Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonist
Most people will pay for good content and good design, and for convenience. This is how iTunes works.
In fact, I don't think Amazon is far off the mark, as many of the titles I've purchased seem to be about $6-7, which for a good portion of purchasers, would invite at least some impulse shopping, when combined with the convenience of instant acquisition. DRM is the main drawback for me, because it still takes a little effort to strip the DRM (and to download a sample, to make sure it's not Topaz.)
You'll never stop "piracy," but this has never been the case before - some copied audio and video tapes, some photocopied books. For all desirable stuff, there was always a balance, at a certain price-point, where enough potential purchasers bought a title, for the content creators to realize profit.
What this proposed treaty appears to attempt, is to tip the balance in favor of the content creators, in what is essentially a non-competitive market field.
So, not only would corporate interests police our internet use, but without the threat of "piracy," they can more freely engage in price-gouging.
|
I never understood the 'convenience' argument, when piracy is more convenient and has better quality.
Itunes - you need an account, you need a credit card, you're limited at bitrate (320k?) in AAC. Worst of all you need to install Itunes.
Piracy - No credit card needed, chat to music lovers all over the world, get your music in everything from low end WMA/mp3/aac to high end FLAC and other Lossless formats (plus a lot of live bootleg and rare stuff).
/
Blu-Ray - tied to physical media, may need firmware updates on player, expensive, DRM'd.
1080p MKV - Smaller in size, portable on hard-drives, no DRM, full DTS audio. Plays from most good media servers. Again, a community grows around it that you can become part of.
/
The only barrier to entry with piracy is knowledge. And with piracy there are always enthusiastic, fun-loving communities that grow around the hobby.