Comment on The Good Pirates Part 1 – Hyperdistribution
One of my favorite Swiss blogs, Website Marketing, posted a great article called “The Good Pirates Part 1 – Hyperdistribution.” It discusses how “Hollywood is trying to kill the very thing that it has created.” Read the article in English, here.
Since this is a topic I’m very much interested in, and I discuss this issue with basically all classes I teach to, I’d like to share my thoughts with you:
Very well said, “piracy should not be feared and fought, rather harnessed.” First of all, according to CNN The Screening Room, 2008 was one of the most successful years for Hollywood, ever. And digital movie piracy is at an all-time high. So, why battle those who made production companies big? The music and movie industries work in similar ways and have similar attitudes, so let’s think back to the Napster trial. Metallica’s Lars Ulrich fought Napster and exactly those people, who made him a multi-millionaire. He went on a crusade against the MTV and Internet Generation and as soon as Napster shutdown, eMule, Kazaa, and later on BitTorrent emerged to cause even more damage to the music (and movie) industry. By now, the movie and music industry should have understood that if you cannot beat them, you should definitely join them. Some artists, like Nine In Nails and Hawthorne Heights, understood the situation and became more popular and were able to make better money than ever before.
As for how to make money with FREE: Advertising is obviously one way to generate some money. Nonetheless, many internet users have become blind for banners. I sure am, and many of my peers as well. One way to generate money that has been proven effective by different artists in the entertainment business is selling merchandising and live events. Take all those reunion tours from Phil Collins with Genesis or Sting with The Police. One can find all the classic songs online on legal and illegal platforms. Music in CD or MP3 format has become a commodity. But experiencing music in a live setting has (almost) become a luxury good. Not everyone has the money to buy two tickets for $90+ each every other week, and I’d consider that a cheap ticket. And once you’re at the gig you might want to buy a T-shirt as a souvenir, for another $30+.
Wong Fu Productions, a young team of Youtubers and filmmakers, create clips that get distributed on Youtube for free. They solely generate money by selling a lot of merchandising and making professional music videos for newcomers. A perfect example of how free leads to money.
