Shocker: Entertainment Industry Worried About File Sharing
from the gee,-thanks... dept
In what may be the most pointless study done in quite some time, a research firm has determined that (no! really?!?) entertainment industry executives are worried about "digital piracy." The study also found that many feel it's already impacting their bottom line. Of course, what it doesn't say is that just because they're afraid of something, doesn't mean it's bad. This is the same industry that was once deathly afraid of the VCR and claimed it would completely destroy the movie industry -- when it actually revived an industry that was in trouble. Also, just because something impacts your bottom line, it doesn't mean it's bad. The automobile business impacted the horse and buggy industry, but most people realized that was a good thing in the long run. If the horse and buggy makers had realized they were in the "transportation business" and not the "horse and buggy business," they would have made out better. All it means is that the companies impacted need to learn to adjust to the changes they face in the market. So far, however, the entertainment industry hasn't shown the ability to do that with these latest changes. Instead of realizing what the "entertainment industry" really means, executives think that they're in the business of selling content on a specific medium (CDs, film etc.) rather than realizing that what they can provide encompasses a much broader picture, which opens up many new opportunities, beyond just selling individual units.
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No Subject Given
I've yet to see a convincing argument how any business model that encompasses unrestricted digital copying can turn a profit. At least any one presupposed around 100,000s or millions of sales at "moderate" prices. I.E. any "big budget production"...
Which may be the point: Entertainment of the future may not involve blockbuster movies, mega-bands, high production value games, etc simply because there is no way to sell enough "copies" to remain profitable. It may be the independant film targetted to a specific audience, the small band playing to the same group of loyal fans, and the little addictive game produced by a 1-2 man team getting a few payments from a rabid group of players that "dominates" the entertainment industry of the future.
Not a horrible future, but not one you're going to see Spiderman 3 or the like in.
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Re: No Subject Given
The argument that all of us have been making is that, like every time in the past, embracing where the market is already heading means bigger markets. Fighting it, means doom. The market is heading there with or without the existing players. They may not like what they see, but that doesn't change where the market is going.
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Journey, as well as destination
I live in hope that one day, the yanks will recognize that making the customer happy is the "secret" to also making the stockholders happy.
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Re: No Subject Given
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