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Originally Posted by cDnStealth
Like your friend I downloaded the first season of Game of Thrones. At the time I didn't have access to HBO but I was interested in checking out the show. Sometimes I'll even download a series because I am unable to watch it at the time it airs. Unlike your friend however, I bought the first season on Bluray the day it was released. With movies it's a little different for me. I tend not to download very many because I generally see a lot of films in theaters. If I like it, I'll buy it on release or when it goes on sale. If it's something foriegn or with limited screening I may download it, watch it and if it's enjoyable I will purchase a copy.
Music is a totally different story for me. I use torrents as a way to sample albums/artists I am interested in. I like to throw torrented music on my iPod and give it a couple listen throughs before I decide if it's enjoyable. Listening to a 30 second sample on iTunes isn't the same, nor is sitting on Youtube. But if I am sitting there enjoying an album that I've downloaded then I will make the effort to buy the CD. If I don't like it then it gets removed from my iPod and my computer. Simply put, I would never buy a CD from a band I've haven't listened to and just because I downloaded something doesn't mean the artist is missing out on money. If I had to choose between not listening to a new artist or paying $15-$20 I'd choose the former. The way it exists now, I get exposure to way more bands/films/shows via the internet and that gets me spending more money on the entertainment industry. I am interested as to how you feel about this approach.
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Honestly, I have no problem with your approach. If you download a song, don't like it, and remove it from your system, then not paying for it makes sense to me - especially since the cost to the artist of you downloading the song is virtually 0. This is just my opinion, and I understand things get murky when, say, you've listened to a song 5 times before deciding to remove it. What is right or wrong suddenly becomes quite subjective, and the model becomes based on the honor system. But it's still better than outright piracy.
I also don't know what to make of HBO. My understanding is that their revenue stream comes mainly from their licensing deals with cable providers. As such, you could say that all of their content is already paid for - it's up to the cable providers to ensure they get enough subscribers to justify having HBO in their lineup. As such, there's no incentive for HBO to curb piracy of their shows - that responsibility has been delegated to the cable providers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cDnStealth
This is impossible and the sooner people come to realize this fact the better off the industry will be. You will never get rid of piracy. Let me repeat that, you will NEVER get rid of piracy. It's simply not possible. People will always find a way to illegally obtain music/movies/games no matter what measures are put in place to stop it. Instead of trying to stop piracy these companys should be trying to make their products more accessible not less. The music industry could learn a great lesson from the video game company Valve. Their digital distribution service is a fantastic model that doesn't combat piracy so much as it encourages people to buy games. Deep discount sales on Steam (often 50%-75%) ensure larger market exposure and people are more willing to take a chance on a $5-$20 game then paying $60. I buy games I would never have even tried because of these discounts and Steam makes it more convenient to buy rather than pirate. In comparison, iTunes is a joke. You pay almost the same amount as a physical CD but you don't get the benifit of owning the CD and the songs come with huge restrictions (you can only download it so many times and can only transfer them to 3 or 4 devices).
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I agree - I don't think piracy can be stopped unless an absolutely full-proof copy protection scheme magically appeared. I think the idea of focusing on services instead of content makes a lot of sense - but unless a content provider actually offers their content for free, I don't feel I have a right to download it.