wonât!
(be our model)
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Really? All the films are now regurgitated?
Sure, thereâs a lot of sequels and remakes, but thatâs been going on for a long time.
Just how long has it been since those were Hollywoodâs balliwick?
Demolition Man already came out eight years before the bittorrent protocol was released.
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I see your account is only an hour old.
Hmm; isnât that⌠special?
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More like âpiracy is inevitable if the version you can get for free is both more convenient and superior in quality to the version you have to pay for.â
iTunes didnât come to dominate the market for digital music in the late 90s because people couldnât use Napster anymore. It came to dominate the market because Apple was the first commercial entity to build an online music store that provided a superior user experience at a price that people were willing to pay.
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That really didnât hold any logical position or determinate object. And itâs me saying this.
Perhaps youâd like to start by saying Apple is a company thatâs (letâs say: rightly) about preventing any prevalence of music, and build from there?
I donât see Walmart lobbying government to introduce full body scans, mandatory cavity searches and denial of basic services for convicted shoplifters, because of their fear of income loss.
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Such a bullshit argument. Thereâs never been a greater choice of entertainment, we are living in the golden age of TV. The stranglehold of a few major studios is breaking, and now producers have so many more options, so much more creative freedom, there is a greater variety of higher quality art than ever before.
Anyway, I look forward to your active participation in other threads on other topics that interest you.
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