Piracy Collapses As Legal Alternatives Do Their Job

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Wait, legal alternatives to piracy that are cheap and easily accessible can actually curb piracy? Whoddathunkit?!? ;)

Entertainment industry groups in Norway have spent years lobbying for tougher anti-piracy laws, finally getting their way earlier this month. But with fines and site blocking now on the agenda, an interesting trend has been developing. Quietly behind the scenes music piracy has collapsed to less than a fifth of the level it reached five years ago while movie and TV show downloading has been cut in half.
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Music piracy down because stuff like streaming exists.

Who gathers all these mp3s still, when you can just get a program like Spotify or Pandora, and listen to whatever, wherever :p
 
jynxycat said:
Music piracy down because stuff like streaming exists.

Who gathers all these mp3s still, when you can just get a program like Spotify or Pandora, and listen to whatever, wherever :p
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Yes, as well as being able to but individual songs through music online retailers now.

Video has a bit of a ways more to go because that industry has not come to grips with a practical service model at all that services those feeling the need to pirate. Hey, Senator John McCain is backing a bill that would make entertainment moguls like ViaComm and Disney unbundle their TV packages, allowing consumers to order stations ala carte and see a cheaper bill. Some are starting to get it, but they're going to have to realize the internet isn't just another means of seeing media, it's a fundamental shift (especially in the younger generations) in how media is consumed. Maybe the expression 'old dog, new tricks' applies here.
 
TroubleMagnet said:
HBO would clean up if you could get HBO Go without a cable/sat/etc. subscription.
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Yes, they would.

I dropped satellite for streaming. I do very good for what I've got, and I'm spending ~$15 a month instead of $80. If HBO would do HBO Go without the main subscription, I'd add that to Hulu Plus (soon to stop, though), and Netflix. Amazon comes with Prime, so I use that, too. OTA for local channels.
 
They finally realized that making the media cheap, abundant, and easy to acquire keeps people from stealing it... just like every other manufactured product ever made. On top of that, they also finally realized that they flood the market with so much shit that none of it is worth the money they want.
 
The consequences however is that over-reaching infringment laws are still in place. Will they walk those back too?
 
somewhere there is an old post of mine 10-12yrs ago.. saying "just give people an affordable, secure, easy to use alternative and they wouldn't bother with this potentially virus laden BS"
Back when nappster, then Kazza and some other programs i cannot remember were on millions of computers.
Now there are so many legit and cheap ways to get music, movies and games. I think piracy is surviving over seas more than in the states. Could be that some of these affordable services are not available over there? either way, im glad that the numbers are going down.
 
CaptNumbNutz said:
On top of that, they also finally realized that they flood the market with so much shit that none of it is worth the money they want.
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Judging by some of the crap flooding the market - I don't think they've realized this yet.
 
Ur_Mom said:
Yes, they would.

I dropped satellite for streaming. I do very good for what I've got, and I'm spending ~$15 a month instead of $80. If HBO would do HBO Go without the main subscription, I'd add that to Hulu Plus (soon to stop, though), and Netflix. Amazon comes with Prime, so I use that, too. OTA for local channels.
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As would I. They are failing the market, IMO.
 
I have a Spotify Premium subscription that renews automatically. Can't be bothered to download music any more. Such a hassle when you can just type the song or artist in and listen within seconds.
 
jynxycat said:
Music piracy down because stuff like streaming exists.

Who gathers all these mp3s still, when you can just get a program like Spotify or Pandora, and listen to whatever, wherever :p
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I dunno... anyone who doesn't like shitty sounding music?

Streaming might be good to sample new tracks, but unless you're listening on ipod ear buds, laptop speakers, crappy stock car audio, or walmart stereo systems... it sounds like absolute garbage when it comes to audio quality.
 
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
I dunno... anyone who doesn't like shitty sounding music?

Streaming might be good to sample new tracks, but unless you're listening on ipod ear buds, laptop speakers, crappy stock car audio, or walmart stereo systems... it sounds like absolute garbage when it comes to audio quality.
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I use both. One is definitely for on-the-go or background noise, the other is meant to be enjoyed with an 18 year single malt, top hat and monocle.
 
Ur_Mom said:
Judging by some of the crap flooding the market - I don't think they've realized this yet.
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I'm assuming you are implying that the crap they are pushing now is even worse than usual and prices should be even lower? If so...lmao, so true.:D
 
cptnjarhead said:
Now there are so many legit and cheap ways to get music, movies and games. I think piracy is surviving over seas more than in the states. Could be that some of these affordable services are not available over there? either way, im glad that the numbers are going down.
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Depending where in the world you are.

Google Play Music ? XBOX Music Pass ? Spotify ? Rdio ? Amazon MP3 ? Oh, you silly, a small country in EU is irrelevant.

So far the only ones which would work are iTunes (but not the streaming service), Grooveshark (with the questionable legality of it) and Deezer. So the "many legit ways" shrinks down to one music streaming service in my case.

Movies ? TV shows ? That is an even bigger joke, maybe we will get something like that here around 2030.
 
It's like Steam sales. I own practically everything I think is even slightly interesting.
 
Ur_Mom said:
Yes, they would.

I dropped satellite for streaming. I do very good for what I've got, and I'm spending ~$15 a month instead of $80. If HBO would do HBO Go without the main subscription, I'd add that to Hulu Plus (soon to stop, though), and Netflix. Amazon comes with Prime, so I use that, too. OTA for local channels.
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I'm waiting for HBO Go to come out without the subscription too, but right now I pay for it. But my cable bill (excluding internet & phone) is about $200 just because I want HBO with a DVR.

Sure, basic cable is $35, but you can't get movie channels with the basic package. You need the premium package. But that's $80. Oh, but if you want a DVR, you need the Ultimate package, so that's $90. But then, I also want the HD package, which is another $10, so that's $100 there. But, because I have HBO, I need to rent a cable box, which is $20, so that's $120. Of course, I need the remote which is $10 a month, so that's $130. And I have 2 TV's, so I need to double up the box and remote, so that's $160. Now, HBO is $10 a month, so that's $170. Finally, there's the cable fee (whatever that means, I still have no idea) and tax, which takes me to around $200, just so I can watch Game of Thrones on my time on either of my TV's. Now, if I wanted to be stingy, I could probably get it down to $150/month if I only used 1 TV and had no DVR, but still, I'd just rather go a la carte and cut the cable bill altogether.
 
bigddybn said:
320kbps is shitty sounding?

https://support.spotify.com/us/learn-more/faq/#!/article/What-bitrate-does-Spotify-use-for-streaming
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Pretty much. 320kbps or not... streaming either sounds tinny or like you're listening underwater on any decent audio system.

Even 320kpbs encoded MP3s don't even quite hold up to a well mastered CD, and 320 streaming usually sounds like, at best, a 128kpbs MP3.

Spend more than $25 on a pair of ear-buds on the difference is painfully obvious to anyone who isn't tone deaf or hearing impaired.
 
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
Pretty much. 320kbps or not... streaming either sounds tinny or like you're listening underwater on any decent audio system.

Even 320kpbs encoded MP3s don't even quite hold up to a well mastered CD, and 320 streaming usually sounds like, at best, a 128kpbs MP3.

Spend more than $25 on a pair of ear-buds on the difference is painfully obvious to anyone who isn't tone deaf or hearing impaired.
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There are a lot of factors at play their, i would not make those blanket statements :eek:
 
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
Pretty much. 320kbps or not... streaming either sounds tinny or like you're listening underwater on any decent audio system.

Even 320kpbs encoded MP3s don't even quite hold up to a well mastered CD, and 320 streaming usually sounds like, at best, a 128kpbs MP3.

Spend more than $25 on a pair of ear-buds on the difference is painfully obvious to anyone who isn't tone deaf or hearing impaired.
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You forget, most music is listened to by idiots in cars with the bass cranked up so far that's all they can, or want to hear, and rap sounds awful no matter what kind of system you play it on. And that accounts for about 95% of the listeners today. Most can't even tell between stereo and mono, and are quite happy with FM quality coming out of whatever speakers. High fidelity? Lost on the masses.
 
nightfly said:
You forget, most music is listened to by idiots in cars with the bass cranked up so far that's all they can, or want to hear, and rap sounds awful no matter what kind of system you play it on. And that accounts for about 95% of the listeners today. Most can't even tell between stereo and mono, and are quite happy with FM quality coming out of whatever speakers. High fidelity? Lost on the masses.
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Yeah, I've noticed...

When I was installing my last car audio system I couldn't quite get anyone to understand why that, even though I had just spent a shitload of money on high end speakers, amps, wiring, and sound deadening for the car, I had no interest in trunk full of big sub-woofers.

In their mind, all that power should go towards a bunch of subs running at full blast... But once you show them how a single, small and balanced sub in the trunk set to blend in the low end with the rest of the system sounds... and that the extra wattage is merely headroom so you don't have to crank the volume much past 30% power to be blown away... Well then they start to understand what music is supposed to sound like...

But yeah, it still boggles my mind how somewhere along the road (probably around the point Super Audio CDs and DVD Audio failed to catch on and people started listening to music on iPods while horrible sound quality) that the high-end audio consumer electronics market came to a standstill... but we can't seem to get enough of higher and higher resolution Super 3D 8k Ultra Def HD for a new TV every few years. *shrug*
 
so I'm I the only one that buys music every month these days?! :( I'm a dying breed
 
Not surprising at all.

I bet Windows piracy is going to go through the roof now that Technet is gone.
 
I don't even know who spends money on music. There's never been much worth listening to and there's literally never a reason to spend $$ on anything other than the speakers that come with your laptop or phone. The fact that people pirate stuff at all just means they're wasting money on sound junk so they can brag about how they can "hear" more in music that just isn't there and never was there to begin with. It must be a penis size thing.
 
Let's see options

a. Purchase movie have to put up with 15mins of ads
b. Pirate movie no ads

a. Purchase game have drm
b. Pirate game no drm

a. Purchase music only like 1 song have to pay for the others also
b. Pirate music get only what you like

Seems like a no brainer to me on a or b options.
 
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