Hollywood Agent Ari Emanuel Wants a Magic 'Stop Piracy' Button

closer2it writes "At this week's All Things D conference, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher invited Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel. He spoke about things like TV not dying, cord-cutting being some kind of myth, and that googlers are smart guys and they should do something about the stealing of content. Josh Topolsky, from The Verge, apparently challenged him (video) on this point, asking: 'Aren't you saying that the road is responsible for the fact that someone drove on it before they robbed my house?' Emanuel didn't like this analogy, and even ended the reply asking Topolsky where he works. Mike Masnick also wrote a piece about the interview. I guess that if the Internet has enemies, I'd say Emanuel gives them a face."

Comments

Re:I'd like a pony while we're at it.

[jakimfett]

Ah, clarification...he didn't say that he was smart enough to actually *listen* to the "Googlers"...just that they are smart people.

Both sides as bad?

[AmiMoJo]

It seems like both sides were just shouting in each other's direction, not actually answering the points being made. Google are not the copyright police, but they do block child pornography. Come one, answer these points, make your case instead of just repeating yourself.

To be fair the host needed to step in and moderate too. Is this what passes for a debate?

Re:Both sides as bad?

[Anonymous Coward]

Google doesn't block child pornography, Google tries to block child pornography. There's a big difference. They can block the terms typically used to search for child porn, but there's no way that Google could block it without actually looking at all the pictures and checking IDs.

And unfortunately, that would be a crime as there's no mens rea requirement attached to child porn charges.

im certain

[nimbius]

that should such a button ever come into existence, its largest affect would be upon the RIAA and MPAA themselves.

why do i pirate? because hollywood has a track record of terrible films. it used to be critics would help me decide if a movie were worth the $12 theatre admission but now that hollywood owns them all, its impossible to decide what film ill like and what film i wont. trailers are designed to hype the films premise by any means; whatever it takes for the dog to bite. I pirate because its more reasonable to delete the movie i hate, than to expect a refund after having sat through it at a theater. I also pirate the film because its a more usable format than a DVD or blu-ray, which require me to purchase needless accessory players and cables to do that which im perfectly capable of with a computer.

I pirate music much less rarely; no thanks to the RIAA. the bands i like let me give them money directly. I recently bought a box-set from the band red-flag. it came on a USB drive in the format i can use, and even included cool remix tracks. as for the artists with catchy riffs and melodies but no real characteristic to appreciate, i can justify pirating from them for a few reasons. The artist Drake for example is a greedy and despicable person, i relish each blow to his earnings. his lyrics, his engineering, melody and the like are all manufactured to generate profit for clearinghouses and industry executives at the pittance he is afforded. None of it is authentic, thus none of it is art. without art, there is no artist to defend.

Re:im certain

[martin-boundary]

Your solution here is Netflix.

Why is that his solution? He already *has* a solution, it's called piracy. He's invested in it, has the equipment and the skill to use that solution. Now you're suggesting he should scrap a working solution and replace it with.... a more expensive, partial solution that may cause extra inconvenience?

Netflix is at best an alternative that may or may not be around in a few years time, and could be ruined by a change of management. Piracy is not only a proven solution by now, it also has the advantage of staying power. If you've pirated a favourite DVD ten years ago, you will be able to watch it in ten years time with your kids. Can you honestly say that every movie that was in Netflix's catalog ten years ago will be available as-is in ten years time from them?

One thing people never discuss enough is that with piracy you get private ownership, just like when you buy some physical good in the store. Whereas the commercial digital world is all about renting everything and owning nothing. One day you have the right to watch or listen or read something, and the next the company is gone, or your credit card has expired, or your computer is b0rked, and *poof* it's all gone forever. It's highly unreasonable.

Trade you!

[mbkennel]

How about we trade a "Stop Piracy" button for a "Stop Adam Sandler" button? mkay?

Somebody

[dadioflex]

Somebody is responsible for me feeling annoyed right now, but who do I blame? Slashdot for posting the story, Emanuel for being an idiot, or.. it's me, isn't it?

Re:I'd like a pony while we're at it.

[interkin3tic]

Yeah, but this is former whitehouse chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel's brother and is far richer and better connected to politicans than you are.

He might not get a magic button, but he's more likely to get something acceptable to him than you are to get a pony.

Re:I'd like a pony while we're at it.

[whisper_jeff]

I say until We, The People actually have a say at the bargaining table that ALL copyrights should frankly be ignored. The current laws were bought by treasonous bribery against the will of the people and like all laws brought about by bribes and backroom deals they should be treated as the illegal acts they are and promptly ignored.

Until we, the people, can frame our discussion and opinions in ways that don't make us sound like raving lunatics and utter morons, we, the people, will be ignored as lunatic morons. You can't garner support when people who actually agree that copyrights are out of hand think that you're off your rocker.

I'm just sayin'. When you throw around words like "treasonous" in casual conversation about copyright, you demonstrate an utterly extremist view that is easy to ignore.