One Way To Profit From File Sharing: Advertising To The Community

from the there-are-business-models-out-there dept

Thu, Jan 11th 2007 11:02pm — Mike Masnick

In the past, many firms were reluctant to advertise on various file sharing systems for fear of being associated with things like "piracy" or upsetting the entertainment industry. However, perhaps that's beginning to change. TorrentFreak points us to an article about how Wal-Mart ads have been showing up regularly on the Pirate Bay's site. It's unclear from the article if Wal-Mart has any idea where they're advertising, or if it's just the ad agency they hired trying to target ads at the right demographic (much more likely). However, it does highlight the idea that this community is actually a valuable demographic to target -- and that means there are clearly opportunities in working with the community, rather than fighting against them. Advertising may just be one small part of it, but the fact remains that there are other business models that aren't so anti-consumer.

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6 Comments

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Skippyboy, 12 Jan 2007 @ 5:59am

W00t!
So - now I can get my software/movies/music for free - and they tell me where to go for a 5-finger discount on the cheap-o computer to run it on?

Thanks Pirate Bay!!

(first post?)
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Ryan, 12 Jan 2007 @ 6:51am

hmm
sounds like wasted ad dollars.

The type of people who steal movies and music don't seem like the most profitable customer to me.
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Overcast, 12 Jan 2007 @ 7:06am

Yeah - why wouldn't it be any different than TV before cable?

For the time - that model worked well, actually - it worked so well, they still run advertisements on TV, even though you pay for most of it now.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2007 @ 7:26am

Re: hmm
Those people that steal movies and songs still need the hardware to play those movies and songs. Last time I was in Wal-mart they sold the players and anything else you would need to set up a home media center for playback of the stolen files. This is either an extremely smart move because of the advertising impact or an extremely dumb move because now the RIAA and MPAA are just looking for a hole so they can stick it to Wal-mart.
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Tyshaun, 12 Jan 2007 @ 9:12am

Re: Re: hmm
Those people that steal movies and songs still need the hardware to play those movies and songs. Last time I was in Wal-mart they sold the players and anything else you would need to set up a home media center for playback of the stolen files. This is either an extremely smart move because of the advertising impact or an extremely dumb move because now the RIAA and MPAA are just looking for a hole so they can stick it to Wal-mart

That's a good point. What is stopping RIAA or MPAA to go after the companies that support file sharing services as accessories to the crime?
I'm not a lawyers so this is both a statement and a question.
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misanthropic humanist, 12 Jan 2007 @ 12:23pm

bad language
I'm not being a grammar Nazi here, I want to point out how badly some of you have fallen into the same old trap guys. It sickens me to see how deeply the poisonous memes have sunk in. We must correct them.

Mike: "...and that means there are clearly opportunities in working with the community, rather than fighting against them"

I realise that is quoted out of full context and you meant to say "with that community", but who would have though that in a serious attempt to discuss 21st Century business we would see those words trotted out as if it were a perfectly normal assumption that business makes opportunities by fighting against community?

Here are some extrapolated definitions of "fighting against the community" to ponder..

adversary, antagonist, assassin, attacker, bandit, betrayer, criminal, invader, murderer, opponent, saboteur, seditionist, terrorist, traitor, enemy, felon, gangster, lawbreaker, outlaw, perpetrator, public enemy, racketeer, villain

For the rest of you (except Overcast it seems): Copyright infringement is not theft and is not a crime. You cannot "steal" a movie because theft necessarily requires that there is a victim who is deprived permanently of property.

"I'm not a lawyer, so this is both a statement and a question."

LOL! Nice one Tyshaun! That is absolutely priceless mate.
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