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The Pirate Bay Is 10 Years Old: 'We Really Didn't Think We'd Make It This Far'
An anonymous reader writes "The Pirate Bay, arguably the most resilient file sharing website, was first founded on August 9, 2003, although it didn't launch until September 15, 2003. Nevertheless, the group considers the former date to be its start, so today The Pirate Bay is 10 years old. From their blog: 'We really didn't think we'd make it this far. Not because of cops, mafiaa or corrupt politicians. But because we thought that we'd eventually be to old for this shit. But hey, running this ship makes us feel young.'"
Demand keeps it in existence.
Really, I don't agree with copyright infringement in all cases, but why should I have to pay for cable AND HBO just to watch Game of Thrones?
Piracy only exists because the content providers are being idiots, when you get right down to it. Give people what they want, when they want it, for a fair price and without any gimmicks, and you'll find the vast majority will gladly pay to consume.
Enough false scarcity. If you can't make money you want, it's time to change your business model. The barons and their whore politicians they buy their fake scarcity from are far worse for society than pirates. It's not like these people aren't still making money hand over fist. If they weren't, piracy would've killed it off a long time ago.
Your argument would be fine and logical IF the copyright holders actually paid the content producers what it's worth to keep them producing. The middlemen, the production companies and distributors, tend to grab the copyrights, and try to pass off 'work for hire' contracts on the actual content creators to pay them a set fee to create, thus keeping all the profits for themselves.
Read what Joe Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5, has to say about 'Hollywood accounting'. It's easily Googleable, but one of the things he's been quoted on is that B5 has *yet* to 'show a profit' according to Warner Brothers, and the way the contract was written, they could have a fire on a set in the Congo next week and the replacement costs would be charged to B5's profits. So don't give me that 'the artist gets ripped off by piracy' routine. The artists are already getting ripped off by their distributors.
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
I sent a letter to the BBC about a week ago asking them to set up a mechanism that I could donate for products of theirs that I enjoyed.
I explained that I don't use iTunes and I don't use BluRay, but I wanted a 1080p copy - and asked if there was a way I could donate money directly to them. The request was for the documentary "Africa" - which was the best doco i've ever seen. Go David Attenborough!!
Unfortunately, BBC didn't do me the courtesy of a response.
If I could cut out the middleman and pay the artist directly (well, in this case, BBC), I would. I'm sure others would do the same too.
Yes, I download - but I also pay/try to pay for what I think is good, but I will not pay 1c to any "intermediate" organizations that are bullies, liars, cheats or swindlers.
I've seen several of my books on TPB, and I still manage to make a living. Get over yourself.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
For every writer or actor who signed a stupid contract I can show you one that was smarter and did incredibly well out of their success.
No, you can't. You can show a few examples of the latter. There are an almost infinite number of the former. There's a reason that Hollywood Accounting has so much published material about it.
How many people watch movies funded by Kickstarter
I have.
SJW n. One who posts facts.