Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> Unwise Hollywood laws hurting U.S. industry
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | The world plainly needs UNCRIPPLED TV's, VCR's, DVR's, COMPUTERS,
> | CELL PHONES, and AUDIO/VIDEO players. Hollywood has been using its
> | huge WAR CHEST to influence unwise legislation preventing U.S.
> | companies from creating these needed products. If the U.S. cannot
> | create them, then other countries will soon DOMINATE
> `----
> http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/76169/index.html
Keep in mind that this is a debate that has been going on since the
advent of the cassette recorder. Even in the late 1960s, there were
record companies who feared that people would purchase vinyl records
and record them to cassettes and sell thousands of copies.
The irony is that because people did make 2-3 copies, one for
themselves, and one for their friends, the industry was able to sell a
wider diversity of product. Instead of just one master top 40 list,
there were many new genres which were fostered by the cassette
industry. Rock was very popular in portable cassette players, often
small portable stereos. Eventually, the recording industry shifted to
the point where Cassette sales became a major source revenue.
In 1978-9, the MPAA wanted to prevent duplication of movies. The early
movies sold for VCRs often cost around $100 each. The pricing itself
created the demand for piracy. Ironically, when VCR retailers began
negotiating terms for rentals, in which the studios or the MPAA got a
"cut" of the rentals, and the studios were able to sell much larger
inventories of movies, the industry shifted. Before long, movie
rentals and the sale of VHS tapes and later DVDs, became a bigger
portion of the movie's revenue than the ticket sales for the original
release.
Today, most cable companies offer "video on demand". Often these VOD
servers are Linux or UNIX servers, connected to large storage arrays of
content.
YouTube appears to be working with the MPAA as well, working out the
details of how to distribute revenue to the various producers based on
what is being viewed.
|
|
