Seems we're also reverting back to old technology while developing new ones: Podcasts are simply unregulated radio, only the more advanced ones having video (Marcus Hates His Job) as an example. Technology is always advancing and changing our world, but it seems that as we advance, we often look back to old technologies and adapt to changing settings..
This entire argument is ridiculous. I have asked the Producers themselves at their IRC channel (irc.chatchannel.org:: #TheScene) and they have said that they can't believe the argument that is being used. Basically, this entire rumor spawned because ONE person, Rebecca Brandt (one of the shows producers,) happens to work at Sony. What kind of conclusion is this? The other argument is that Joe Testa (the one who plays Brian Sandro) looks like another Sony reporter, and that is equally ridiculous, Joe Testa is the actor (check him out on IMDB) not a Sony reporter. Please, put these rumors to rest already!
I agree, no moralizing this. To be blunt, DVD sales are not hurt by piracy, and they have not been proven to do so. Basically, DVD sales are independent of online sales, and there is only a small correlation coefficient between the two variables. Those end-users who were planning on buying the DVD will buy it, and those who download instead were not planning to buy the product in the first place. This puts in place the face of "social darwinism." Those movies that earn the high ratings, successful stories, plots, cinematography, etc, will be bought by the enduser (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, anyone?) In contrast, those movies that bomb (who wants to pay to see Fat Albert?) will 'die off' because they were not fit to compete in the marketplace.
It's fairly simple to realize the reasoning that Hollywood is putting this false emphasis on piracy causing the downfall of their 1.5-5 rating IMDB movies, because scapegoating is extremely easy to do. By pointing the finger at piracy groups online in order to 'save themselves,' they no longer have to have the self-realization that their movies have been dropping in quality while increasing in quantity for years now, with few exceptions.
I am not attempting to convey that piracy is positive, or even legal, trust me. I know the laws state that copying someone elses intellectual property, and spreading it around is illegal when the product is licensed. Yes, I know that. My argument is simply attempting to realize that instead of making an enemy out of this FASCINATING underground, why not befriend it? Use it's amazing power to distribute legal content to all, rather than squashing one of the most powerful (if not the most) distribution systems on the Internet.
Personally, I feel the central point of the entire article (beyond the obvious revealing of the inner-workings of the scene,) was to reveal the POWER of the scene, and its distribution system. Specifically, near the end of the article, the article mentions a company named "JunGroup" that distributed MP3s over P2P, IRC, and FTPs to promote products. Now that consumers actually understand the basics of The Scene, they can begin to accept untraditional business models that utilize the piracy avenues for legitimate distribution. If you look at the JunGroup site, they have a link to their "The Scene" TV series, a TV series about the inner-workings piracy from a desktop perspective, revealing (graphically) the majority of scene practices (both good and bad.)
Take a look at jungroup.com now, they have a link pointing to their "entertainment division" and their latest project "The Scene," a TV show about an NYU student who is the leader of a top movie group in the darknet. After watching the series, it seems that much of the information that is in the darknet article is displayed (graphically) to create a TV drama. Take a look if you're interested.
Slashdot Mirror
That website offers RSS (powered by my best friends site : kedora.org) http://kedora.org/show/marcus/feeds/advanced/ :)
Seems we're also reverting back to old technology while developing new ones: Podcasts are simply unregulated radio, only the more advanced ones having video (Marcus Hates His Job) as an example. Technology is always advancing and changing our world, but it seems that as we advance, we often look back to old technologies and adapt to changing settings..
This entire argument is ridiculous. I have asked the Producers themselves at their IRC channel (irc.chatchannel.org :: #TheScene) and they have said that they can't believe the argument that is being used. Basically, this entire rumor spawned because ONE person, Rebecca Brandt (one of the shows producers,) happens to work at Sony. What kind of conclusion is this? The other argument is that Joe Testa (the one who plays Brian Sandro) looks like another Sony reporter, and that is equally ridiculous, Joe Testa is the actor (check him out on IMDB) not a Sony reporter. Please, put these rumors to rest already!
I agree, no moralizing this. To be blunt, DVD sales are not hurt by piracy, and they have not been proven to do so. Basically, DVD sales are independent of online sales, and there is only a small correlation coefficient between the two variables. Those end-users who were planning on buying the DVD will buy it, and those who download instead were not planning to buy the product in the first place. This puts in place the face of "social darwinism." Those movies that earn the high ratings, successful stories, plots, cinematography, etc, will be bought by the enduser (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, anyone?) In contrast, those movies that bomb (who wants to pay to see Fat Albert?) will 'die off' because they were not fit to compete in the marketplace.
It's fairly simple to realize the reasoning that Hollywood is putting this false emphasis on piracy causing the downfall of their 1.5-5 rating IMDB movies, because scapegoating is extremely easy to do. By pointing the finger at piracy groups online in order to 'save themselves,' they no longer have to have the self-realization that their movies have been dropping in quality while increasing in quantity for years now, with few exceptions.
I am not attempting to convey that piracy is positive, or even legal, trust me. I know the laws state that copying someone elses intellectual property, and spreading it around is illegal when the product is licensed. Yes, I know that. My argument is simply attempting to realize that instead of making an enemy out of this FASCINATING underground, why not befriend it? Use it's amazing power to distribute legal content to all, rather than squashing one of the most powerful (if not the most) distribution systems on the Internet.
Personally, I feel the central point of the entire article (beyond the obvious revealing of the inner-workings of the scene,) was to reveal the POWER of the scene, and its distribution system. Specifically, near the end of the article, the article mentions a company named "JunGroup" that distributed MP3s over P2P, IRC, and FTPs to promote products. Now that consumers actually understand the basics of The Scene, they can begin to accept untraditional business models that utilize the piracy avenues for legitimate distribution. If you look at the JunGroup site, they have a link to their "The Scene" TV series, a TV series about the inner-workings piracy from a desktop perspective, revealing (graphically) the majority of scene practices (both good and bad.)
Take a look at jungroup.com now, they have a link pointing to their "entertainment division" and their latest project "The Scene," a TV show about an NYU student who is the leader of a top movie group in the darknet. After watching the series, it seems that much of the information that is in the darknet article is displayed (graphically) to create a TV drama. Take a look if you're interested.