Always makes me a little angry. I understand the need to protect your intellectual property and for studios, record companies and films to want to get paid for what they produce but lets face it, we don't ever get what we pay for when it comes to music and movies. Games are a different story and I'll talk about it after.
When it comes to movies, for the last 8 or 9 years I have felt that rather than getting true original stories that keep us enthralled, excited and on the edge of our seats we get a lackluster story that has been stripped down, dumbed down and generally watered down to the point where we are forced to watch something that rather than be a work of story telling art we are left with rubbish that tries its hardest not to offend
Now here's the kicker... Come Episode 3 I was a little older, a little wiser and thanks to major movie studios and record labels I was also a little poorer. I didn't even go to the theater to watch the 3rd and final chapter of the Star Wars saga, I waited until I could rent the DVD. Reason being? When I went and watched Episode 1 the cost of the movie was 8 dollars. Popcorn? 2 dollars. So for 10 dollars even I could watch one of my favorite movies on the big screen. I saw it 6 times, and I think I got popcorn each time but I can't remember, lets say I did.
6 nights out to a movie w/ popcorn to see Episode 1 = $60
Now jump forward a few years to the release of Episode 3 and we start to understand why I passed on the big screen, in those few years between the films ticket prices for a movie jumped up to $14.50. Popcorn? $6. Just to see the movie once would have cost me $21.50. To see it 6 times? $129... $129!!!!!!! Over double the price in just a few years to see a single film on the big screen. Horseshit.
This is why I can understand the lure of piracy. Free movies? Ok! So where does one get access to these free movies?
Start here: www.piratebay.org
Now music... Wow! I could go on about this for years, I HATE record companies, they are run my fat cat old men with only one thing on their mind, the all mighty dollar. 90% of the music these major record companies punch out are exactly like my morning dump. Shitty. I'm fairly certain I have farted better music in my lifetime then some of the crap that gets released in today's world. For a surprisingly true look at how new musical stars are born go watch the movie Josie and the Pussycats. It really is the record companies that decide who is gonna be big and who isn't. If you're female and your face is marginally attractive you can be a major music sensation. We'll just add some breast implants, suck out some fat and cake your face in makeup and call you a star. Easy. Oh wait... then there is the small detail of the music, well that's easy too, all you need to do is sing 3 or 4 lines, the studio will remix that shit so much that you can sing like anyone you want. Just as long as it isn't live... Right Ashley Simpson? Shit even me, a male could sing some Britney Spears if a record company felt like making me a star. Fuck that. I honestly agree that charging 15 dollars for a CD that contains 13 or 14 tracks of this remixed computer generated bullshit is like robbing someone. I could see maybe 7 or 8 dollars for a CD these days but not 15. www.piratebay.org - Lots of indie music there that isn't tied up in major record deals with thieving record companies.
That pretty much sums up my views on movies and music, personally I think that if you enjoy something you should pay for it, however I also strongly believe that the garbage the major players in each industry are pushing on us are really over priced and not worth it, which drives people to download it illegally. If the MPAA and RIAA want to slow down piracy (lets face it they will never stop it completely) they need to get back in touch with their consumers and lower their prices. People simply can't afford the insane prices they are charging for their garbage. I'm very prominent in many piracy circles around the globe and every person I talk to and ask about their reasons for downloading whatever it is they download comes down to one thing. Price. They simply can't afford to pay the prices asked for movies and music.
Now I know that costs go up as each aspect of making the film or album go up, but actors do NOT need to be making 50 million dollars for a single movie. Pay them 1 million or tell them to take a hike. After they spend their money they will be happy to make movies for a million bucks. Same goes for recording artists.
Games, I left this till last cause its really a black and white area for me. If you wanna try it, download a demo, if you like it, buy it. If you honestly need to try more than the demo to get a clear idea, then fine download the full version, but again, after a week or 2 if you really like it, go buy it.
In closing I only really have one thing to say, RIAA, MPAA, and any other industry association are not gonna have a hope in hell of stopping piracy. Think about it, for every person working for those places there are 10,000 hackers, crackers and pirates working against them to figure out a way to get what they released for free. Gonna go to the authorities? Ok fine, go for it. Sue people, for every person you sue 10,000 more grow to hate you are vow to not support you. Which is turn leads to more piracy. Turn to government? Yeah ok! Eventually the voices of 6 million will be heard and the politicians you turn to will be taking orders for the pirates who elected them. To that I say... Owned.
-Sencha
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