Re:“You Wouldn’t Steal...” Research Shows Why Many Anti-Pira...
by pdimitar on Monday August 01, 2022 @06:54AM
(#32304252)
- Piracy is, for the majority of the people who practice it, a matter of convenience -- can't find the movie on DVD or Netflix is the usual scenario. Sure there are people who want to have everything for free but the anti-piracy PR has inflated their share and made them look like the majority. That is simply not true and never was.
- Even if Skynet came tomorrow and made pirating technically truly impossible, income from rented movies or streaming services will likely increase just by few percent and never move up. Most people who pirated before will simply stop consuming media. This is another thing that the right-holders ALWAYS get wrong: they think they can force people into buying things. There's only so much pressure you can apply before people simply turn their backs and leave.
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I get it, the corporations are scared that piracy will become commonplace so they periodically take measures to limit it. But their PR and actions are panicky and often heavy-handed. IMO long-term they achieve the opposite effect.
I've personally spoken with people who said they never pirated before but that they will start because seeing what the companies do makes them believe that all their legally bought movies can be made illegal at any point because the company wants a fresh stream of revenue, or lobby for laws that disallow lending to your neighbor, etc.
Are these valid concerns? No clue, I'm not an expert -- they are likely not but it hardly even matters. Because people can and do draw these conclusions in response to the anti-piracy measures.
- Even if Skynet came tomorrow and made pirating technically truly impossible, income from rented movies or streaming services will likely increase just by few percent and never move up. Most people who pirated before will simply stop consuming media. This is another thing that the right-holders ALWAYS get wrong: they think they can force people into buying things. There's only so much pressure you can apply before people simply turn their backs and leave.
---
I get it, the corporations are scared that piracy will become commonplace so they periodically take measures to limit it. But their PR and actions are panicky and often heavy-handed. IMO long-term they achieve the opposite effect.
I've personally spoken with people who said they never pirated before but that they will start because seeing what the companies do makes them believe that all their legally bought movies can be made illegal at any point because the company wants a fresh stream of revenue, or lobby for laws that disallow lending to your neighbor, etc.
Are these valid concerns? No clue, I'm not an expert -- they are likely not but it hardly even matters. Because people can and do draw these conclusions in response to the anti-piracy measures.