And how do we know that these 2 million did not already watch it at the movies? How do we know they’re NOT going to buy a dvd later? Seems like you’re confusing maximum potential with statistical norm.

Lastly, you end with saying that the industry should adapt. That’s what the pro-pirates have been saying the whole time!!!

Thats not really fair and it’s a stereotype of people in my age bracket.

Yes theres a lot of people of this age who cant see past themselves to better themselves but im pretty certain that was true of your generation too!

i came from a very poor background, very quickly realised it wasnt what you knew but who you knew, dropped out of uni and worked my way up the ladder and at 28 im 1 step away from becoming a director

We arent all lazy and we dont all need things handed to us, if you want something you have to go and get it yourself

going back to the issue. Movies on DVD/Blu ray are just too expensive to justify buying. As soon as the industry wakes up and realises they are holding on to an outdated business model that does not actually cater to the way the current generation uses content they will see piracy rates drop significantly

But anyway, glad I didn’t just make another enemy.

Merry Christmas dude.

All the best and have a great Christmas.

(Well, don’t love my job, but that’s a different story, lol)

Feel better now Ken J.

Does anyone even care what he has to say. He just loves to start arguements. I bet christmas at his house is just wonderful.

Oh right, we should just keep rewarding people for not wanting to better themselves. What would be the incentive to get an education and get a better paying job if you know if you’re lazy and don’t work you get to see movies for free, get free living, get free food… Why work??? Screw that, I would love to do that… Sit at home on my would-be fat ass and just get things given to me by the government, sweet deal…

I know you’re joking, but this doesn’t sound like a bad idea–as far as justice is concerned. It would never work in this world for so many reasons, but it is one of life’s greatest ironies that those who decry the unfairness of withholding compensation for artists uphold a system that is inherently unfair.

Admittedly, the ethics are complicated. But I wouldn’t balk at someone who participates in a non-zero sum game where the companies impose artificial scarcity on an infinitely reproducible (above the initial investment), the production companies make record profits AND millions get to see the movie for free. Is it fair? Well only as fair as it is for the people who are most likely to download movies to be put in that situation in the first place. Oh you don’t have the money to see the movie? Too bad, you should have chosen better parents that would have put you in a good college so you wouldn’t have to steal movies. And you (the author) speak of fairness?

Granted it is the marginal cases that are the most controversial–those that can pay but won’t–well this is where the industry will have to adapt and prices will have to come down and the ethics will need to be evaluated by each individual–as you would expect with an infinitely reproducible good. These issues all bring very complicated questions, but don’t kid yourself into thinking that it’s somehow universally unfair to download–that’s just a tad myopic.

When you commit piracy no matter what the justification you are at minimum helping make the case for stronger content protection which means we all get shafted in the end by tougher regulations & rules. Lte me be clear about Piracy which in my mind means getting access, for free to some protected content that you would normally have to pay for. I do not consider it piracy when someone who has bought for example a DVD, finds a way to duplicate it. I firmly believe it is the right of all users who have bought something to be able tyo make as many copies or duplicates as tehy want so long as they are for that persons use only. Disc technology is to fragile (a design flaw I belieev the industry intentionally put in place to llimit a products life) to not be allowed to make a backup and more the one since a backup disc could also go bad.

You may think you are justified in pirating something because the owner (Studio, record lable) has made gazillions off of it already like TITANIC or THE DARK KNIGHT or the LORD OF THR RINGS Triology but even in that scenario you are only providing them with ammo to make the case for tougher restrictions/access which then screws us all and is therefore not really free.

NOTE: The belos is a generalization and not meant to imply every person of an age range falls into the belowdescription. Every generation has it’s group of exceptions so if you are 30 and under please don;t assume I am including you unless you do fit the description.

Amen OldMan! Weel put!

I myself will be leaving my 30′s and entering the 40 next year and I already can sympathize with much of what you say. I believe my generations (those around 40 +/- 3-5 years) are the last or close to the last to have any measurable number of those who don;t believe they are owed something by the world and that you gotta work for what you get and that no you aren’t owed your own Reality TV Show. We also don;t believe our lives are all so important that everyone needs top know what we are doing minute by minute via Twitter. I use Twitter and have been for sevarl months and if I have ‘tweeted’ more then a dozen times I’d be suprised. I also have kept my followers & following list to less then a dozen b/c I’m not interested in every spammer following me so as to increase my follwers count.

Sadly it seems that is what the current Highschool agee +/- 5-10 year range group seems to believe; that they are owed something and deserve whatever they want. Just the other day my wife was watching Dr Phill (or Dr ‘Fill-good-then-bad-then-good-again’ as I call him) show and he had on it several early 30 somethings who fit the description above and it was so sad to see these kids talk and act like they deserved something they had not worked for. One guy, who clearly acted and looked like he could really go places if he applied himself, was working connecctions by dating the daughters of those people in connected positions in the industry he was shooting for.

I have 2 daughters and if I found a guy doing that I don’t care if he is the next Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or Einstein, I’m kiccking his butt out and he is not going to get anywhere with my company.

@Juan Carlo: You’re right about that, and it’d be even better if DVD’s didn’t have to go through so many taxes, which happens here not because of the movie industry but because of our government. Let’s not even mention Blu-ray discs…
I can’t say much about music since I’m a musician myself, and while I’m not much into contemporary popular music I believe that good music should be “open source”, and I know that if I composed something worth listening to I wouldn’t have a problem with people listening for free. On the other hand, if I had to sell it, I would make sure it is worth the price.

@John Taylor: Sorry, no, I don’t even know that show. Mycroft is the name of Sherlock Holmes’ brother.

@Vic: That I agree with, when I see the prices of DVD’s there I cannot understand why wouldn’t anyone buy them.

As for a new system, in a way both artistically and to attract people to the theatres I think stuff like Avatar can help, at least until everyone has their own 3D cinema in their living rooms.

To wrap this up, and now that someone has mentioned Let the Right One In, I want to say that I read about that film about 3 months ago, saw that it was from Sweden and from last year and didn’t even think about it, I downloaded it, watched it, loved it. I even downloaded it a second time with better quality and a week after I had rewatched it, I see in the newspaper that it was out on theatres. I couldn’t believe it, and tomorrow I will spend all the money I have in my wallet to go see it. If I didn’t know it’s so good I probably wouldn’t go. So there you go, an example when piracy can actually help pushing people into the cinemas.

And thanks for that welcoming

Didn’t know you were outside the US, I’m speaking about here. Plenty of people without the hardships who still download without paying.

I *do* think they need a new system – seems to me the music industry has done quite well after they went through their free downloading birth pains. Of course it’s not exactly equivalent.

And I don’t think you’re a bad guy at all – you’re the sort of commenter we welcome here: well spoken, intelligent and polite. I don’t have a problem with opposing opinions as long as the debate is civil.

Vic

Um, MyCroft… He’s right. No sarc intended. I found what you had to say about the processes outside the U.S. enlightening. Not everyone here is on the attack bud.

Usually (least for me) 70% of an album if not more is not worth it anyway.

I believe (as I said, and no it doesnt make it right just doesnt hurt the movie business as much as everyone says it does) most people DL it and then see it one way or another. I DO DL movies on occasion… yet I dont put them on DVDs and drop them in my collection.

From that I make my decision if it is worth my time to go to the theater, buy on DVD or rent it, or not watch it at all.

Case in point i just rented and watched Let the right 1 in and Timecrimes… Everyone tohught they were the cats meow… I should have DL them and saved my 4.99 each. Yet someone got my money for what I thought was crap. So whos fault is it that the LTL1in was crap? Who should I not support to show my displeasure…. wont matter…

I’m glad we agree on the street vendor bit. And yes, it’s hard for us purists (me? am I alone in the outside-of-the-US world to refuse to buy bootlegs or to wait for a movie on the theater?) to resist the temptation to watch a movie that may never show in local theaters. But I’m thinking big picture: while the costs to show the dang thing keep being a deterrent, and piracy is a HUGE part of that, the movies will keep not being shown. (And bootlegs will continue, prices will go up, and on and on.)