Memo To The New Head Of The MPAA: Embrace The Technology
from the it's-good-for-you dept
Chris Anderson at Wired Magazine has written up an excellent memo to the new head of the MPAA, whoever that may be, outlining the strategy they should take to save the movie industry from falling down the same hole that the recording industry is now in. He makes perfectly reasonable suggestions, explaining that the technology is here to stay, but that people view movies in a different way than they do music. He also points out that, so far, all of the attempts by the industry to stop online trading work towards offering less to the consumers, rather than more. So, he suggests embracing the technology, ditching copy protection, admitting that some people will trade movies illegally, but that many will prefer to get the legitimate product via legitimate means (he suggests BitTorrent). By embracing systems like BitTorrent as an excellent (and free!) distribution mechanism for movies, they can help to reinvent the movie industry in a way that consumers will want to be a part of - rather than driving their best customers underground. Of course, the chance that any new MPAA head will follow this advice is somewhere close to 0%.
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Question is, will the new head listen?
Remember, it isn't necessarily the head of the MPAA that is the problem, but the folks on the board who pressure the head of the MPAA to do his/her job. The same was true for Hillary Rosen (former head of the RIAA,) who practically sold her soul to the devil in order to keep her job. And we see the same thing happening with the new head of the RIAA as well...essentially they are figureheads to the evil machines known as MPAA & RIAA.
Apparently, old school business practices such as "the customer is always right" (even though many customers aren't, at least the company should go out of its way to please them,) and "the customer is number 1," are no longer being taught in business school. It is likely that whomever the MPAA finds to replace Valenti will come in with good intentions, but will be quickly corrupted. My guess is that this memo will be largely ignored by the people who most need to read it.
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Here here!
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Re: Here here!
Not a chance this would play in Hollywood. In the end, Hollywood is about power and money. There's any number of insider books and films that show that. Without an economic boycott of some kind, hitting them where it really hurts, they'll continue strongarming to protect their own interests. Period. It's just basic greed.
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