Has The Megaupload Shutdown Been Good For The Entertainment Industry?

from the thoughts? dept

Wed, Feb 29th 2012 9:41am — Mike Masnick

One of our most vocal (yet anonymous) critics posted an off-topic comment on a totally unrelated story mocking us for not having covered the story of how Hollywood has been saved (saved!) thanks to the shutdown of Megaupload. Of course, the reason we hadn't covered the story was because we didn't know about it. He referenced a couple of French news reports, which I hadn't seen until I had some time just now to catch up on some old comments. He could have submitted the stories, but he insisted that it would be a total waste of time because we ignore any story that we disagree with. That's pretty funny, considering many, many of the stories here are ones that challenge our views. And, I'm especially interested in reports of actual data, even if it conflicts with other data we've seen in the past. In fact, I'm especially interested in such stories, because my focus is figuring out what's really happening and understanding what's actually best for culture and society. So data that actually challenges my assumptions is some of the most useful data around.

Unfortunately, the stories don't actually have any data. The first one is totally anecdotal, concerning a guy who now goes to the movie rental store to rent (physical) movies since the shutdown of Megaupload, and the second one is about claims from TV stations that their websites are getting more traffic since the shutdown of Megaupload. Both are anecdotal, not data based, and really just seem to scream out the obvious: man, does the entertainment industry do a horrible job giving consumers what they want. If Megaupload's website was offering a better experience than the TV networks' own offerings... they should be firing their web designers and starting again. As for the guy renting videos... we'll see how long that lasts.

The same commenter then left a comment with some bullet point claims. He doesn't source them, so I have no idea how accurate they are, but they seem to indicate the same point in that second article. In the few weeks after Megaupload got shut down, TV station websites got more traffic. Again, this seems to simply show how bad a job they must have been doing in the past to attract viewers to their own websites. It also means that as soon as something better comes along (and it will), people will split. Ignoring that the market is telling you something is no way to build a long-term business.

Of course, we've also seen significant other data from firms that have access to a much wider view of internet traffic, which suggested that Megaupload traffic pretty quickly shifted to other, similar sites. Of course, some of those sites have since shut down or changed models, but anyone who thinks that more such sites aren't springing up (with some keeping a lower profile) simply hasn't been paying much attention to how the internet works.

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Filed Under: anecdotes, data, revenue, shutdown, streaming
Companies: megaupload

106 Comments

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Mesonoxian Eve (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 9:01am

"...from TV stations that their websites are getting more traffic..."
So did torrent sites.

"...a guy who now goes to the movie rental store to rent..."
Where? Blockbuster's closing 500 more stores, so if this guy's renting...

I seriously wish everyone would just stop buying movies, music, books, and video games.

Without the revenue, these middlemen die by default.

Artists? Saves money from having to sue them to get what's due them.

Everyone wins.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 9:48am

Just the other week (which, you will note, is after the megaupload shutdown) my little nephew said he wanted to be a musician when he grew up (suck on that firefighting industry!)

I didnt see that reported here!

Clearly the megaupload shutdown is encouraging new artists to enter the field.
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sehlat (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:01am

Did enormous damage without helping Hollywood.
Consider the still-infant cloud storage industry.

It's been conclusively demonstrated that the government can seize and destroy your data on nothing more than an accusation that some party or parties unknown, with whom you have no accusation, have been using the service to "infringe." You can be cut off from your backups, records (in the data/information/paperwork sense), without so much as a warrant against YOU, and that data will be destroyed even before any trial, if there ever is one.

Cloud computing has crashed before it ever really left the runway.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:05am

Unfortunately, the stories don't actually have any data. The first one is totally anecdotal, concerning a guy who now goes to the movie rental store to rent (physical) movies since the shutdown of Megaupload,

You mention the anecdotal evidence of a single video shop owner but ignore the information given by an online rental business serving that market, that presumable has much broader and significant evidence.
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MrWilson, 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:06am

Re:
The report about the guy renting is from France. He also stated that he couldn't find any sites that he liked as much as Megaupload, which tells me he didn't look very hard. Hardly a victory story.

Note that this guy is saying he's been using Megaupload since HADOPI went into effect, so clearly that bit of legislation did little to prevent copyright infringement online.
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Vic, 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:08am

OK, how about this one for a size: it's a story about one guy (me) who after Megaupload shutdown DID NOT visit ANY TV station's website. Nor that I was visiting them before. That should qualify for an evidence (of whatever), doesn't it? What I did though, I changed from Megaupload to totally another file sharing site.

I wonder what the defenders of site seizures are going to say now with this "statistics"?
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TasMot (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:10am

The Really Important Measure of the MegaUpload Shutdown
The one and only really important measure of the MegaUpload shutdown (well and all of the "Major Blow to Piracy" shutdowns) will be that 100%, 200%, 300% increase in the top line revenues of all of the major studios (well after the vigorish to the collection agencies). Now that all of that pirating is gone, the logical conclusion is that there will be a HUGE uplift in the revenue to the old-line studios. Wal-Mart and the gangs should see a huge uplift in sales, NetFlix and Blockbuster should be solvent again now. The whole entertainment industry will be better off. Now, even theater revenues should be up by a couple of hundred percent. Please, let me know when this starts happening. If I believed that even a 5% lift was going to be visible, I would be out buying stock in those companies like crazy. However; I believe that even if there were some lift in the top line revenue, the senior management would just make it go away with bonuses for themselves anyway. In reality, I would be willing to bet my $1.00 (movie reference here) that there will not be any noticeable lift in revenue for any of the studios that can be attributed to the MegaUpload shutdown or any other anti-piracy campaign that have mounted.
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Anonymoose Custard (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:18am

Re:
A 5% increase in traffic isn't really statistically significant. Many sites see a lot of up- and down-swings to the tune of up to 10% on a regular basis. Merely saying they had an increase of about 5% (and it doesn't say of what) doesn't mean much.
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Robert (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:24am

Re: The Really Important Measure of the MegaUpload Shutdown
Movie Reference: Trading Places (1983).
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:25am

I would agree. If they could watch the shows freely and instantly via streaming on the official site or download them from megaupload and they chose to download there is probably plenty of work to be done on those network sites. These people will use the network site until they find a better alternative legitimate or otherwise, because there is a reason they were not using it in the first place and chose a different, less safe and slower service.
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Chosen Reject (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:25am

Re: Did enormous damage without helping Hollywood.
I now have a new conspiracy theory. Some company was using Megaupload to share their financial data with all of their accountants and all of it was cooked. The SEC started looking into the company, and so the company got DOJ/ICE to shutdown Megaupload so that all of their data disappeared. Now I only need a company everyone hates but knows that DOJ/ICE would bow to them to finish off my conspiracy masterpiece. I don't know if I should choose Goldman Sachs, AT&T, or the [RI|MP]AA.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:28am

Re:
Failure to provide sources now apparently are endemic.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:29am

Re: Re:
He didn't try TorrentButtler?
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Charlie Dickens, 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:37am

Fighure Lie and Liars Figure
58.03994582% of statistics are fabrications the other 880% are just made up.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:47am

http://www2.clustrmaps.com/counter/maps.php?url=http://retroshare.sf.net

Retroshare appears to be booming in France and the US.
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Tim K (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:50am

Re:
I tend to avoid the network sites to watch their shows because they usually require you to download some special plugin to make it work and create an account, and frequently have only two or three of the latest episodes up, if they have the latest, sometimes it's two or three episodes from 2+ months ago.

/I haven't checked them in 6 months or more
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rstr5105 (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:56am

Re: Re: The Really Important Measure of the MegaUpload Shutdown
Movie Reference: Trading Places (1983)

Movie Reference Licensing Fee: $2,000,000

ftfy
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:56am

Re: Fighure Lie and Liars Figure
Sure man what about the other 15% though? Just try and leave that out like we can't add.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:58am

http://sourceforge.net/directory/os%3Awindows/freshness%3Arecently-updated/?q=p2p&sort=popular

Was sourceforge hacked or something?

The Ares Galaxy has seen 8 million downloads this week?
WTF!?

8 million new P2P user in a week?
Right after the Megaupload fiasco.

Somebody should ask Sourceforge for a blow by blow statistics of those filesharing programs hosted there to see how much increase they had after the Megaupload, after Hadopi LoL

I'm betting that pirates are moving around.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:59am

http://sourceforge.net/projects/hedgewars.mirror/

Almost forgot, anybody insterested in playing Hedge Wars(Turn based strategy/action game with pink hedgehogs, they are pink!), it is free and open source people.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:01am

"laims from TV stations that their websites are getting more traffic since the shutdown of Megaupload"
Well naturally. After all, I wouldn't want to miss out on one more Steven Seagel masterpiece.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:03am

Re:
I love that game, been playing for a few years now. Better then Worms Reloaded.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:04am

I wonder how this story plays out "if" megaupload wins? Other than a big dog and pony show for news media the "down with megaupload" train seems to be losing some steam.
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bob, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:04am

Challenging your views?
"That's pretty funny, considering many, many of the stories here are ones that challenge our views."

By challenging, I guess you mean challenging them from an even more extreme end of the spectrum. As it, "We normally think piracy is just great but this new study shows that it's totally cool as well."

Seriously. Point us to more than two stories that suggest that pirates should actually be punished and you've been wrong in the past. Usually when you do this, you do it in a odd way as you did with paywalls. You used to hate them when the NY Times tried them, but once Kevin Smith and Louis CK embraced them you started claiming that paywalls were some of the new business models that you keep claiming are coming any day now.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:06am

Re: Challenging your views?
" You used to hate them when the NY Times tried them, but once Kevin Smith and Louis CK embraced them you started claiming that paywalls were some of the new business models that you keep claiming are coming any day now."

This, still? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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Torg (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:08am

Re: Re: Did enormous damage without helping Hollywood.
Interesting hypothesis, but it fails at a key point: it relies on the assumption that ranking members of those organizations are tech-savvy enough to operate Megaupload.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:08am

I guess it's a little hard to tell, but there is plenty to look at here:

First off, Mega itself - something like 50 million page views a day, down the toilet. That in itself is a major shift.

Second, the repercussion shut downs, as various file lockers and torrent site operators decided to just close down, or to severely limit their service to block all file sharing activities.

Third, you have the shut down of many of the "pay to upload" and "pay for traffic" affiliate programs related to these file locker sites.

Finally, you have the knock on effects of tens of thousands (if not millions) of forum links to pirated material suddenly going dead, and many of these sites losing their income sources as a result of the third item above.

Does it "help" the entertainment business? Clearly any time legal action results in a significant change to the landscape, there will be people who reconsider the pirating option. Anyone using a piracy forum right now to source content is probably very pissed off, unable to find files. If you are in the US, you are doubly screwed, often unable to access the file locker sites at all.

The help isn't short term (sorry Mike, no black and white answer), but perhaps more of a long term thing. Certainly, it has knocked the shit out of the file locker business, and sent many piracy supporting ass clowns back into mom's basement, crying because the big bad gubbermint took away their toys.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:12am

Re: Challenging your views?
I'm just going to get this out of the way, as pointless and a waste of time as it is nonetheless...

bob "paywall" DOES NOT mean what YOU think it means.

Kevin Smith/Louis CK's "paywalls" ARE NOT "paywalls" in the same manner as the NY Times paywall was/is.

In fact, they're not even paywalls. At all.

You seem to think that having to pay for something automatically makes it a paywall. The word "stupid moron" springs rapidly to mind when I see your "definition" of a paywall (although you don't state the definition as such, it's readily inferred based on your use of the word and the "examples" you give to prove yourself correct).
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Jeremy2020 (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:15am

Re: Challenging your views?
http://silentbobspeaks.com/
https://twitter.com/#!/ThatKevinSmith
http://www.viewaskew.com/main.html

https://buy.louisck.n et/ Quote from the site: No DRM, no regional restrictions, no crap. You can download this file, play it as much as you like, burn it to a DVD, whatever.

Where is the paywall?
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:16am

Re: Challenging your views?
Shut the fuck up already dude.

You're a fucking joke around here. As in the butt of the joke.

Seriously, how old are you? 85?
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Mike Masnick (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:16am

Re: Challenging your views?
Usually when you do this, you do it in a odd way as you did with paywalls

Dear bob: accepting payment is not a paywall.

Thanks.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:20am

Re:
What middle man? Artist can finance their own movie today using services like Kickstarter. The question is why aren't they flocking to Kickstarter. If Kickstarter offers a more lucrative, and easier path we should see hundreds of big production movies coming from there. Where are these productions? Where are the fil producers, why are they still using the movie studios to finance their movies? The answer is simple the studios DO actually contribute a great deal to these productions, beyond fronting the money for securing the rights to the screen play, paying the production crew, and utilizing their established distribution network, they also promote the film. There are thousands of independent films produced each year, but how many of them do you actually hear about? How many of them will be seen by more than a few thousand people at best? How many of them will only be seen by immediate family members and friends of the people who produced them? Like it or not the studios do contribute a great deal to the films they finance.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:21am

Re: Re: Challenging your views?
He thinks if you chargeing for something is a paywall. Best to just ignore him, or laugh at him but dear god stay off his lawn.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:21am

Re:
Pissed off? Unable to find files?

Do you even know how the internet works?

It routes AROUND damage. So these "pissed off" people you seem to claim are out there, were probably pissed off for like, I dunno, 24 to 48 hours, and then they A) found everything they wanted when it got uploaded somewhere else B) they found a torrent of it or C) they moved on to something else. And since you mentioned it was a forum, I bet most of the dead links got responses that listed where the content can be found on other services that aren't mega.

Haha. I just have to laugh. Here you are using the internet to post but you don't realize this exact system is why most people aren't having any of he reactions you claim them to be having.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:23am

Re: Re:
Oh boy, you don't get out much, do you?

We are talking millions of pages of links, most of which are still not fixed. We are talking dead links by the bucket load. Entire forums with tens of thousands of posts point to crap links now.

They ain't getting fixed very fast. The route around isn't working very well in many cases, go out and read the comments.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:24am

Re: Re:
What is your source for that?
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:24am

Mike, maybe you want to look at:

http://takedownpiracy.com/2012/02/according-to-torrent-site-poll-downloading-results-in-lost- sales/

Interesting results. Perhaps the real truth is out there.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:25am

Re:
Sorry dude, the long term is the loosening of the monopoly control and recapture of the commons by the public, where you and your pals will be out of a job.

Besides haven't you people learned anything?
You shutdown Napster people moved on, you shutdown Grokster people moved on and year after year after year piracy keeps going up not down, just like the reveneues from the entertainment industry.

If you people were serious you would sue each and every user who download something that will teach them to have self-control. But that is not what you people want, you want the sheep to be dumb and impulsive, because if they stopped to think about it and had any self control they wouldn't waste money at all on you people ever, because it brings nothing to their lifes.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:26am

Re: Re: Re:
Him? Considering the time you spend on techdirt, I'd say you haven't left your basement in a very, very, long time.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:30am

Re: Re: Challenging your views?
Are you saying the older you get the dumb you are?
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[citation needed or GTFO], 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:31am

Dictionary definition of "paywall"
pay�wall [pey-wawl]
noun
1. a system in which access to all or part of a Web site is restricted to paid subscribers: Some newspapers have put their content behind a paywall.
2. the part of a Web site that can be accessed only by paid subscribers.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:36am

Re:
Why do you care? What possible interest is it of yours how much Hollywood makes? Are you really that scared there won't be any more Transformer movies?
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:44am

Re:
http://www.experiment-resources.com/random-sampling-error.html
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:44am

Re:
"Does it "help" the entertainment business? Clearly any time legal action results in a significant change to the landscape, there will be people who reconsider the pirating option. Anyone using a piracy forum right now to source content is probably very pissed off, unable to find files. If you are in the US, you are doubly screwed, often unable to access the file locker sites at all."

Eh, most major piracy forums just started rebuilding, went to private tracking, jumped into direct connections hubs (private or public) etc...etc...etc... At least most the ones I've seen have.

Which really is just a better form of service, and helps to diversify the methods of getting the content. Hell there were actually even some piracy forums that got entire userbases invited to other forums that used methods other than cyberlockers in order to get the content back out there ASAP. You can't stop the signal man.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:46am

Re: Re: Re:
Right, which is why piracy collapsed when Napster went down, I mean limewire, I mean ninjavideo, I mean megaupload. Yup this is the nail that finally gets it, even without the industry offering what people obviously want no other site or method for sharing will pop up in a couple weeks/months.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:46am

We have all seen what RIAA and MPAA do to consumers. My question is what do they dor for consumers? Seriously, I have no clue what they do for me or any other consumers.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:50am

Re: Re: Re:
OMG you are clueless!
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:51am

Re: Re: Re:
Did you see he posting his sources for any of his diatribe?
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Overcast (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:53am

I'm betting that pirates are moving around.

Of course they are. This is like busting on drug dealing outfit - you just end up with others springing up.

Worst part is, I was trying to download some MODS for a game that recently put out a new expansion pack. Sadly, most of the mods were on MegaUpload. Since I didn't have the money to get the expansion just yet, I was going to add some MODS to my existing install to see if I would 'get into' the game again with some new spice in it.

I ended up just forgetting about it and started up another game.

So EA will lose me buying the next expansion for the game, but then I started getting into another game... and was planning on buying the newest version tonight.

As for movies - free or not free, I'm not paying $20 for a new movie on DVD, sorry. I am patient, I can wait for it to turn up used, or just watch more of the on-demand I already pay for.

But we get back to the CORE portion of all of this:

How many movies/music have you bought *WITHOUT* hearing or seeing it for free first? Sure maybe some you'll buy after going to the Cinema - I bought Avatar. And Avatar is the only new movie I've bought in 7 years or so due to prices - and it was a gift, lol.

But for Christmas this year, I bought loads of used DVD's for $1.00 each and gifted those out. I even commented that they are used, but I could get them 20 times more movies - everyone actually seemed to appreciate that, and asked me where I got them for a dollar at...

Out of the movies I've bought over the last two months - used - I've seen them all before, just wanted a copy.

Music - I almost never buy without hearing it first... on the radio, pandora, etc - FOR FREE.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:54am

Re: Re: Re:
Its you that doesn't get out, boy.

You are so excited at the thought of hundreds of thousands of people being pissed off, you forgot that's ITS THE INTERNET, stupid.

As I said before, it routes around damage. Even if the links don't get replaced or corrected, its not like they can't use a search engine to find another copy.

Or go to a torent site.

Or another cyberlocker (they aren't ALL gone)

Or they found something else to download.

Get a clue. They most certainly are not still pissed off this far from the mega seizure. They most likely got over it the day or 2 afterward.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:55am

How much music do you think Mike Masnick stole today?

I'll guess 10 gig.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 11:55am

Re: Re:
Firefly!
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:01pm

Re:
How dare you introduce something like this to the Techdirt echo chamber? Didn't you see Pleasantville?
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:01pm

No, it hasn't. Now I refuse giving money to the entertainment industry.

#BLACKMARCH starts tomorrow
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Overcast (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:01pm

It routes AROUND damage. So these "pissed off" people you seem to claim are out there, were probably pissed off for like, I dunno, 24 to 48 hours, and then they A) found everything they wanted when it got uploaded somewhere else B) they found a torrent of it or C) they moved on to something else. And since you mentioned it was a forum, I bet most of the dead links got responses that listed where the content can be found on other services that aren't mega.

I suspect the only content you won't be able to find now is older legal stuff.

Illegal stuff will end up posted elsewhere, but there were many game MODS, documents, and custom created content on Megaupload. To be honest, I wasn't even aware there was pirated crap there, until I heard all this news, but then I'm not in the 'piracy scene'.

I'm just a legit customer who's usually pissed off at the gouging the "entertainment" industry tries on the consumer.

Thank gosh for on-demand and libraries. I'm not opposed to paying a *FAIR* price, but the prices aren't fair.

How is it fair to charge $15.00 for a digital download of 15 songs? What 'cost' is incurred in this? 20,000 a year to maintain the server hosting it, if that?

If the RIAA had *any clue* of how much music I DID NOT buy due to the pricing I bet they'd be amazed.

$15.00 probably don't seem like much to the money-mongers at the RIAA and really it isn't much - in a relative sense.. Until you think of how easy it is to duplicate digital music - then you realize... it's a rip-off.

I'll just hit the radio, pandora or cable for music.
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Overcast (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:04pm

All I have to say about this whole thing is this:

The media companies should FOCUS on the customers that DO pay, like myself.

Give us a 'good deal' and we'll buy it.

I don't pirate, for moral reasons above anything. But I don't waste money either.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:05pm

Re: Re:
Obviously this internet poll is much more accurate than actual studies regarding the same topic.

http://www.ejpd.admin.ch/content/ejpd/de/home/dokumentation/mi/2011/2011-11-30.html
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Jay (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:23pm

Re: Re:
The answer is simple the studios DO actually contribute a great deal to these productions, beyond fronting the money for securing the rights to the screen play, paying the production crew, and utilizing their established distribution network, they also promote the film.

Or maybe the simple answer is that those film directors, once they make the money, send out the prizes and all, are busy making their movies without the MPAA being involved.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:23pm

Re: Challenging your views?
"Paywall"

This word....I do not think it means what you think it means.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:28pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
This is funny because it's true.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:31pm

Re: Re:
How is it an echo chamber if everyone is able to post anything they want? Wouldn't it have to be a closed system, or not allow commenting at all?
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:33pm

Re: Re: Re:
Nope, I don't get out much. I spend most my time online on the exact sort of private links sites we're discussing, which is why I know that after megaupload went down a great deal of sites that incentivize uploading of popular content by their users (most of them invite only cites) made a huge push to switch their content over to places such as multiupload or mediafire (often by offering increased rewards for reuploading items). Meanwhile they setup, as I said before but you ignored, direct swap methods for files such as DC++ hubs, temporary private trackers, or teamed up with existing private trackers to get the bits flowing again. Hell for new users of these sites its the best time ever, they can re-upload all the files they downloaded and get credits for it.

They took down megaupload, but what was that? 1 site, where a bunch of files were stored. People downloaded those files. So they can and are re-uploading them.

This is the problem with the approach to piracy thus far. You can't sue everyone who's uploading and downloading, it's been tried and it doesn't work. So you move to the sites. Well if you're suing them then we'll just keep uploading and move to other sites, or setup direct peer to peer methods. So you try and shut it down completely and we switch to encrypting everything or sneaker net. Megaupload only inconvenienced those who had someone else show them what to do to get their music. Now those people are asking their friends what to do now, and they're being told oh, just do X. It'll take a month or two tops to get the content back up that's missing.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:36pm

Re: Re: Re:
Yes, a study done in Sweden is certainly going to explain the US market.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:37pm

Re:
What would you have done if there wasn't a simple alternative? What would you do if the new site gets shut down, and the one after that, and the one after that?

Clearly, you still want the content - why do you insist on getting it illegally?
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Torg (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:45pm

Re: Re:
Knowing about biases and other possible flaws in studies can hurt people. Yes, it's possible that the study was just one of those things, but the possibility doesn't mean you're allowed to dismiss it entirely.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:48pm

Re: The Really Important Measure of the MegaUpload Shutdown
Well, i can safely say, that i can go without their content, i will not help support the actions of these cronies

When they say profits have decreased, dont blame piracy, blame yourselfs, for attacking something through ignorance

Internet has built many little cyber societies if you will, which you neither respect nor acknowledge, dont expect us to be meek about it, the writting is on the wall.
If you want to break then mould the internet with our blessing, you'll have to make laws against things the internet users dont want abused, like privacy and such, even then, the less you break, the better.

And while you're at it, laws against politicl corruption and lobbyism, and reform of the copyright and the patent systems, thaaaaanks, that'll be peachy fellas
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Yoshord, 29 Feb 2012 @ 12:51pm

Re: Re:
What would you have done if there wasn't a simple alternative? What would you do if the new site gets shut down, and the one after that, and the one after that?

Make a new site?
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 1:07pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Oh yes, people in other countries are nothing like us i forgot there is a reason we call then aliens.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 1:08pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
and i didnt realize your poll was limited to us internet users.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 1:14pm

Re: Re: Re:
Certainly. But their are actual studies that have looked at this topic. One random internet poll does not make a fact, http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2010/08/another_idiotic_poll_do_you_think_vaccin.php

We know nothing about the age, or income of those polled. Let alone how much they spent before v how much they spend now, meaning the people who answered they stopped all spending might have only bought an album a year while those that say they buy more could by 100 albums a year. I think there is little factual data you can get from this poll. Which does not mean I wouldn't like to see a lot more studies in this vain.
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The eejit (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 1:31pm

Re: Re:
Kind of, but the big studios aren't in it for the creation of art: they'r ein it for the money. Kickstarter is not the way for everyone, and the studios could adapt to that and transition from gatekeepers to enablers with a few minor modifications: they have the finances to do it that way.
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Daria, 29 Feb 2012 @ 1:32pm

Re:
There's another difference between what you can get on torrent sites and what you can get on French sites - movies are dubbed in France, so if you want to see the original content, the only place you can get it is on torrent sites. I'd really rather hear Robert de Niro's voice than some French actor I've never heard about. Not to mention how much is lost in translation. Why do they dub movies in France? Because the actor's union demanded it - and then they wonder why French people don't learn any foreign languages.
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The eejit (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 1:34pm

Re: Re: Re: Did enormous damage without helping Hollywood.
Even a moron like me could upload a book that said "Never. Show to the IRS" with another one saying "Show. to the IRS"
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Torg (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 1:38pm

Re: Re:
Simple answer for why we insist on getting things illegally: We don't.
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The eejit (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 1:42pm

Re: Re:
Well, they do - it's just that there's a patriotic element to that, as well.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 1:43pm

Re: Re:
Because they are freeloaders.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 1:48pm

Re:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/aresgalaxy/files/stats/timeline
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The eejit (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 1:49pm

Re: Re: Re:
No, that would be MAFIAAville, which is currently being trademarked by Zynga in their upcoming battle with the MPAA and RIAA, as well at the Authors' Guild, Actors' Guild and Directors' Guild.
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David (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 1:54pm

Yeah, but...
Wasn't the super bowl a couple of weeks after the shutdown, and the TV networks rolled out new seasons directly after that, too. Might this not have contributed to the traffic increase?
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Watchit (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 2:04pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Yes the article concerning the TV networking site is the third link in the post under "new report" (its the blue letters).

This article, in french, does not site any sources for any of its data except for a claim that the number of Video on Demands ordered from Canal+ (company?) went up by 20%. The link they give is to lefigaro.fr, which gets this info from a tweet from the "director of the film within the Canal+ group" (second link "20% increase, blue letters) that goes google translated like this "Megamachin closing, the Vod CANALPLAY took 20% in 7d. I await confirmation of final figures. Yalla!" Notice that he is "AWAITING FINAL FIGURES". So, if you'll actaully take the time to research what your talking about before you spout out random data, maybe you won't make such a fool of your self next time.

Links:
http://www.lefigaro.fr/hightech/2012/02/06/01007-20120206ARTFIG00554-l-arret-de-meg aupload-profite-a-la-vod-et-au-peer-to-peer.php

https://twitter.com/#!/Manald1/status/16539418043 1028224
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Watchit (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 2:09pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Note that my above comment is directed to the original AC commenter of this thread, I'm not quite sure if it's clear who I'm talking to :3
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Watchit (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 2:15pm

Re: Re: Challenging your views?
I'll have to agree with this AC, that the other AC being a complete idiot
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Watchit (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 2:16pm

Re: Re: Re: Challenging your views?
Oh wait bob is not an AC, he's pretty good at acting like the regular AC trolls we get around here! had me fooled!
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Watchit (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 2:17pm

Re: Re: Challenging your views?
when in doubt... princess bride :D
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dcee (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 2:27pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Canal+ is like HBO here.
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Watchit (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 2:28pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Your right, I expect that Sweeden will have much less pirates considering how much less strict their copyright laws are. This is all conjecture of course.
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Watchit (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 2:30pm

Re: Yeah, but...
valid point! kudos! :D
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Watchit (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 2:32pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
ah thanks, that does indeed clarify it :3
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Torg (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 2:56pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Yes, see, that would've been a much better rebuttal to start than just appealing to random sampling error. Because now, if the troll was paying attention, it has something that it can use to dismiss any and all polls it doesn't like.
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Torg (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 3:07pm

Re: Yeah, but...
This should be easily testable. Do we have the traffic statistics for the previous years?
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Brendan (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 6:59pm

Re: Re:
Lol year to date. See if you identify the day Mega was seized....
http://sourceforge.net/projects/aresgalaxy/files/stats/timeline?dates=2012-01-01+to+2012-03-01
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 7:43pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
If Sweden has no bearings on the US market why bother trying to shut down a site that is no longer hosted there?
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Feb 2012 @ 8:01pm

a guy who now goes to the movie rental store to rent (physical) movies since the shutdown of Megaupload
What a horrible thought. Going from having every movie ever made at your fingertips 24/7, to having to trudge all the way to some antiquated brick & mortar store and paw through the remake sequels in the hopes of finding something halfway decent.

I hope this guy has a friend who can teach him how to use torrents. (Anyone who'd consider a Blockbuster-equivalent to be a valid source of movies probably needs help configuring their router.)
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 29 Feb 2012 @ 10:38pm

Re: Fighure Lie and Liars Figure
You work for Faux News making their graphics donja?
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explicit coward (profile), 1 Mar 2012 @ 5:19am

Re: Re: Re:
LOL

The Lifespan of such links has always been limited.
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explicit coward (profile), 1 Mar 2012 @ 5:23am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Switzerland, moron!
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Vic, 1 Mar 2012 @ 7:46am

Re: Re:
"insist on getting it illegally" my ass!

Did I ever said anything about "illegal" anything? Stop judging the people by yourself, man! Grow up.

I don't go there for anything that any TV station can provide. (BTW, that's the reason I never go to any TV station's website 8^)) If you look around you there are plenty of LEGAL files in this world that are getting shared through the sites like Megaupload.
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Vic, 1 Mar 2012 @ 7:54am

Re:
Alright then. The experiment was a success! Now I know what "they" are going to say. Looking at the AC's comment they are obviously going to twist my words to mean that I am an infringer, a pirate, a freetard, and a scumbag. Although there was no mention about infringing, pirating or getting anything illegally, or content for free...

Poor bastards... They just cant stand a different point of view.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Mar 2012 @ 3:59pm

I never used MegaUpload, however used to use FileServe and FileUpload like a mofo every single day! After the MU fiasco, fileserve and fileupload closing down major portions of their services... well, my torrent usage has gone up 146%! I have hard data to prove it too!

Life. Is. Good.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2012 @ 3:50am

Re: Re:
I tried visiting a tv website once, I got that my area is blacked out.Now what motivation do I have to visit them when I cant even watch the show. Not even a method for subscibing. Screw that (NBC).
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2012 @ 3:54am

Re: Re: Re: Did enormous damage without helping Hollywood.
Doesnt have to be ranking, just the accountants. My question is why wouldnt they have a physical backup?
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2012 @ 4:04am

Response to: Anonymous Coward on Feb 29th, 2012 @ 11:08am
I think file sharing can be a good but you have a point, especially with the forum thing.

For the record I think it can be a good thing because I believe we live in the age of communication and freedom of communication increases education which increases. That increases innovation as long as people are willing to innovate. If people are not willing it causes problems. I ask then, do you want better stuff?
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2012 @ 4:13am

Re: Re:
Kickstarter does work but you do have to do some promoting yourself. So what? Get off your, or rather get on your lazy ass, and get posting on youtube then spread the link. Hire someone to make posters and spread them around. Tweet and facebook about it, use a photo of the poster to go with it.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2012 @ 4:17am

Re: Re:
Oh they were probably upset, sure they could figure out a new way though. I, myself, hate dead links, its annoying but yes, there is always another way around.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2012 @ 4:30am

Response to: Overcast on Feb 29th, 2012 @ 12:04pm
Im with Overcast on the this.
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hmm (profile), 4 Mar 2012 @ 11:27am

Re: Re:
could find any sites he liked **as much** which shows he was aware of alternative sites.... :)
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