I am not going to sit here and pretend that I have never used a bit torrent program or a peer to peer network for downloading stuff. Hell, how else is a man supposed to get his porn? And, I do understand the frustration of companies when they don't get what they feel is the full worth of a film or a song because people are illegally downloading. I got it. I understand. In the UK there is a movement started by Kenneth Branagh to crack down on the illegal downloading of films because he feels his films are not making as much as they could because people are illegally downloading them in the UK.
I'm guessing that Kenneth doesn't know much about the world of illegal downloading. Last time I checked the way all the sites worked was that people who share a film or a song must actually have it on their computer or there is nothing to share. Ummm. Kenneth. I don't think there are many people who have a copy of Five Children And It sitting on their hard drive. And even if someone had it on their hard drive, I'm guessing they are probably not big in the whole P2P movement. I'm thinking you probably didn't get a lot of money from that effort because no one went to see it. In my experience, and this is just for doing research, I find that the films most readily available for download are those films which actually took in a few dollars at the box office. I know Kenneth. It's unfair and you need to find someone to blame. But, I really don't think that you will see a noticeable uptick in your box office grosses for your films even if you got all downloading banned. Now go do some press for Valkyrie.
It always bugs me that when they calculate how much money they "lose" from piracy, they always assume people would've bought the dvd if they couldn't get it for free.
ReplyDeletesomeone needs a reality check. everything i download is something i'm not willing to part with $10 for. bring your movie prices down and maybe people will leave their homes and see your shitty movies.
ReplyDeletesame with music. when you charge $300 to see your concert, don't think I'm giving you another dollar ever again.
I've been doing the download thing mostly because I'm in the middle of nowhere and can't afford cable.
ReplyDeleteI have come across sites that offer downloads of art house films, though. I don't recall seeing any of Branagh's flicks on there.
There are definitely songs/music that I will not pay another cent to aquire - after I've had to buy the record, the cassette and the over priced CD....that's a lot of money someone has gotten from me to hear an Eagles song or a Beatles song or Jim Croce etc. Not to mention what I've payed in concert prices over the years for shitty acoustics or drunk/stoned entertainers.
ReplyDeleteKenneth sounds as whiney as Metallica - how much more money do they think they need? Wankers.
I don't see many struggling artists complaining about how downloading is taking away their livelihood. I only see it from the people who have already made a crapload of money off of the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteMy guy and I have gotten content for a long time online (we even met, four years ago, via a an IRC chatroom for peer-to-peer filesharing). We will pay for a CD, DVD or show only if we feel it's worth the price (and most of the crap out there isn't.)
It's pretty idiotic for these rich guys to cry about how much money they're losing from illegal downloads. They really just come across as money-grubbing scum. It's much more effective to promote legal ways (via download services like Netflix or iTunes) than it is to pooh pooh the illegal ones.
The gate is open and it's time for artists to embrace file sharing /downloading and make it work for them. This old school approach just isn't effective at curbing pirating.
ReplyDeleteEspecially when the main peer-to-peer sites like Pirate Bay are located in The Netherlands and are untouchable.
It's time for artists and studios/record companies to get creative and find ways to make people want to pay for your content.
I always pay for music because I can listen to it first to make sure I like it. With movies, it's a crap shoot. I've downloaded some big studio stuff that would never have seen a dime from me anyway from a ticket or rental. I justify my activity by never downloading independent and small studio films. I always pay for those projects because I want the artists to continue working and want to support them.
I just realized how true the title of this post is. I downloaded tickets to two different screenings of Valkyrie, because Adrian wanted me to go see it and report back, but I couldn't bring myself to actually go either time. So I can honestly say, I wouldn't watch it even if it were free.
ReplyDeleteSorry for not remembering, Mooshki, but who is Adrian?
ReplyDeletenot a famous adrian who is now lutefisk.
ReplyDeleteFive Children and It was truly a piece of shit. Stick with Shakespeare, Kenneth. I own a dvd of Henry V. Best battle scene ever.