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Surprise! The War On Movie Piracy Isn't Working - RIAA & MPAA

techdirt.com — Software companies and their shill groups have been spreading around reports on the "cost" of piracy, which are made bogus by their assumption that every pirated copy of software equates to a lost sale, which simply isn't the case. Now, the MPAA has joined the fun

Who dugg this? Made popular May 3, 2006

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  • phpirate, on 10/12/2007, -2/+29I think its going to be a few more years before the business model is changed. When the technology generation takes over, we're the ones who have an understanding of what needs to be changed.
  • IQDeficiencies, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13I have to agree with you, however it must be said that the current model is severely overpriced. With-in recent months I've noticed a complete absence of new anti-copy technology on the release discs. Obviously they've given up on DVD and are looking forward to HD-DVD & Blu-ray for DRM. It's interesting to note the MPAA has a plan to sell DVDs in markets where piracy is an everyday thing for as little as $1, but they have done nothing to adjust their pricing in the nations that actually buy content.
  • dasil003, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11It's funny too, because if DVDs cost $5 I would probably buy 10 or 20 times as many.
  • Jakesweb, on 10/12/2007, -11/+21RIAA PISSES ME OFF :D
  • Titman, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14It was once believed that Chuck Norris actually lost a fight to a pirate, but that is a lie, created by Chuck Norris himself to lure more pirates to him.
  • Cymrubeats, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11I think the war on movie piracy IS being won. I haven't found any more than a handful of films in the past few years that's i'd even watch for "free". :P
  • siekosunfire, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I feel that the DRM, let alone the supposed 'war' on piracy, has become decadent. If you want to see some good ideas, offer up a prize for researchers, similar to the DARPA challenges, that tackles this problem. Why leave it up to the legislators and, sometimes, uneducated managers when you can pull new protection schemes from a large gamut of people?

    Heck, why not turn this into a business while we're at it that not only researches new ideas and mechanisms but also does more accurate reporting on the amount of revenue that's actually lost.
  • Nomadicaa, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8"You are free to do as we tell you."
  • Poddo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Too short? Isn't the purpose of Digg to spark discussion of a topic? Thats what most of us are here for. Just because the article doesn't give you an encyclopedia of information doesn't mean it's not a good article, or any less deserving of a Digg.
  • TheKingInYellow, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8i like the "don't go to the movies" idea. but then again...who goes to the movies anymore?

    seriously...from july 4th to august 4th..DON'T BUY ANY MEDIA AND DON'T ATTEND THE THEATRE. stick it to them.
  • H2SO4, on 10/12/2007, -8/+14We are all guilty from birth....the land of the free is really just a cover for the opposite.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I don't support piracy, but I like how this article boils down to two things, either the movie industry is:

    A) losing out on lots of profit, thus proving that the laws and methods of punishment are failing miserably

    OR

    B) totally full of ***** when it comes to the amount of money they are losing and therefore no one should take them seriously.

    Either way, they are losing.
  • kindrobot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6"In fact, it is a contributed story by Carlo, which is someone no-one really knows. :)"

    Wow. So every article has to be from a select little group of "known" people now?
    Everyone was unknown until they were not. Truth doesn't come only from the
    elite. Often, I learn more from the comments than I do from the articles.

    Celebrity worship sucks. Re-think.
  • digitaldivider, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5as cliched as it is, ***** the MPAA and RIAA. When they produce ***** that's worth buying, maybe I'll consider buying it.
  • Bigcolby, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5The big thing is that if piracy was impossible, the chance that the pirate would actually buy the software/film (at least in my case) is very rare. I sparingly ever buy games and tend to only get cheaper, older ones that are classics for everyone else but new to me (with exceptions like Civ 4 ;) ) So this presents their flaw (as the article indicates), you're telling me everyone who downloads a crappy song, game, or video just because they can is going to fork over hard cash for something? No. Because if they buy it, they most likely will get more opinions via reviews and what-not to make sure they're putting their money into something that will be worth it. There are plenty of pirated versions of crappy movies, but after seeing one review for this film it would never be bought. Maybe this is because the MPAA and RIAA are so conceited with their head, throat, and torso up their anal cavity that they can't get it that every pirate is NOT necessarily an interested consumer. They are a pirate! There's a reason they pirate items: they won't pay for them!
  • dswinscoe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5You're kidding, right? The author of the blog has an opinion, but the links (e.g. http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB114662361192442291-lMyQjAxMDE2NDA2MzYwMjMzWj.html) are very informational, IMO.
  • TheWorkz, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10This article translates to me as someones personal rant and is hardly news worthy. In fact, it is a contributed story by Carlo, which is someone no-one really knows. :). It is a very interesting subject which of coarse causes a lot of controversy and that is really the only reason this article made it to the front page. No digg here for lack of real links and resources from this article.
  • pabster, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Yes, of course we are. We were born with 2 ears which are capable of receiving the great RIAA's coveted "music"!
  • kindrobot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4That was you? Turn off your friggen crackberry. ;)
  • flobadon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5How is Cyrumbeats' comment off topic exactly? The article has to do with the MPAA focusing on lost sales due to piracy. Isn't is also possible that there are other factors reducing movie sales? Piracy and terrorism are not the source of all that is wrong in the world, though you wouldn't know it the way the mainstream media tells it.
  • kindrobot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4That's not true. If I buy a cd and copy it to my computer, never to share it again,
    it is NOT piracy.

    If I let a friend listen to it in my car, it is not piracy.

    If I sell it to a used CD store, it is NOT piracy.

    If I make a copy for a friend, it is not piracy.

    And if I share it with a thousand people, for free, it is NOT piracy.

    But the second I make money on any of the above, it is.

    You could call it theft if you want to, but it's still NOT piracy. Even then,
    theft requires something removed that the original owner no longer has.
    Imaginary lost profits do not count. So we need a new term. Illegal? Nope.
    Actionable. There we go.

    Actionable Downloading.
  • kindrobot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5"they have financial records, paid market research, and professional advice to do whats financially best."

    Yes. All very nicely paid yes men who tell them exactly what they want to hear
    and know exactly what game they're playing.
  • lordthor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5They are losing money BECAUSE they're losing the war. Not the other way around.
  • thebman990, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@dasil
    Exactly! I go down to my local used games/movies joint and pick up 3 used movies for what I would have spent on one new one at Wally World. I've given up buying new cd's and dvd's. Used ones work just as well.
  • theotheragentm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Chuck Norris' tears stop piracy. Too bad Chuck Norris has never cried.
  • Durrok, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5So Toadx what do you think would happen if the RIAA and MPAA made it as easy to get content as it was to pirate it? $10 to download a movie and $5 to download a CD. No time wasted in DRM since it will just be cracked anyway. How many pirates would switch? I know I would if for nothing else ease of mind.
  • kindrobot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5IF I downloaded movies, (I do not. Not out of fear, I just like big screens and netflix
    is great!) and the
    price of a DVD was on average 10 to 12 dollars, I would much rather free up my
    bandwidth for other things.
  • 15charmaxwtf, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5So, if the RIAA/MPAA do ever tell the truth, how will anyone know?
  • mattrmcg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3this whole scandal would make a great School House Rock episode
  • starmanjones, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3they know that every download isn't a lost sale. this legal business they have gotten into is now a profit center. what they want to do is establish the average loss so they can jack up the settlements and take people houses away. their business now is suing people.

    anybody notice how fast the record industry lost interest in raising iTunes prices once france and friends started talking legal... they knew it wouldn't fly under scrutiny. jobs was grinning at that. europe fought that battle and he just watched. brick mortar/house of cards...
  • Cymrubeats, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I think you missed my point completely. :P I'll leave it up to you to figure it out though. Oh, and take this into account as you try...i'm 30yrs old, not a teen who thinks everything is innovative. I'm not jaded, just not impressed any more because it's shiny. :P
  • dswinscoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Huh? Have you ever heard of BitTorrent? From Hogans Heroes to War of the Worlds ... if you don't mind Chinese or Russian subtitles, the world of free entertainment is your oyster. And as many have echoed here, I wouldn't have thought a millisecond about buying a Hogans Heroes Greatest Hits DVD. Ya right; they wish! But, if a Divx movie is just a click away, why not? A little Bob Crane nostalgia can be a nice change. But, who lost money in the transaction? No one! The Internet is one big copyright infringement copying content from one PC to another, and until the industry takes full advantage of this new medium, it'll just be a slug fest to cause fear and confusion while the the MPAA/RIAA and the entertainment industry slowly lament over their languishing cash cows.
  • fatalfury, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5The funniest thing though was when I went over to my friends house, who has a bunch of pirated movies. We popped it into the dvd player and the little "buying pirated movies is stealing" ad came up.
  • kindrobot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Ok, last time.

    Downloading is not piracy.

    Downloading and then burning copies to sell at the swap meet IS piracy.
  • ToadX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Durrok: I think a lot of people would switch, especially the average person that has limited technical knowledge. If legally downloading music and movies were just as easy or easier than pirating them, a lot of non-technical people would find that it's less risky and easier to legally get the content. There are still a lot of technical difficulties for some piraters such as not knowing how to use the file they downloaded (maybe they don't have decompressing software or codecs installed).
  • kindrobot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"Downloading violates copyright, and is piracy. It doesn't matter if you made any money or not. Otherwise the GPL would not work."

    BZZT! Still wrong. Violation of terms or license is not piracy. No need
    for another term to describe it. Piracy would be inaccurate.

    "Hey, that guy just pirated my license."

    That would create some interesting misunderstandings when describing
    a license violation.
  • leadbelly, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I wouldn´t mind paying 1.99 for an episode of house or the daily show on itunes. Yet if you are outside the USA you cant get any video of itunes. They are not even trying to sell me the stuff I want and yet they are complaining about me getting it of bittorrent. And if you buy a dvd nowadays they spend 30 seconds accusing you of stealing. I don´t mind paying for content, but if they aint selling it to me I have no qualms about nicking it.
  • WRoach, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I would not be surprised if the cost of fighting piracy be actually higher than the cost of piracy itself. Anyone checked big media companies profit lately?
  • lordthor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4you've been reported to the moderators for your foul language and insulting others in your comments. Please consider using appropriate banter when having an intellectual debate.
    "stupid pieces of *****" is not a valid argument.
  • deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The "war" isn't working because they don't want to accept the simple fact that the market has changed. People spend more time online now and they're more likely to enjoy online content. YouTube, MySpace, Flickr, etc are all offering entertainment for free and often it's much more entertaining. Why should I spend $15 on a DVD of some stupid romantic comedy when I can just fire up LiveJournal.com and get the real thing? Why should I spend $15 on an action movie when I can load up YouTube.com and see explosions, fights, car chases, etc?

    Quality content still sells but the MPAA/RIAA has to realize the glory days are over for them. You can't just puke out B and C list movies/music and make money these days. You've either gotta give it away or produce quality products that people will pay for.
  • skellener, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Of course the figures are inflated. How can you equate someone watching a pirated movie to a $20 sale? Who's to say that person might have rented the movie for $2.00 at the local video store or PPV or then again not at all? What about people who borrow a legit copy of a movie from a friend to watch it. Is that a lost sale? C'mon....this is ridiculous. To be honest, the reason DVD was such a big hit was because of the good quality and reasonable price. The studios, and MPAA can piss and moan all they want, but they make hand over fist in profit on those DVDs (especially TV ones). They aren't hurting. The slump in box office in recent years is due to crappy movies and commercials in movie theaters. Bring back good movies and ditch the commercials and you'll see people return to the theaters.
  • lordthor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I agree ENTIRELY Durr, and I coudln't have said it better.
  • lordthor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3er... well said?
    yeah, torrentspy and mininova, with my personal favorite (though I know not the most popular) client, bit tornado. That'll get ya what ya need. ;)

    But I think what he was saying was that movies suck recently, lol
  • Cymrubeats, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I do apologise if i came across as patronising or insulting, it wasn't my intention. flobadon hit the nail on the head, it's the lack of quality that is losing them sales, not piracy. I'm a bit of a weirdo in one respect, i see it like this...if i'm willing to go to the effort (albeit a small one) to steal something, then i'm more than likely to just buy it anyway (if i can...you'd be surprised, or not, to find out how hard it is to get hold of some movies etc legally, or 4:3/proper region versions of them as a friend of mine has a very hard time doing.)

    In this day and age you'd be far from a fool to believe any movie ever made should be up for grabs (legally or otherwise,) but alas, it is not so, and it is "them" who are putting the barriers up.
  • lordthor, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6within the article are links to more information. Please actualy look for information before you criticize the article for not having any.
    Closing your eyes doesn't give you the right to yell at everyone about turning off the lights.
  • trialofmiles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The piracy estimates are way inflated, but it does seem like they're at least pretending to base them on actual lost sales. From the WSJ article:

    "This time, the survey specifically asked consumers how many of their pirated movies they would have purchased in stores or seen in theaters if they didn't have an unauthorized copy, giving studios a different picture of their true losses."
  • elf586, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2actually i have read other comments that qwjc and found them intellegent....however his behavior here states otherwise....qwjc you should realize that poeple only click on links that they find might provide good information if the grammer isnt good then they will probably skip over it...and the fact is if people find the same artical....then they might post it with out know that you have...dont flame them when someone elses gets through...it also depends on the time it was posted.....things posted late at night are less likly to be dugg.... i hope next time you look past this.... and i am interested in hearing your opinion on other stories....just calm down abit this site is ment to spread information, it doesnt really matter who gets it up....its the comments that count...
  • diecastbeatdown, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2i'd love to buy my shows a la cart, and at $1.99 each that is fine with me. but, i need to received the dvd boxset when the series is over at no additional charge. now that service would win me over in a second.

    btw, about to go watch the sequel to last nights house on my dvr. that show rocks.
  • waynechng, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2They're just pissed that the latest Sarah Jessica Parker crapola didn't make as much as any of the Lord of the Rings movies because their "test" audience told them it would.

    Try making movies that people want to watch on a big screen. Try making an album where at least 8 of the songs are worth listening to a second time.
  • diecastbeatdown, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2this has been my arguement since day one. they are not losing money, simply due to the fact that people who are participating in piracy are not going to buy the games at retail price - period.
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