The Underscore Archives

On 12/02/07, Rick Edwards <rick.edwards at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 12/02/07, Pete Fairhurst <pete at markedup.co.uk> wrote:
> > If production companies loose ticket and DVD
>
> lose as in lost surely, or are we becoming american ;-)


Ouch.  Yeah, sorry about that -- bad habit of typing in phonetics.  (Tis a
silly word-->pronunciation though.)

I'm guessing mass marketing starts when a production company pays a
> marketing company and not when a bunch of people start downloading
> copyrighted stuff for free even if it is good for them. I guess if
> they saw a surge in profits by people downloading copies and then
> going out to buy the product they would turn a blind eye, but this is
> unlikely I would have thought.


Speaking personally, my wife and I very rarely buy DVDs.  We go to the
cinema even less, which is in part a combination of logistical
"complications" along with not spotting a must-see title very often.
Obviously, if it's something we really want to see on a feck-off big screen,
then we'll make sure someone can look after our spawn.  But that's the
inherent _problem_ in so much as there's arguably piss-all of worth on, week
to week.  I was wondering if adopting this sort of thing might push up
quality, and therefore improve cinema as a whole, but revenue streams are a
head-scratcher in this particular instance.  Maybe sanction official
releases of lo-fi versions of titles, with the intention that people will
want to see it "properly" in theatres, or own a decent copy on DVD.   Sadly,
I think you're staring down the barrel of DRM again in today's market
though, which brings things full circle.  It'd be nice to see some
innovation, rather than strong-arming in the form of (as it stands)
bare-faced piracy.

The "you won't get caught so download it anyway" attitude is
> remarkably arrogant but I like the anarchic sentiment, hell they can't
> put us all in jail (well certainly not in the UK they can't, snigger).


For me, it's more the idea that - theft aside - the industry might actually
pay attention to what several hundred thousand thieves think of their
products that I find most amusing.  I would imagine that this won't make
mainstream media, before or after the main event, but it'd be nice if it
did.

- Pete F.
___________________________________________________________________

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood,
divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for
the vast and endless sea."

- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
___________________________________________________________________