|
A very complex issue, no question. Many potential sides to play off and all can be made to be the correct side.
That said, greggman misses a fundamental point in relation to the idea of pirated software. It's cost. The very fact that many people will pay for a $500 package rather than steal it is proof to the argument that (most) people would rather be honest if given the chance.
I song, or a CD or movie costs next to nothing in relation to a real software package, or even in many cases a good computer book. My number one reason for ever having any pirated software is that the costs are prohibitive to purchasing. This feeling is further amplified by the constant upgrades (or money grabs) and the major players in the software world being against free trials.
It seems to me most of this arguement is somewhat moot in the sense that if the music is the only thing of value you and you can get the entire value by downloading it then you're naturally going to get a lot of piracy.
Take a look at the DVD market. While it is still somewhat difficult to copy DVD's it is possible and still DVD piracy is a fringe event to most people. Why? Because DVD manufacturers got wise and started pumping out extra incentives for owning them. The fight club box set's media (DVDs aside) was worth the money I paid for it.
They add in small incentives, like steel cases, ect. which make ownership something more than just having the actual movie.
The point I'm getting to here (slowly, shh, I'm hung over) is that if Music makers could find a way to integrate a portion of the product that makes it valuable without being the actual music more people would have an incentive to OWN it.
This principal works. Its the very point greggman made about why he doesnt like online books. There is an added benefit to ownership (being able to read and work at the same time, or carry it around with you, read it on the bus) that can't be had simply by downloading the book.
The best way to get people to retard negative behavior is to give them reasons they "like" for not doing the negative behavior. A good business person would peak the consumer's desire for ownership rather than close out every other alternative. When the music industry gets that idea figured out then they can see MP3's for what they really are: a nice free trial till I get paid on friday and get the very cool *insert band name here* bio booklet or some such thing.
sorry if this was muddled. I hope it was clear enough to still get the underlying point I was trying to make.
|
I see it as proof that they feel differently about software than music or videos. Whether it's because they want/need support or because they get the manual or because they are most likely using $500 software to earn a living. All of those reasons do not exist with music and videos for consumers. Hence a different attitude toward $500 software.
The reason DVDs are not pirated as nothing to do with DVDs having more value. It has to do with the fact that it's still to hard to do. It's easy to find MP3s. It's relatively hard to find DIVX files. (You've got to be proficient with IRC and then make some trading buddies, deal with UL/DL ratios, DL queues, etc.).
MP3s play the song pretty much the same as it does on a CD. Press Play, hear the song. A DivX file does not play the same as a DVD. As you mentioned those extras are missing but those extra are only missing because someone has not made a better format than DivX that supports all those extras.
MP3s take minutes to download, DVDs take hours.
All of that will change in the near future. The net will get faster, someone will make a better format. DVDs will be as pirated as CDs are now.
I would argue that there is nothing you could add to a music CD that would get most people to shell out the money given a free, easy, convenient alternative. Except for super fans, most people don't want liner notes, artist bios, etc. And if it was ever added someone would just make MP3 version 2 to add all that stuff in. A steel case? Well, as my MP3s go in my iPod I could careless about a case.
Would I rather have 100 DVDs in cases or 100 movies on an HD Video Walkman? I'd take the walkman. Sure a few people will be saddened that they no longer have a cool case but the rest of the world will move on like they did from big album covers to CDs and from CDs to MP3.