If you had $10,000,000 ten years ago and you wanted to make a movie, your options would be making it then selling it to a studio for distribution (the best potential profit) , or selling it to TV/releasing it on DVD and crossing your fingers.
Now a days you can do that, or you could release it onto the net. You’d get lots of viewers, as long as you marketed, and if it was good word of mouth would cause it to spread.
In ten years say you wanted to do the same thing and imagine what your options will be.
Piracy accelerates the market by adding legitimacy to the net using their own content. People are cool with downloading movies already thanks to piracy and things like youtube. So what is the brand differentiation between a movie from paramount or some movie that a dude released on pirate bay? Or further, between drugs you bought online from Canada versus things you got from a pharmacy for 10x the price?
Organizations like the RIAA and MPAA and Hollywood are just bitching because their business model isn’t working in today’s digital world. This is why they support SOPA.
Our politicians don’t even know how the internet works. SOPA and Protect-IP is being rushed because they know something needs to be done. They made SOPA/Protect-IP because they see it as “something” that will fix the problem. The lobbyists are trying to push this through without the politicians knowing what the fuck these bills can do.
Well I think we can all agree that it’s good see some of us fellow Americans care about our rights and freedoms. I like this awareness, because honestly when shit does hit the fan at least we know we won’t be alone. I think with the amount of contributions that the entertainment industry made to support this, its obvious that piracy isn’t even an issue for them. If anything it is helping them. They are getting free marketing on their products. None of them are going hungry any time soon. SOPA is a bill with more than one evil intention(more corporatism, killing mom and pop shops, violating 1st amendment rights). I really hope someone in the House brings up the unconstitutional parts of this bill. If they don’t care about the fact that it is unconstitutional then gives us all the power to step in. They got the evidence from Harvard and Stanford stating that it is unconstitutional. That evidence alone should automatically kill this bill. Of course, that is wishful thinking because our government is corrupt. I would avoid confrontation at all costs but, if the ammo box needs to be used then so be it. The only thing that sucks is the fact it’s hard for some of us to physically obstruct what they are doing because we live so far from DC. I just hope for the best and more people would come to their senses about this.
I do agree that all this is a power struggle amongst distribution of power. People still buy albums, go to the movies, buy DVDs/Blu-Ray… So it’s not like everyone and their mom just went “Fuck it , I’ll pirate it.” Not everyone that owns a computer is tech savvy. Some are just happy the internet is just search, point, click. Anything past that is like, “Oh dear God, I broke it.” But, when it comes to personal terms for me? Piracy/YouTube seemed to have safeguarded my wallet from purchasing bullshit. There we so many things that I’ve seen and felt grateful that I didn’t waste $15 on a shitty album or movie. Especially now with music streaming services where my $10 gets me all the music (if available) I can listen to. Why pay $10-15 for just ONE? Fuck that. And it’s not like music artists/bands make all the much from their album releases. They get most of their money from concerts, so… what now?
Sad thing is, I don’t know if people that support this bill really understand and grasp the concept of what the internet is for. Its original intention was to help pass along information digitally amongst other during the late 60s. ARAPnet, anyone? I remember my professor telling me that in my Networking class. But, my memory is a bit hazy, on that, but yeah. Oh goodie, I found an article on it!
In the end… People will support and oppose things that are in their favor. Personal morals, freedoms and thought seem to have been quieted by a small green piece of paper. It’s so sad, but true.
In this day and age, Money talks louder. Corporations are people. Bullshit walks. Don’t like it? You’re probably a terrorist. So enjoy your unlawful detainment and think about it until we feel as though you’re not a threat. /NDAA
The real purpose is to further contain the American people during the inevitable fallout from the collapse of the American system, thanks to Wall Street and Corporate Greed.
Patriot Act + NDAA + SOPA = the true Axis of Evil.
Why? Do people that pirate suddenly become purchasing consumers?
No, there was no guarantee that these pirates would’ve bought the product in the first place…
These movie and music companies are going after money that they weren’t even guaranteed to get in the first place…
This just seems like another method to slant ‘Capitalism’ in their favor through legislation… government should have no hand in anything dealing with corporations unless it’s in the best interest of the American people… this is obviously not…
The only step that would be left after that is for the government to stage an attack on us and blame it on some country that most unawake people believe to have WMDs. Just like how Hitler did it. Definitely need to draw the line fast.
As much as I love freedom, and George Washington’s ideals, I would love to see the horde of awkward, meme-spouting virgins attack the outside world, a la OWS.
That would make great television, considering that’s all we’d have then.
I don’t know tons about it, but I DO know it’s not good news…