People are willing to pay, and willing to pay a fair amount -- provided that what they get in return is what they want.
Someone ought to write this in the sky, because it's ulitmately a truth that gets overlooked by Big Content (in not a huge fan of the term, but it works).
I'm perfectly willing to part with my cash as long as I feel like I'm getting a good value for it. Nowadays I feel like the products I want to buy are getting hobbled with barriers and restrictions. That definitely does not make me feel like I'm getting my money's worth.
That's what bothers me most of all is the lack of perspective that can shine through in these situations.
Sure, in my life I've seen people become belligerent and verbally abusive because their latte wasn't made to order. Some people just fly off the handle. Then again we're talking about some gov't agent saying it's not only a responsibility, but a requirement to choose by random and extensively pat down some kid like they're a coke mule. As has been pointed out here, it might be more unusual for a parent to NOT be belligerent.
Aside from the armed gangs in every store taking 50% of every sale, they have flying cars and Firefly won an Emmy for an episode aired during the fourth season.
I admit FB that's not FB is still not likely to draw me in. Every time I think about social networking, I think of some kind of chore where you feel obligated to put stuff up for its own sake.
I know, it's my baggage, but in the end, I've lived a happier life knowing that I've never felt forced to interact with people because of some smartphone or website poking me at all hours.
Isn't that a digression? No one here is really talking about piracy. Then again, it never hurts to look at this discussion in a broader sense.
While I think most pirates are not really potential customers in the first place, some may be. In reality their piracy has just opened the door for you to find them something else to sell to them that can't easily be copied; things like service, personal availabilty and connection, physical collectables, any variety of things that will always be scarce.
Free is a viable part of a business model when the following conditions are met.
- You know what's being offered for free.
- You know why you can offer it for free.
- You know how to use the free product to encourage revenue from other products/services.
Using Free as the whole of the model, aka "give away and pray", is difficult to implement and may indicate a lack of understanding or shortsightedness on the part of the owner.
Most movies don't have weeks in the cinemas, often not even a full week.
In the run of the mill multiplex, sure that may be a problem, but I think you're thinking to conventionally. Remember that he doesn't have to recoup 300 million dollars, and then plead proverty when it only makes 500 million like a major studio. Red State is more in the relative pittance of 4 million with what advertising he can do on the sly.
In major cities, even in my sleepy city in the Great Plains there are smaller arthouse or alternative theaters where a movie like that could hang around a month without much trouble.
He grabs a few weeks in the multiplex he can grab, doing a few "deluxe" shows, and gets the independent theaters for a month, doing a few more. Counting tickets, his sharp early adopter VOD sales, and media sales, and let's not forget a very loyal fan base, and it's more than possible to make a profit.
Hey man, I agree with you I was just doing a little rhetorical hocus pocus.
And yes I worked in retail for 3 years. In a poorly run store. Originally as a grunt, and one year in inventory, including Christmas where overtime was mandatory.
The only bright side was that last year shed 20 pounds of my body through sheer overwork.
I wonder if these are the same knuckleheads who claimed that Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones was a reacist allegory about Latino immigration into the US.
Everyone really knows it's about the most poorly written and acted romance of all time.
I think it's genius, then again I wouldn't be surprised if some guy comes along arguing that someone shouldn't have to work so hard to get people to buy something.
Yes, I am setting up a bit of a strawman, but I've heard this argument before here. One example equated a creator offering a bit of themselves as a part of the product as equivalent to prostitution, and IIRC they were pretty serious about it.
In the end, Smith is doing what he thinks it will take to give people their money's worth, and as fan, he's heading right up my alley. Odds are he'll get my money, and not only will I be entertained, but jazzed about the whole thing. That's pretty much an opening for me to chuck more money his way the next time he comes up with a good idea.
She should focus more on that than some guy who happens to be using a gimmick that anybody could have conceived of, and probably did, well before her. Not to mention the gimmick's format that's also equally broad.
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On the post: Jack Kirby Declared A Mere Marvel Workerbee... Heirs Can't Reclaim Copyrights On Hulk Or X-Men
Re: creation rights
"Attack of the Sock Puppets!"
On the post: Jack Kirby Declared A Mere Marvel Workerbee... Heirs Can't Reclaim Copyrights On Hulk Or X-Men
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: HULK and X-MEN! -- How old are you people?
On the post: Why People Pay More For Access To Infringing Content
Someone ought to write this in the sky, because it's ulitmately a truth that gets overlooked by Big Content (in not a huge fan of the term, but it works).
I'm perfectly willing to part with my cash as long as I feel like I'm getting a good value for it. Nowadays I feel like the products I want to buy are getting hobbled with barriers and restrictions. That definitely does not make me feel like I'm getting my money's worth.
On the post: 54-Year Old School Teacher Who Doesn't Know How To Download Movies First To Be Kicked Off The Internet In France
Re: Re:
On the post: WSJ's Defense Of News Of The World: Hey, It's Not Like They Published Wikileaks Secrets
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
If you know what I mean. Right, guys?
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Re: Re: Facebook to be come the game platform...for now
On the post: Woman Arrested For Not Letting TSA Grope Her Daughter
Re:
Sure, in my life I've seen people become belligerent and verbally abusive because their latte wasn't made to order. Some people just fly off the handle. Then again we're talking about some gov't agent saying it's not only a responsibility, but a requirement to choose by random and extensively pat down some kid like they're a coke mule. As has been pointed out here, it might be more unusual for a parent to NOT be belligerent.
On the post: Killing The Golden Goose: Is Hollywood To Blame For Netflix's Poorly Thought Out Massive Price Hike?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Aside from the armed gangs in every store taking 50% of every sale, they have flying cars and Firefly won an Emmy for an episode aired during the fourth season.
On the balance, I liked it.
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
I thought this week's wittiest lines were far from dry!
On the post: Murdoch Phone Hacking Story Just Gets Worse And Worse
Re: It wasn't hacking
That's the kind of password an idiot puts on their luggage.
On the post: Can Google+ Succeed Merely By Being Not Facebook?
I know, it's my baggage, but in the end, I've lived a happier life knowing that I've never felt forced to interact with people because of some smartphone or website poking me at all hours.
On the post: The Misconceptions Of 'Free' Abound; Why Do Brains Stop At The Zero?
Re: Free for one =/= free for all
While I think most pirates are not really potential customers in the first place, some may be. In reality their piracy has just opened the door for you to find them something else to sell to them that can't easily be copied; things like service, personal availabilty and connection, physical collectables, any variety of things that will always be scarce.
In the end, Free can be great pirate insulation.
On the post: The Misconceptions Of 'Free' Abound; Why Do Brains Stop At The Zero?
A bit simple, but to the point
Free is a viable part of a business model when the following conditions are met.
- You know what's being offered for free.
- You know why you can offer it for free.
- You know how to use the free product to encourage revenue from other products/services.
Using Free as the whole of the model, aka "give away and pray", is difficult to implement and may indicate a lack of understanding or shortsightedness on the part of the owner.
On the post: Kevin Smith Continues To Innovate: Offering VOD Before Theatrical Release... But Also Offering Incentives To Go To The Theater
Re: Re:
In the run of the mill multiplex, sure that may be a problem, but I think you're thinking to conventionally. Remember that he doesn't have to recoup 300 million dollars, and then plead proverty when it only makes 500 million like a major studio. Red State is more in the relative pittance of 4 million with what advertising he can do on the sly.
In major cities, even in my sleepy city in the Great Plains there are smaller arthouse or alternative theaters where a movie like that could hang around a month without much trouble.
He grabs a few weeks in the multiplex he can grab, doing a few "deluxe" shows, and gets the independent theaters for a month, doing a few more. Counting tickets, his sharp early adopter VOD sales, and media sales, and let's not forget a very loyal fan base, and it's more than possible to make a profit.
On the post: Kevin Smith Continues To Innovate: Offering VOD Before Theatrical Release... But Also Offering Incentives To Go To The Theater
Re: Re:
And yes I worked in retail for 3 years. In a poorly run store. Originally as a grunt, and one year in inventory, including Christmas where overtime was mandatory.
The only bright side was that last year shed 20 pounds of my body through sheer overwork.
On the post: Reading 'Go The F**k To Sleep' May Lead To Child Abuse And Racism*
Everyone really knows it's about the most poorly written and acted romance of all time.
On the post: Kevin Smith Continues To Innovate: Offering VOD Before Theatrical Release... But Also Offering Incentives To Go To The Theater
Yes, I am setting up a bit of a strawman, but I've heard this argument before here. One example equated a creator offering a bit of themselves as a part of the product as equivalent to prostitution, and IIRC they were pretty serious about it.
In the end, Smith is doing what he thinks it will take to give people their money's worth, and as fan, he's heading right up my alley. Odds are he'll get my money, and not only will I be entertained, but jazzed about the whole thing. That's pretty much an opening for me to chuck more money his way the next time he comes up with a good idea.
On the post: Just Because Two Things Are Similar Doesn't Mean One 'Rips Off' The Other
Re: Re: Um...
She should focus more on that than some guy who happens to be using a gimmick that anybody could have conceived of, and probably did, well before her. Not to mention the gimmick's format that's also equally broad.
On the post: How Low Has MySpace Sunk? It's About To Be Sold For Less Than $30 Million
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Umm...
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