Debating the Digital Economy Bill

Mark

Brilliant!

Alex57

Isn't his essential argument that you can't stop some people behaving illegally, so don't even try?

Sounds like a good recipe for kissing goodbye to the British film, games and music industries.

If producers can't recoup their investment then they'll not be able to continue to make new works and we'll see a retreat to vanity publishing.

The Tories have said they support the anti-piracy parts of the Digital Economy Bill because they know that we're in danger of losing industries that have traditionally been high-profile export earners.

And the proposals are only to suspend the internet accounts of people who have PERSISTENTLY ignore warnings and carry on uploading copyright infringing works for others to download.

Nifty delivery, lousy message.

GeoffH

The essential argument is that the so-called creative industries need to harness the opportunities of new technology for distribution and not to fight them based on an outdated business model.

Whenever a new technology has arrived, it was at first fought tooth and nail and then finally, reluctantly embraced.

Recording
Radio
Home taping

All were characterised as promising the death of creativity.

It's only 30 odd years since the music industry declared the tape cassette would kill music.

File sharing is the same. The right approach is to embrace build a new business model around it.

Something along the lines of a PRS levy on broadband usage would do it. It needs to be only pennies per download to yield a massive income for artists and copyright holders.

The movie and tv sectors also need to follow the same inclusive approach.

Nicholas

Alex57, no I don't think that is the essential argument. I think the essential argument bemoans yet another state/establishment/business power that can be arbritarily used against an individual without a case for their wrongdoing having to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

You may be happy to live in a society where individuals are subject to accusation, conviction and punishment on presumption and by state decree but I'm not.

oldtimer

Clever stuff.

By the way, does your Post A Comment box automatically filter out YouTube links? I tried to post one a couple of times today and my comment was not accepted. It was a corbettreport interview with Dr Tim Ball on the implications of the recent CRU email hack. Worth a watch and listen (10 minutes) for those following the story.

David

The govt needs to emply some people with technical knowledge. It really is quite simple to disguise your activity so that no-one knows what you are doing.

Especially applies to the desire to record web site access / e-mail data / phone records the govt wants to collect.

You don't want anyone to know about your mobile phone calls? Buy and use for a short time a PAYG mobile, and top up with cash. Change the phone / SIM frequently.

Snowman

GeoffH right, Alex57 wrong, and a nice tune, too. Nuffsaid.

John Moss

The bit I want to see dropped is the Telephone Tax on the elderly who rely on fixed line telephones to keep in touch with their families, who are going to be taxed so the children of weekending bankers can keep in touch with their mates on facebook.

GeoffH

Thank you snowman.

Indeed, I would say that unless and until the 'creative industries' build a new business model that embraces file sharing in a way that is acceptable to users, it should forfeit all right to copyright protection under the law.

The BBC currently restricts its iPlayer content to the computer it was downloaded on and each file self-destructs after 30 days.

Why? UK users have already paid for this content via the licence fee. It's this kind of deliberately restrictive approach to file sharing that encourages illegality.

Pete Hoskin

oldtimer: I'm not aware of the YouTube link problem, but will check it with our technical staff.

In the meantime, you can always send me any links on phoskin @ spectator.co.uk and I can embed the video on the CoffeeHousers' Wall.

Alex57

GeoffH - have you ever heard of Spotify? That uses file-sharing technology and pays the people that make the music.

An interesting view that unless a company alters its business model to give away its product free it should have all its rights taken away.

If you do take away the rights of producers, I hope you like those funny videos of cats falling off logs on YouTube, because no-one's going to invest money to make proper movies...

GeoffH

Alex,

Yes, I've heard of Spotify and it's an example of embracing rather than fighting new technology. It's a pointer to the way to go.

But until technology and users forces change producers won't change their business model.

Your analogy with YouTube videos fails since at every technological development in the 20th Century, 'creatives' argued that no more music/plays/films would be created if it was allowed to be used.

They were wrong then, and you are wrong now.

Software developers around the world make a very good living writing useful shareware programs that can be had for free or very small licence fee. The internet makes the potential market for these billions.

Any film producer that can make and reach a file-sharing audience of a billion at 10p a go can be both creative and very profitable.

Recording music and musicians was similarly shunned until Enrico Caruso was persuaded into a studio. We have new and aspiring opera stars emerging every year in direct contradiction of the technophobes' fears.

The time given to broadcasting records was once restricted to a few hours a day on the BBC. Any more, they said, and recording would die.

Today radio stations in abundance play recorded music in volumes beyond comprehension, yet new recordings and new artists continue to emerge.

Similar arguments were falsely made against the audio cassette that 'Home Taping is Killing Music'.

The music, film and tv industries are lazy when it comes to finding new ways to market.

Eventually, they will have to succumb and adapt. The sooner they do it, the better for them. If it takes a bit of arm-twisting, then so be it.

The comfort blanket of denying persistent file-sharers broadband access will fail. It's a blind alley.

oldtimer

@Pete Hoskin

You have mail.

Rathga

Excellent. How'd we make it Number 1 ??

;)

Ian

Has anyone heard of the "Enabling Act"? Hitlers rights to create and modify laws of his own free will without consultation with any elected body.
The "Digital Economy Bill" would effectively give Mandelson those same powers over the internet and its "alleged" pirates, and I personally think we need to stop at all costs.
Talking about pirates.. I downloaded a copy of "Pirates of the Caribean" last year, after being told it was a pretty good movie - I hadnt seen it and didnt want to go waste my money on a DVD before seeing it. After downloading and watching the movie, I went to HMV online and BOUGHT the boxset.
I have done the same with music tracks in the past, having downloaded a couple of tracks from a recently release album, I followed up a month or so later with a purchase of the cd.
For sure there are some tracks I have downloaded and then NOT gone on to make a purchase, but then some artists are not as good as they think they are. I dont wanna buy a CD full of Sh*te for just one decent track! And I dont see why I should be expected to. Sometimes a track will take a little time to grow on you, and then perhaps change your mind a few weeks later, when you may go out and make a purchase.

A few years back my spending on DVD's slowed considerably, the main reason being that I didnt think it was worth £15+ to buy a DVD stacked with extras I would likely never watch more than once. Then we had a cheapo outlet move into our town and I could buy the same DVD's for less than a tenner - guess what? My spending increased again. Music spending has pretty much gone the same way.

My point is that everyone has their own personaly limit, and worth which they attach to a product. The music and movie increased their prices over 4 or 5 years resulting in an average 50% increase on previous prices. HOWEVER my wages went up by only around 11%

Carl.h

http://lordsoftheblog.net/2009/12/02/digital-economy-bill/