How to sell to a pirate

All I’m looking for in digital media is convenience and a fair price, in that order. Convenience means that I can get what I want, right now (bandwidth permitting), and play it on the device of my choice. A fair price is an amount that I’d consider loose change rather than something I need to budget for.

For example, a friend recently recommended an American TV series called True Blood. I downloaded the first episode to see what it was about, watched it, and loved it. I decided to buy the whole series. This, I think, is how it should work. I wasn’t about to put down the money for a whole series on spec, but the first episode was so enthralling that I wanted more. And I was quite happy to pay for it, as long as it wasn’t outrageously expensive. I do have a job, after all. I can pay. I just wanted to see more of it, and to see it soon.

I was quickly disappointed: True Blood hadn’t yet been released in the UK. (The first series will be come out on DVD at the end of October, after the second series finishes on US broadcast television.) Imported US editions are available, but they’re Region 1, and I don’t have a multi-region DVD player. (I think I could probably have got it to play on my computer, but I’ve never tried and I wasn’t sure. Not sure enough.)

At this point, I should probably tell you that I don’t really care about copyright. I don’t see it as a natural right (there’s a playground obviousness to the Civil Law concept of the moral right, for example) but as an artificial one of relatively recent vintage. However, that’s a discussion for another time. But what is important is that I want people to continue to make excellent works of art and entertainment for me to enjoy, for purely selfish reasons. Some of these things can’t be made without significant financial investment, so I do have an interest in the makers being remunerated.

Let’s recap:

I wanted to obtain the first series of True Blood.
I couldn’t buy a UK release on DVD.
The US version was available as a grey import but I might not be able to play it because of region coding.
Or I could download the entire series for free from a more buccaneering corner of the internet.

At any stage up until the last, you could have had me as a customer, if you were willing to supply it there and then in a format I could use. However, because of licensing, region coding, and DRM, my best option was the ‘pirate’ one.

So, speaking as someone who has no real opposition to downloading a copyright-infringing copy, here’s what I think you need to know:

There is no point in putting restrictions on the sale of the legal copy, because your free competitor has the same product.
When you region-code the product, you prevent me from buying it.
When you don’t sell the product in my territory, you prevent me from buying it.
When you put DRM on the product, you prevent me from using it on the device of my choice. I don’t want to be locked into buying Apple products forever, for example. And that prevents me from buying it.
There’s no point in putting DRM or other restrictions on the product, because it’s already available. Give me commonly-accepted formats in a choice of bitrates. What’s the worst that can happen? I upload it to Usenet? It’s already there!

There are two ways that you can stop me from downloading it from unlawful sources. One is to cut off the supply. Good luck with that. It hasn’t worked so far, has it?

The other method is to make it easy, quick and cheap to get hold of the stuff I want to watch or listen to. Even though it’s free, pirating stuff is still a bit of a hassle. You could definitely beat them on convenience and speed of release.

You’ll have to change your licensing. If it’s on HBO today, I have to be able to watch it today. Not in several months’ time when it’s on Sky (as if I’d pay Murdoch a penny!). Not after that, when it comes out on DVD in the UK. Not when I’ve already seen spoilers because it’s old news to the US audience. We live in an interconnected world. Your old models of segmentation don’t work here.

You’ve got to be realistic on price, too: no one is going to pay £30,000 to fill up an iPod. A cinema ticket costs under £10, and that includes all the overheads of a physical business, so a downloaded movie must be quite a lot cheaper than that.

But if I could, say, download the final episode of Series 2 next week as soon as it’s broadcast, I’d pay £1 for that. Oh, and making the first episode free would be a fantastic loss leader.

2009-09-07 20:15 UTC. Comments: 18.

Comments

Skip to the comment form

Holger

Wrote at 2009-09-08 09:33 UTC using Chrome 4.0.206.1 on Windows XP:
Excellent article, I don’t necessarily agree with the conclusion, but your whole line of reasoning is excellent. I’m not a pirate, so if I can’t buy it, I’m just upset… ;)
Ed

Wrote at 2009-09-08 10:56 UTC using Firefox 3.5.2 on Windows XP 64 or Server 2003:
A good article. I’d still argue that £1 an episode is too much – that equates to £20+ per series… That said, it’s probably favourable compared to going to the cinema – £1 for 42 minutes of TV vs £6+ for 120 minutes.

More important is to provide the content is whatever format I want – I often convert things to put on my phone, or sometimes I burn them on DVDs to take places. I want to be able to use whatever software and hardware I have, wherever it is. Until I can, I’ll get the illegal versions.
Toons

Wrote at 2009-09-08 11:54 UTC using Firefox 3.5.2 on Mac OS X:
Great post. A good summary of the strange ‘encouragement to pirate’ business model they are operating.

When you do buy the dvd, you have to sit through the copyright warnings, overblown menu system just to watch an episode. The pirate experience is select file on XBox, watch show.

See the pirates as competition, not criminals.
Lee

Wrote at 2009-09-08 11:56 UTC using Unknown browser on Mac OS X:
I did some back of the envelope calculations last week based in figures (which may or may not be accurate).

Sky paid ~£20m for seasons 3 & 4 of Lost.
As of 2009 Sky have ~9.5m subscribers

So each subscriber paid approx £1 per series to watch Lost.

I’m with you in that I’m not going to give a red cent to Mr Murdoch but I’d also object to having to pay for a “package” of channels which contains a bunch of rubbish employing countless people in pointless jobs creating that rubbish that I’d be shelling out for. If I could actually buy programmes a la carte in a watchable format (I’m not bothered about HD) for a reasonable price, even if I had to watch a couple of adverts, then I would.

I’ve bought the odd single episode off of the iTunes when I’ve missed one, or the digital signal has crapped out again because of the rain, and the £1.89 hit has been justifiable. But to buy a whole series is prohibitively expensive. I’d probably pay a fiver for a whole series and not even think about it.

Last week they published figures stating that 51million people had downloaded Heroes or whatever illegally. I’m sure a good proportion of those would happily take the easier route if there was one, and the money involved would dwarf what they get from TV broadcasters.
Matt W

Wrote at 2009-09-08 12:40 UTC using Firefox 3.5.2 on Mac OS X:
Number one rule for business (or for many types of busines): make it easy for people to give you money – great post
David Carrington

Wrote at 2009-09-08 15:00 UTC using Firefox 3.5.2 on Windows XP:
I agree with everything in this post. I happily bought and downloaded 3 albums online for the first time ever a couple of months ago. Why? Because a pricing mistake put them each at 29 pence on Amazon UK.

The convenience of pirated media is so much more appealing than paying £10 for a few MP3s that I had to wait longer for to download. 29p is such a negligible cost that I happily paid it.
Luke

Wrote at 2009-09-08 20:40 UTC using Safari 531.9 on Mac OS X:
Nice article. Shame those who can make a difference don’t really want to hear this.

I’ve always been very anti-piracy (as someone who’s living depends on intellectual property rights, it seemed hypocritical of me to pirate things), yet even I started writing a program earlier this year to make it more convenient to get pirated TV series downloaded and on to my Apple TV, and I did so for most of the reasons you outline in your post. I’ve shelved it for the time being, but the temptation to go back is always there.

I’m generally happy buying from the iTunes store (though do generally buy from the US one, and so have to trawl eBay for non-dodgy vouchers). The season passes are a great convenience. The DRM is annoying though, as is the fact there are still a number of series that aren’t in HD.

Prices for a series are high though. I think they maybe should introduce a ‘rental’ type model for TV shows too, so you pay less for a series, but can only watch each episode once. Or perhaps a subscription model, at a similar price to a Sky subscription, where you can download as much as you like each month, but can only watch episodes once and/or only whilst your subscription is still active. Perhaps with a higher subscription cost for a ‘movies’ package, where you could get TV programmes and films.

Oh, and free first episodes are a definite good idea. I bought Damages and Breaking Bad both after getting a free first episode from iTunes, and there are several other series I’m likely to buy after having enjoyed a free first episode. On the other hand, there are several series I’ve heard good things about, but am reluctant to buy before I try.
Tom Adams

Wrote at 2009-09-09 08:18 UTC using Unknown browser on Linux:
Even if I wanted to pay stupid amounts of money for late DVDs, I only have two DVD drive- at the moment, and one’s in a laptop where the power cable is broken, and one is not plugged into the motherboard, and they’re both 200 miles North of here. Therefore I don’t bother with physical media – it’s not appropriate for my needs.

So far the only way I can download most TV programmes in standard(ish) formats is illegally. If the TV companies wanted to offer to sell me copies of these files in the resolution and format of my choice (I use mencoder frequently as my Eee can’t handle higher resolutions) for a reasonable price, and most importantly at a reliably fast speed, I’d be happy to.
Stuarta33

Wrote at 2009-09-11 21:52 UTC using Firefox 3.5.3 on Windows Vista:
Great article. Spot on in my opinion. All this DRM is just to keep the fatcats wallets bulging
nikolaus heger

Wrote at 2009-09-15 01:20 UTC using Safari 531.9 on Mac OS X:
I have been in this situation many times – with CDs, with series. For the sophisticated tech with money, it almost always makes more sense to buy the material we want to watch. Do I want to read the comments in MiniNova to see if the rip quality is good? No – I’d much rather buy the material in question. I’d also honestly much rather give the people money who made this.

The industry needs to realize that the internet is much better than TV for everything except live sports or other live coverage.

As a way out, forward the proposal of a friend of mine: Every movie, every series, needs to have a PayPal-donate address overlaying the credits. Liked this movie, but pirated it because you couldn’t get it any other way? Give us money here! It could tide us over until the industry gets its head around new business models that actually work in a digital age.
someDudeFromTheInternet

Wrote at 2009-09-18 08:01 UTC using Firefox 3.5.3 on Windows XP:
True

I’ m not from UK but soon things are going to be the same in germany.

I downloaded the album O.k Computer and i liked it so much that i bought the Collectors Edition. I think that piracy is just showing that customer haven’t decided yet.
Tim

Wrote at 2009-09-22 09:30 UTC using Firefox 3.0.13 on Windows XP:
Here here. Good article, good comments.

I pay a monthly charge for a DVD rental service that I often don’t get around to using – I’m really not averse to paying. But I download illegal copies if I can’t get legal ones (or if the legal ones are a lot more awkward to use).

Case in point. Bless the BBC for going to all the effort of making the iPlayer available on my phone (even as a download). But it’s generally quicker, easier and better quality if I download it using the downloader and then convert it. Also, no DRM so it doesn’t annoyingly expire when I’ve watched half an episode. I’m not saving any money (I’ve paid my license fee) – it’s just a convenience thing.

Plus, staggered releases worked OK before the interweb, but the world got smaller and content providers need to realise that. I still can’t believe that Simpsons DVD release dates are 8-10 years behind the air dates (with the result that I will never ever pay to buy or rent a Simpsons DVD and Mr Groening will never see my money).
David

Wrote at 2009-09-29 21:40 UTC using Firefox 3.0.14 on Linux:
Excellent stuff. I hope Lily Allen and the rest of them read it, although it’s the “industry” itself which is burying it’s head in the sand.

I subscribe to eMusic.com – £11.99 for 50 downloads a month. I use it to buy either new music buy bands I’d never hear otherwise, which is really a revelation for me to buy stuff purely because I like and not because it’s been marketed to me. I also buy old stuff which which I suspect would be impossible to buy in the High Street stores or on Amazon, which I also use sometimes.

I find it hard to understand what is wrong with sharing as a matter of principle. Sharing is good, surely? It is fundamental to humanity and developing a better world for everyone. Just because copyright is law doesn’t make it right. There’s plenty of evidence that it’s outdated in this modern technological age. The “industry” needs to adapt and get with the times in order to survive (although I kind of hope it dies out in it’s current form).

There’s a very well written and informative article by Richard Stallman on “Ending the War on File Sharing” here: http://stallman.org/articles/end-war-on-sharing.html

And for those of you in the UK, please support and sign the petition to stop Peter Mandelson’s basically fascist plans to disconnect file sharers here: http://www.openrightsgroup.org/campaigns/disconnection
David

Wrote at 2009-09-29 23:15 UTC using Firefox 3.0.14 on Linux:
Forgot to add this hilarious musical response to Lily Allen from Dan Bull: http://current.com/186pe4c
Phil

Wrote at 2009-10-07 11:04 UTC using Firefox 3.0.14 on Linux:
To those moaning that the “powers that be” are clueless in this debate there is an answer.

http://www.pirateparty.org.uk
Dawson001

Wrote at 2009-10-09 15:22 UTC using Firefox 3.5.3 on Windows Vista:
Good article – This is a big issue and it will be rolling on for the next 10 years.

My massive issue with this whole argument is what happens when the next format is released (Digital or physical). We’ve got to think forward. We’ve already got DVD’s and Blu-ray’s selling the same thing, but what happens when RED (Super Hi-Def) comes out, will we all have to replace our Blu-Rays with the new format.

The Studio’s are thinking of the short-term, with no consumer lead thinking.

On the format issue – I’m a massive pirate because of the limitations of the differing digital ecosystems. If I download something on my laptop via iTunes, I want to play it when I want and on what I want – Not limited to certain “Authorised computers” – This means I want it in a format of my choice and a DRM free. You don’t get this with ITunes, but a few Google searches and I can have whatever form I like as a direct download from rapidshare!

On the cost of TV shows – I’m an economist; their pricing structure makes no sense at all. You are supposed to sell a product where MC=MR (Google it). The marginal cost of a digital product is near nothing, so the cost should be ridiculously low, not the same price as a DVD box set.

Pirates will always exist because it’s what the consumers’ want, not what is forced upon them by the Studios!

Dawson.

P.S. True Blood is really good, saw it a couple of nights ago on channel 4 (Not sky ;-p) and now I’m downloading the whole 2 series!
Ian M

Wrote at 2009-10-09 21:25 UTC using Opera 9.80 on Windows XP:
Great article. My sentiments exactly and repeated so many times.

Once you’ve seen the first episode of something that’s airing stateside round a mates, you’re not going to wait 6 months to watch it in this country on Sky are you. No one is. They may well forget it exists, or they’re going to download it, or get a mate to download it.

I think £1 an episode is probably fair enough for something high profile, and in the week of release, but maybe after a week or a few days the price should come down – maybe 50p is a nice price point. If I liked an hour long episode I’d definately always pay 50p for the next one. Guaranteed! Always would. But I never get the chance. So I go an look around the various pirate sites and sometimes even watch 3 in a row!!! :) It’s a buzz that can’t be replicated with old skool tv.

Maybe indluge more in itunes and amzon paid downloads and bring the price down a bit, and we’re all sold … easy as :)
SirronTM

Wrote at 2009-10-10 10:43 UTC using Firefox 3.0.14 on Linux:
I agree entirely with everything there.

It annoys me when a TV show’s first season or so is aired on Freeview and then it moves to Sky or just never returns to our shores.

I’m thinking Stargate Atlantis. Channel 5 or 4 had the first season of that, and it ended on a cliff-hanger. Then they never (to my knowledge) got round to showing the second season, or any of the others but I’m sure Sky must have. Needless to say, I downloaded.

As regards paid downloads, the majority of them are awfully poor experiences. Downloading a torrent or from Usenet may be a hassle, and Rapidshare etc. need premium accounts to be much use, but they really don’t compare to say downloading a FLAC album from Boomkat – which broke a number of times and forced me to wait like an hour before trying again. I couldn’t even pause it.

Torrents, Rapidshare etc. let you pause. In fact, before now I’ve given up on a paid download, got a refund, donated a portion of it (because I’m just not that generous) to the artist with paypal and downloaded it illegitimately.

That’s another gripe though isn’t it? FLAC vs. mp3. Why can’t I have access to all formats if I pay? I get that if I don’t…