I like the TV show Downton Abbey, it airs in the UK in the fall, but not in the US until after the new year - I'm willing to pay money, but cannot until they decide to release it here.
I'm also a fan of old TV shows, most of which I cant buy at any price because they are unwilling to release them at any price.
I'm perfectly content to pay for any of this stuff - but often its not available for purchase, only for pirating.
Same goes for movies - I can buy the DVD for 20 dollars or 'buy' an online copy for 12 dollars (sometimes its the same price as the DVD) - but it's DRM encumbered and I don't get a physical file I can watch anywhere I want - How is that a better value?
What I've found and seen in a handful of studies - is the majority will only turn to pirating after exhausting the legal options to buy a media product, thats been my experience. I'd rather pay a blanket license on my internet bill (say 10%) and be able to download whatever I want from wherever I want, whenever I want. Region Licensing, DRM, strange pricing oddities and the like will keep pirating around for the foreseeable future.
I like the TV show Downton Abbey, it airs in the UK in the fall, but not in the US until after the new year - I'm willing to pay money, but cannot until they decide to release it here.
I'm also a fan of old TV shows, most of which I cant buy at any price because they are unwilling to release them at any price.
I'm perfectly content to pay for any of this stuff - but often its not available for purchase, only for pirating.
Same goes for movies - I can buy the DVD for 20 dollars or 'buy' an online copy for 12 dollars (sometimes its the same price as the DVD) - but it's DRM encumbered and I don't get a physical file I can watch anywhere I want - How is that a better value?
What I've found and seen in a handful of studies - is the majority will only turn to pirating after exhausting the legal options to buy a media product, thats been my experience. I'd rather pay a blanket license on my internet bill (say 10%) and be able to download whatever I want from wherever I want, whenever I want. Region Licensing, DRM, strange pricing oddities and the like will keep pirating around for the foreseeable future.