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Netflix Becomes First Streaming Company To Join the MPAA (hollywoodreporter.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Hollywood Reporter: Netflix has joined the membership ranks of the Motion Picture Association of America alongside the six major Hollywood studios, the top lobbying group said Tuesday, The unprecedented move -- coming on the same day that the streamer landed its first Oscar nomination for best picture -- was endorsed by Disney, Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. It is the first time in history that a non-studio has been granted entry. It also is a defining moment for MPAA chairman-CEO Charles Rivkin 18 months into his tenure. The Netflix-MPAA union coincides with the streamer becoming a card-carrying member of the Oscar race after securing an unprecedented 15 nominations on Tuesday morning. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and Sarandos are intent on upping the company's profile as a legitimate force in the movie business, and joining the MPAA will further that goal. Additionally, once Fox is merged with Disney, the MPAA will have one less member, meaning a loss of as much as $10 million to $12 million in annual dues. Sources say the MPAA is courting other new members as well (Amazon could be a candidate). Prior to joining the MPAA, Netflix "departed from the Internet Association -- a major industry trade group representing tech companies including Google, Amazon, and Facebook," Engadget notes. "Netflix had been a member of the internet association since 2013."

84 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    New boss. Just like the old boss.

    Streaming companies are going to be just as bad or worse as cord based ones. All you cutters have done is been lured in my drug dealer procedures of "my shit is cheaper, better and I care about my clients"

    1. Re:HAHAHAHAHAHAHA by stealth_finger · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What's that line about dying a hero or living long enough to see yourself become the villain?

      --
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    2. Re:HAHAHAHAHAHAHA by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Once they become as unusable as the old services, we'll simply see the next batch emerge. In capitalism, what's outdated will be crushed by new technology that replaces it. Why do you hate capitalism?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:HAHAHAHAHAHAHA by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 2

      Once they become as unusable as the old services, we'll simply see the next batch emerge. In capitalism, what's outdated will be crushed by new technology that replaces it. Why do you hate capitalism?

      Yes, that's how capitalism is supposed to work. Unfortunately that's no longer how it is in the US. Once a company gets to a certain size, the rules change. They can buy politicians and get them to put forth bills that were written by the company. Or tack them on to other bills. If we had true capitalism, then "to big to fail" would not be an issue.

    4. Re:HAHAHAHAHAHAHA by Red_Forman · · Score: 3, Informative
    5. Re:HAHAHAHAHAHAHA by PrimaryConsult · · Score: 1

      Correct, that is not how capitalism is supposed to work. Regulatory capture is what happens when the government inserts itself into capitalism.

    6. Re:HAHAHAHAHAHAHA by sdinfoserv · · Score: 1

      Nope - won't happen. Drugs are patented and heaven forbid an Oligarch be denied a blood dollar. . Early in the "satellite TV" days, receivers had essentially a mag-strip card in it that held information on what channels you subscribed to. Not long after, tools came out that allowed reading/rewriting mag strips. The satellite tv cabal (pre-cable fuckers) lobbied to get the technology made illegal. Consequently it became a crime not only to have the rewriting devices, but to have "knowledge" of how they worked. That's right - in a "free" society with a superposed "1st Amendment", knowledge is illegal.
      Or just look at how fast drug companies had laws changed to slap down the ability to get the same drugs but cheaper from Canada...

    7. Re:HAHAHAHAHAHAHA by zidium · · Score: 1

      Regulatory capture is when the heads of companies become the regulator heads of the government agencies tasked with regulating them.

      E.g. Obama's Secretary of the Treasury being an ex-Goldman Sachs CEO.

      --
      Slashdot Valentines Beta Massacre: iT WORKED! The boycotts killed Beta!!
  2. Good thing for them I'm not using my own account by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Because I would close it.

    I'm sure that 99.999â+ of their users never even heard of the MPAA, though, so I expect this to have no real consequences for them.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  3. Re:Good thing for them I'm not using my own accoun by Quakeulf · · Score: 1

    But they know who you are regardless. They will trace your IP, they will know the time you used it, they will compare it to the data they have of the area, and suddenly they know exactly who you are.

  4. Conflicting Interests by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Prior to joining the MPAA, Netflix "departed from the Internet Association -- a major industry trade group representing tech companies including Google, Amazon, and Facebook," Engadget notes. "Netflix had been a member of the internet association since 2013."

    So how many ways exactly are the interests and philosophies of those associations conflicting?

  5. Not a studio? by Nidi62 · · Score: 4, Informative

    It is the first time in history that a non-studio has been granted entry.

    According to Wikipedia, Netflix has created well over 300 programs/series (stopped counting at 300 and still had a ways to go) and over 200 films. Tell me again how they aren't a studio at this point?

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    1. Re:Not a studio? by GrumpySteen · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well, for one thing, they actually hired third party studios to make those shows and movies for them. They did purchase ABQ Studios at the end of last year, which is probably a big part of why they joined the MPAA at this point.

    2. Re:Not a studio? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You make it sound like other big boys doesn't have smaller independent boutique production houses make movies and shows for them. Netflix bids on exact same movies and tv shows other studios do.

    3. Re:Not a studio? by GrumpySteen · · Score: 1

      The larger studios contracting out work to smaller studios has nothing to do with whether or not Netflix is a production studio.

      Until Netflix bought ABQ studios, they had no production facilities and were not a production studio.

    4. Re:Not a studio? by DaFallus · · Score: 1

      Well, for one thing, they actually hired third party studios to make those shows and movies for them.

      Isn't that a key element of Hollywood Accounting? Even if it really is in house, its always some "separate" "third party" studio that they "pay" for the work in order to make the venture seem unprofitable.

      --
      No one cares what your captcha was

      Houston TX, USA
    5. Re:Not a studio? by Solandri · · Score: 1

      I believe "studio" in this context = submits to the demands of the myriad guilds and unions which have a near-monopoly on employment in this industry. What we're seeing is the balkanization of the industry, driven by the ability of anyone with a cell phone now being able to create "movies" and distribute them via YouTube. Those people aren't going to check to make sure everyone performing in their video clip is a member of the Screen Actor's Guild, or that they're a member of the Director's Guild. That broke the control monopoly those guilds and unions had over the entertainment industry. And now we're seeing more "official" production companies fleeing the barn.

    6. Re:Not a studio? by Rob+Lister · · Score: 1

      You are correct.

    7. Re:Not a studio? by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      Until Netflix bought ABQ studios, they had no production facilities and were not a production studio.

      Frontier Airlines only owns 5 of the roughly 60 aircraft in their fleet. If it weren't for those 5, would you argue that they aren't an airline because they don't own any planes?

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    8. Re:Not a studio? by amorsen · · Score: 1

      If they hire the planes with crew and everything, they are not an airline, they're a travel company. If they have their own crew or outsource it to a different company than the planes, they are an airline.

      Similarly, if Netflix rents a studio without staff and brings their own people to start producing movies, they are a production studio. If they hire the whole studio including staff, they are not.

      --
      Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
    9. Re:Not a studio? by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      If they own a studio, doesn't that make them a studio? Hence they're no longer a "non-studio"

    10. Re:Not a studio? by Kyr+Arvin · · Score: 1

      What we're seeing is the balkanization of the industry, driven by the ability of anyone with a cell phone now being able to create "movies" and distribute them via YouTube.

      And almost nobody cares about those "movies." They don't have anywhere close to the same impact that the studios have.

  6. I can see some benefits to Netflix. by jellomizer · · Score: 1

    The MPAA has been big in trying to crack down on Piracy (Which is not a popular within the Slashdot and the Free Software crowd). However with Netflix as a Member, this means there is streaming service who seems to be on the same side. Giving credence to Netflix and Streaming services as an acceptable distribution method for movies.
    Now this isn't 2009 where a lot of companies are afraid to to license with Netflix to show their movies. If you remember Netflix streaming back then, even full TV shows had the popular episodes off Netflix because there was a general fear that it would be a piracy den, even with its DRM. But still today there are companies that try to avoid Netflix, mainly because they are not in the same club. With Netflix joining the MPAA, they are being in the same club.

    Also for their original work they can get credit for their work and being compared against their peers.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:I can see some benefits to Netflix. by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Good. Can Netflix finally add Seinfeld and The Simpsons in Canada, please?

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    2. Re:I can see some benefits to Netflix. by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      All the other MPAA members have their own streaming service.

      Many of them used to let Netflix buy their content. Now they keep it for themselves, to entice people to pay for their streaming services. Disney is the worst one. Others like HBO do it too.

    3. Re:I can see some benefits to Netflix. by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Not any more lame than most of the crap that's being shown on cable and satellite these days.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  7. Re:Good thing for them I'm not using my own accoun by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    But...but...people on /. assure me that IP is not personally identifiable for purposes of the GDPR. Is someone lying to me?!

  8. Bigotry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Don't forget bigotry from them, such as suggesting kids being thrown into wood chippers because they DARED to wear a red hat.
    Story film producer Jack Morrissey did just that.

    1. Re: Bigotry by Desler · · Score: 2

      They do? Then how do you explain all the top MAGAtards being chummy with Roger Ailes and Trump's coziness with Jeffrey Epstein.

      I know, I know. Facts are inconvenient.

    2. Re:Bigotry by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      He's the guy who made the Twilight movies?

      No wonder I never heard of him (or anything from him) 'til now.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re: Bigotry by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      So ... they're against priests now, too?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:Bigotry by Desler · · Score: 3, Informative

      What amazing MAGAtard logic. Saying something mean on the Internet means you deserve to get a mail bomb sent to you in retaliation.

      You will also notice his bombs weren't real.

      Yeah you MAGAtards did try to claim that yet the police said otherwise.

      Nobody was hurt, but the bombs were real, officials said.

      "These are not hoax devices," FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

      https://www.nbcnews.com/news/u...

      Facts are so inconvenient, right?

    5. Re:Bigotry by Desler · · Score: 1

      BTW don't even try the "Wray is part of the deep state" nonsense. Just accept you were wrong.

    6. Re:Bigotry by Desler · · Score: 1

      Just read above. A MAGAtard was actually defensing sending mail bombs to people. These people are wackos.

    7. Re:Bigotry by Desler · · Score: 1

      I never said anything was okay. But your outrage is completely fake.

    8. Re:Bigotry by Desler · · Score: 2

      I do. Bernie bros are just as bad as you MAGAtards.

      Also what relevance does that have to your lies about the pipe bombs being fake?

    9. Re:Bigotry by Desler · · Score: 1

      Also it's easy to turn that right back at you if we're playing the blame game:

      Timothy McVeigh
      Terry Nichols
      Gordon Kahl
      Eric Rudolph
      Robert Gregory Bowers
      Scott Paul Beierle
      Stephen Paddock
      James Alex Fields, Jr.
      John Russel Houser
      Robert Lewis Dear, Jr.

      If you want to play this game I can keep listing more right-wing mass murderers if you want.

    10. Re:Bigotry by Desler · · Score: 1

      We can use MAGAts instead.

    11. Re:Bigotry by Stolovaya · · Score: 1

      A shining example of whataboutism.

  9. Time to add previews before all content by PKI+Champion · · Score: 1

    Now NetFlix can justify putting previews before ALL of their movie content, just like the MPAA folks do in the theaters and rentals. "They others do it, why can't we?"

    1. Re:Time to add previews before all content by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Because people know how to fast forward.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Time to add previews before all content by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      How do you keep me from doing what I want on my machine? That's a trick I'd want to see.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Time to add previews before all content by amorsen · · Score: 1

      Are you really asking that question? How is Netflix going to send you Rick Astley videos instead of the fast forward you requested? That is incredibly easy, they just ignore what your machine asks for and send whatever they want to instead.

      Your client can block out Rick Astley. It cannot substitute Rick Astley with Godzilla 28 unless the streaming service kindly grants it the bits for Godzilla 28.

      --
      Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
    4. Re:Time to add previews before all content by vakuona · · Score: 1

      I am probably weird, but I actually want to see previews when I go to the theatre, and sometimes miss watching previews on VCR.

    5. Re:Time to add previews before all content by djinn6 · · Score: 1

      That's completely pointless. I already arrive at the theater a few minutes late to avoid the previews. At home it's even easier. My speaker has a mute button and my browser supports multiple tabs.

    6. Re:Time to add previews before all content by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      No, but what I can do is request a few videos when I come home, have my machine cut out the spam and display what I want when I come back from dinner.

      You can try to waste my time, but since it's my time I still decide whether I let you.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    7. Re:Time to add previews before all content by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Ok, so I start the stream when I go to dinner, come back half an hour later and watch the movie.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  10. Re:And so ends the tail of Netflix by Desler · · Score: 1

    A couple of Slashdorks leaving do not repesent a majority of their users.

  11. Re:Somebody must have reminded Netflix. by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 1

    I think Netflix probably came to the conclusion on their own that people streaming from illicit sites are actually more of a threat than Disney or whatever other rando company of the month decides to host their own streaming service. Nobody really wants Disney, but there's still high demand for truly useful streaming.

  12. I think by DaMattster · · Score: 1

    I am going to cancel my subscription now. I cannot, in good faith, give money to a company that openly supports the MPAA mafia. Good bye, Netflix. It was fun while it lasted.

    1. Re:I think by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      So you were peefectly fine with them paying hundreds of millions of dollars to MPAA members for content but joining the MPAA was too much? lol okay...

    2. Re:I think by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      I did back when their DVD mailings started to take over a week and the streaming catalog was collapsing. Zero regrets - I turn on my mind with democratic content, not off with the hierarchy's programming.

      It's 2019 - smart people should be watching ElectroBoom, not Stranger Things.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    3. Re:I think by Rob+Lister · · Score: 1

      I think you're lying.

    4. Re:I think by syn3rg · · Score: 1

      I think you mean the MAFIAA

      --
      The contents of this message have been doubly encrypted by ROT13
  13. Tom Wheeler or Ajit Pai by Drethon · · Score: 1

    So which role will Netflix play. I know which one will get me to keep subscribing... (yeah, I know they don't have that kind of control but they are, I think, the biggest streaming service, which wields a fair bit of power)

    1. Re:Tom Wheeler or Ajit Pai by Desler · · Score: 1

      Neither. They'll simply be out for themselves just like they always have done.

      This is like the Slashdork deification of Google. Neither Netflix nor Google gives a shit about you and they never have. It's always been about crafting an image to make as much money as they could.

  14. Welcome to the Family by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    Kiss the Don's hand, be nice to the Consigliere, don't show around your comáre and never talk to the cops or you can fuggedaboutit.

  15. Rot in Hell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The MPAA can rot in hell. That organization is the antithesis of customer friendly. I personally don't have a care for the Oscars. I don't need someone else telling me what and who are good. I can make those decisions myself.

    Captcha - irately

  16. Re:Somebody must have reminded Netflix. by schwit1 · · Score: 1

    Do people still care about Hollywood and the Oscars?

  17. Re:Good thing for them I'm not using my own accoun by DaMattster · · Score: 1

    Because I would close it.

    I'm sure that 99.999â+ of their users never even heard of the MPAA, though, so I expect this to have no real consequences for them.

    I just cancelled my subscription. I could (sort of) understand a price hike but this is the last straw. The programming quality of Netflix has gone downhill anyhow. I just streamed the first episode of the new season of The Punisher and it sucked ass. It's totally not worth the 10.99 or whatever it is going to go up to. I've seen better programming on Sony Crackle and I don't have to pay them a dime. All I have to do is watch an occasional shitty commercial that never lasts that long and the programming comes back on.

  18. Re:Somebody must have reminded Netflix. by Desler · · Score: 1

    Yes, tons of people. Step out of your nerd bubble once in a while.

  19. Re:dont worry it wont just be slashdotters by Desler · · Score: 1

    im gonna say it at least 15-20% just leave and another 10% for that price hike........

    And do you have any facts to back this up? Why do you presume that millions of Netflix subscribers would even care?

  20. Re:Desler is bigot by Desler · · Score: 2

    On the grand scale of things, it's more acceptable than sending pipe bombs in the mail to people.

  21. Re:Desler is bigot by Desler · · Score: 1

    Also your outrage would be more genuine if not for the fact that MAGA trolls have sent death threats to people on Twitter, too. Go back to your safe space, snowflake.

  22. Obligatory soundtrack by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    Duuun Duuun Duuun, dun da dun, dun da dun

    I for one do not welcome our new copyright maximalist, DRM-pushing overlords.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  23. Re:Desler is bigot by Desler · · Score: 2

    The bombs weren't fake no matter how many times you repeat that lie.

    Nobody was hurt, but the bombs were real, officials said.

    "These are not hoax devices," FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/u...

  24. Re:Desler is bigot by Desler · · Score: 1

    Do you hold Bernie Sander's supporters responsible for shooting and trying to kill the republicans that were practicing for a charity baseball game?

    Yes I do. Oops that ruins your whole narrative about me doesn't it?

  25. Wrong direction by MobyDisk · · Score: 1

    Imagine a world where Comcast users could get to some web sites, and AT&T users could see different web sites, and Verizon customers could see yet different web sites. That was the online world of the 1990s, only the players were AOL, Product, and Compuserve. That is the world of the future if we continue to allow content providers and content deliverers to merge. What broke that triad was the Internet: an open system where everyone could access anything.

    But even in THAT era, almost all television programs were available to anyone regardless of what cable provider they used.

    Today streams their stuff, Disney streams theirs, Nickelodeon streams theirs, and Hulu, and HBO, etc. We should not allow a company to control both the content production and content delivery. NetFlix making content and joining the MPAA is bad for the streaming industry.

    1. Re:Wrong direction by Known+Nutter · · Score: 1

      Today streams their stuff, Disney streams theirs, Nickelodeon streams theirs, and Hulu, and HBO, etc.

      And nothing of value is lost.

      --
      Beware of the Leopard.
    2. Re:Wrong direction by MobyDisk · · Score: 1

      yes, whoops

  26. Re:Desler is bigot by Desler · · Score: 1

    And let expound on this. Unlike you, I don't have a team I'm defending and so I'm perfectly fine with calling out that Bernie bro and his ilk. Any time you go from words to violent actions you cross the line.

  27. Re:Good thing for them I'm not using my own accoun by Red_Forman · · Score: 1

    The last time I used Crackle, the selection was not even 1/100 of what Netflix Canada has in their library. And I only saw three different ads, in blocks of two ads at a time, five times during the movie. I think ads are annoying, but seeing the same ad two times in a row is even more annoying.

  28. Re:Somebody must have reminded Netflix. by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    Tons of people, yes. But are they the majority?

    What's the percentage of Netflix subscribers who cares about Oscars?

    Will joining the MPAA make Netflix lose more subscribers than new subscribers who will join Netflix because of their Oscars wins? And then there's the yearly MPAA membership cost on top of that.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  29. Re:stupid netflix by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1
    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  30. Re:Good thing for them I'm not using my own accoun by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

    I hate commercials I'd gladly pay for a service like Netflix that doesn't include any.

    I'm happy to pay to not see commercials, but I'm not happy to pay to have my own freedoms taken away — and that's what happens when your money goes to the MPAA.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  31. Judge on behavior, not membership by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Your mistake is that while you wanted to pay for content, you avoided **AAs instead of avoiding DRM. Granted, if you had targeted correctly, that would have caused you to not pay for the content -- you were going to fail anyway. But you should have had the failure happen then, not now.

    Netflix doesn't let you use your own software. There was never any reason to treat them differently than the **AAs. They were already the same thing.

    Here is one of the best rules of thumb for media consumption: if it has DRM, pirate it instead of paying. Never pay a dime for anything that has DRM. If they actually sell standard files, though, then by all means: pay. That is the deal we're offering, media companies. Standards and money, or DRM and no money. It's that simple. And I don't give a flying fuck if you're **AA or not. You're merely being judged by whether you act in good faith or bad faith, not by your membership in clubs.

  32. Re:Boycott netflix? by Rob+Lister · · Score: 1

    No.

  33. Industry kind of forced netflix in this direction by bussdriver · · Score: 1

    Greedy bastards who had to be dragged into streaming with somebody else doing all the work and risk. Now they all want to have their own rip off using whatever employees they snipe from Netflix while trying to demand Netflix rape their customers on their behalf. Forcing Netflix to become one of them as the content was taken from them now they have the same pressures, shareholders etc. as they lose good staff.

    Maybe if there was a non-profit in charge of the gateway to their content... one which wasn't totally beholden to the corps they support... like the MPAA but not 100% corporate whores who are stuck in a past before the transistor; with the goal of keeping customers happy so they don't copy content.

    More like the w3c where they define the standards for the tech of the web. Or a government dept which defines the lower level standards involved (like the US dept. of commerce does it for the internet protocols... in this case it would seem to be the FCC; but government wasn't as broken then as it is today and continue will be until the collapse.)

    Having a front end like AOL or Facebook doesn't work out long term; but open protocols for integration between parties like the internet has been doing. Video distribution at a higher level so shows pop up in every app and stats let them know who gets paid for viewing kind of like internet ads. Hard in the sense it's more political than technical.

  34. Non-studio? by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    What?
    How is Netflix not a studio? They make their own movies and TV shows.

  35. Re:dont worry it wont just be slashdotters by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    They lost that content not because they weren't a member of MPAA but because the companies that make the content realised they'd make more money if they ran their own streaming service with exclusive content to bring customers.

  36. Re:Somebody must have reminded Netflix. by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    The vast majority of people just don't care about MPAA and the bad things they campaign for. So yes, more people will join Netflix than leave.

  37. Re:Good thing for them I'm not using my own accoun by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    Where do you think your money went before? Unless you watched only Netflix originals, it went to other MPAA members.

  38. Re:Somebody must have reminded Netflix. by Kyr+Arvin · · Score: 1

    You can't win an Oscar unless your a member...

    You can't? Haven't independent movie studios won Oscars before?