Oh, that's easy. See, in the modern age, we aparently have to make sure that those who generate an idea are paid. As such, I direct you to the inspiration for my comment:
1025 F ST N.W.
10th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20004
Attn: Cary Sherman
See, Mike, that's where you have it wrong. They're not looking backwards, they're just not looking at all and are assuming things haven't changed. That's the problem when you've got your head stuck up your ass - you just can't see what's coming.
And of course, those of us playing along at home have known for quite some time that the "it" they are full of is greed, pure and simple greed. The record labels will take whatever position is likely to get them the highest net profit in the given situation. They will additionally state that the given situation is unlike any other situation that has ever existed or will ever exist and thus, they are able to change their position in each situation at will.
Given these facts, the media industry should also be aware, that we're on to them. We see their hypocrisy for what it is and we are starting to bypass them to fund the artists directly wherever possible. Say hi to the dinosaurs when you get to your final destination.
Actually, I don't think there is as big of a rush to Blu-Ray as you think or Hollywood had hoped. The rush from cassette/vinyl to CD and VHS to DVD was largely driven by consumers seeing an obvious increase in the quality of the new media. CD's were seen as more durable, usable in more devices, not prone to getting "eaten" and best of all, no rewinding. Similar things could be said about DVDs.
With Blu-Ray (and HD-DVD when it was around), the only thing you got was HD vs SD and more content on one disc. In return, you got a significantly more expensive copy with annoying DRM that meant it was possible your new Blu-Ray player wouldn't work with your 2 year old TV. Many people also looked at the effort as an attempt to get people to re-purchase their libraries and now, any future media format shift will either have to have a significant increase in benefits OR, be cheap enough that re-purchasing a library is worth it. Given Hollywood's love of money, neither is likely to happen.
In my opinion, one of the big drivers of the Hollywood thought process is "shareholder value". Since investors want constant growth, all Hollywood ever does is look at where things are now and try to think of ways to increase what they have currently. This means that their first thoughts on growing the business will always start with how to increase the number of units shipped, tickets sold, licenses sold, etc. Any consideration of what the consumers might actually want is so far down the list that it might as well not even BE on the list. Unfortunately, that is also why an idea like this will probably not come about until long after the big media companies are gone.
Thank you. I was nervous about this when I started, but the more I wrote, the better I felt about it. I'm just glad someone besides me actually liked it... :-)
Actually, what I think we should be saying "Enough!!!" to is labels like "Republican", "Democrat", "Liberal", "Conservative", etc. These labels carry with them a preconceived set of ideals and it's assumed that if you identify with a particular label, you follow and agree with ALL of the attached ideals.
Consider this for a second: If there were no "Democrats" and "Republicans", how quickly do you think Congress would be able to get EFFECTIVE legislation passed instead of wasting their time trying to make the "other" party look bad? Far too much of their time is spent fighting one another and far too little actually understanding the problems we need them to solve.
Enough labels. Focus on the issues at hand and get them resolved and maybe, just maybe, we can start to respect our legislators again. Unfortunately, I seriously doubt this will happen anytime soon.
Actually, if you step back for a minute and consider what a "politician" considers his/her base, they're NOT disconnected and that just further illustrates Mike's point. In my opinion, they honestly believe their "base" is the lobbying money factory that passes for Beltway politics these days. As such, to them, this is normal and acceptable.
Further compounding things is the tendency by a lot of people to assume that if you support policy A which is favored by party B, you must automatically support all of the OTHER policies supported by party B. Unfortunately, that dumps us all back in the "us vs them" mindset and ends up with no forward progress.
To me, this is why the people of Oregon should count their blessings that instead of a farm animal (sheep), they've elected an actual human being in Ron Wyden and should continue to support him in his efforts to get this country back on track. If the housing market in my area was better, I'd even consider moving there just to vote for him myself.
Aww... and I was so hoping for a more detailed response. Of course, their play on words hides the fact that the petition wasn't a request for "enforcement", just for an investigation. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to let them know how we feel about their responses and actions in November... :-)
So, just to clarify, Megaupload as an entire company earns less at $30 million per year than a single movie studio CEO earns over the same time period? Hmmmmm.... makes you wonder if maybe the studios are over-paying their employees a little...
One of my friends who is a Tea Party member said that at a Christmas party this year. He was thinking if he could get the Tea Party and OWS to drop the anger and coordinate on the issues they had in common to get them resolved, real change could be had. Once the common ground was dealt with, they would, of course, have to go their separate ways though.
... or did anyone else read "We hope a new tone can be set that does not include website attacks, blacklists, blackouts, and lies" and immediately think:
Think man! We all KNOW any investigation would be a trivial exercise in how to craft the least damanging punishment possible. The real benefit will be the new levels of satire and double-speak. You can't say that doesn't appeal to you. I mean, really, this could be fodder for snarky commentary for months! MONTHS I tell you!
To be honest, I don't even care if they actually investigate because at heart, most of us are already "convinced" of their guilt. I doubt any investigation will change our minds if it doesn't come to our preconceived conclusions.
That being said, just getting the White House to respond would be fun as all hell. We could reach new heights of double-speak here people...rivaling even Dark Helmet, DH's Love Child, Marcus Carab, and Hephaestus combined!!!
On the post: DOJ 'Streisands' Its Own Prosecutor By Requesting His Name Be Removed From An Unflattering Court Opinion
Re:
It's not the ACT of impropriety that's a problem... it's the APPEARANCE of impropriety that makes us not trust you.
On the post: RIAA Insists That, Really, The Music Industry Is Collapsing; Reality Shows It's Just The RIAA That's Collapsing
Re:
1025 F ST N.W.
10th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20004
Attn: Cary Sherman
:-)
On the post: RIAA Insists That, Really, The Music Industry Is Collapsing; Reality Shows It's Just The RIAA That's Collapsing
They're not looking backwards...
On the post: Directors Guild Boss Insists That Everyone Against SOPA/PIPA Was Duped
Re: Re:
On the post: How Does The Penalty For 'Content Theft' Match Up With Similar 'Crimes'?
Semantics...
/just sayin'
On the post: Schrödinger's Download: Whether Or Not An iTunes Music Sale Is A 'Sale' Depends On Who's Suing
"it"
Given these facts, the media industry should also be aware, that we're on to them. We see their hypocrisy for what it is and we are starting to bypass them to fund the artists directly wherever possible. Say hi to the dinosaurs when you get to your final destination.
On the post: Hollywood Wants To Kill Piracy? No Problem: Just Offer Something Better
Re: Re: Re:
With Blu-Ray (and HD-DVD when it was around), the only thing you got was HD vs SD and more content on one disc. In return, you got a significantly more expensive copy with annoying DRM that meant it was possible your new Blu-Ray player wouldn't work with your 2 year old TV. Many people also looked at the effort as an attempt to get people to re-purchase their libraries and now, any future media format shift will either have to have a significant increase in benefits OR, be cheap enough that re-purchasing a library is worth it. Given Hollywood's love of money, neither is likely to happen.
On the post: Hollywood Wants To Kill Piracy? No Problem: Just Offer Something Better
Hollywood thought process
On the post: Mike C's Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week
Re: Re: Re: Mike C
On the post: Mike C's Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week
Re: Mike C
On the post: Mike C's Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week
Re: Enough!!!
Consider this for a second: If there were no "Democrats" and "Republicans", how quickly do you think Congress would be able to get EFFECTIVE legislation passed instead of wasting their time trying to make the "other" party look bad? Far too much of their time is spent fighting one another and far too little actually understanding the problems we need them to solve.
Enough labels. Focus on the issues at hand and get them resolved and maybe, just maybe, we can start to respect our legislators again. Unfortunately, I seriously doubt this will happen anytime soon.
On the post: Hollywood Still Doesn't Realize That The Internet Drives Popular Culture Now
Re: Re:
On the post: Senator Wyden Attacked For Actually Trying To Get Stuff Done, Rather Than Playing Partisan Politics
Re:
Further compounding things is the tendency by a lot of people to assume that if you support policy A which is favored by party B, you must automatically support all of the OTHER policies supported by party B. Unfortunately, that dumps us all back in the "us vs them" mindset and ends up with no forward progress.
To me, this is why the people of Oregon should count their blessings that instead of a farm animal (sheep), they've elected an actual human being in Ron Wyden and should continue to support him in his efforts to get this country back on track. If the housing market in my area was better, I'd even consider moving there just to vote for him myself.
On the post: White House Says It Can't Comment On Possible Chris Dodd Investigation
Word play
On the post: Do Pirate Sites Really Make That Much Money? Um... No
Calculations...
:-)
On the post: TSA Critic, Senator Rand Paul, Prevented By TSA From Getting On His Flight To DC
Re: Re:
On the post: Public Petitions The White House To Investigate Chris Dodd & The MPAA For Possible Bribery
Re: Re: Re:
On the post: Hollywood Unions: Now That You Lying Hacking Thieves Have Won, Can We Set A New Conciliatory Tone?
Is it just me....
Ok. You first.
On the post: Public Petitions The White House To Investigate Chris Dodd & The MPAA For Possible Bribery
Re:
:-)
On the post: Public Petitions The White House To Investigate Chris Dodd & The MPAA For Possible Bribery
This could be fun...
That being said, just getting the White House to respond would be fun as all hell. We could reach new heights of double-speak here people...rivaling even Dark Helmet, DH's Love Child, Marcus Carab, and Hephaestus combined!!!
Get with the signing people! :-)
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