Is there a hierarchy for piracy for those in the Net Generation? A visit to torrentspy, the pirate bay or any other torrent search site and you will find a plethora of hacked, cracked and pirated software. This generation has grown up in a digital world that has seen the creation of Napster, experienced the RIAA suing children and the use of invasive DRM technologies (which oddly enough only hampers those who actually legally obtain their media).
Technology and old business models have collided and by most accounts the media giants have responded poorly. In many cases still refusing to accept that the world is changing and business models needs to change and adapt along with it. Does this mean we should ignore copyright and condone piracy, no, but it doesn’t mean that we should continue down the path we have been on either.
Unfortunately over the past decade the same companies that want you to purchase their products have been treating their customers like the enemy. It is to the point that you can’t escape it, I mean before you watch a movie at the theater you are reminded that downloading movies is illegal. The message to the ‘valued customer’ “Thanks for coming to and paying 14 dollars to watch our new film, but we know that you might steal it in the future and that your a thief, now sit back and get ready for our feature presentation”. It is this type of behavior and confrontational attitude that has shaped the opinion of the largest consumer generation in history.
Last month the founders of the Pirate Bay, a large torrent search site based out of Sweden, were interviewed by the BBC. You can read the entire article here, and I have pulled out a few quotes that outline the logic and justification that some people use to justify piracy.
As a generation we notice that the business model for media is changing, at least when it come to corporate sponsorship and product placement. “Take the latest Bond movie. What car was it? Oh, it’s a BMW. His phone is a Sony Ericsson. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. I think they got a load of money for having those products in the movie”.
Peter Sunde also points out that for this generation there is a justification for piracy, they feel like while the do pirate some things the also contribute their share to these companies. “I still go to the movies, I still spend money on the movies. Everybody does it so everybody wants to download movies. The public opinion is it should be legal. He has a similar logic when it comes to music, “I do pay for it by listening to music, by bringing the music to my friends, they bring it to their friends and they go to concerts, I go to concerts,” he says. “The actual product doesn’t have to cost anything in order to make money.”
As member of the Net Generation I can attest to the fact that there seems to be an informal hierarchy of piracy that has developed and some actions are deemed ‘worse’ than others. The generation seems to rationalize piracy in terms of the time, effort and perceived ‘illegal nature’ of the activity. Below I have listed some of the most commonly pirated media in order of what is considered socially ‘acceptable’ copyright infringement to what N-Geners see as outright piracy. (For fun I also tried to come up with what would be the ‘perceived’ criminal equivalent Net Generation members would associate with each of the activities)
TV Shows-
Perceived Criminal Equivalent - A Little White Lie
Rationale - I have already paid for it
- Time shifting and TiVo lead this generation to find little wrong with downloading their favorite TV show. Personally I love watching The Office, but the problem is that I am very rarely home at 9pm on Thursday night. I already pay for cable and have access to the show, I just prefer to watch the show at a time that is more convenient to me (U.S. viewers can watch it free online).
Computer Software
Perceived Criminal Equivalent - An ill intentioned IOU
Rationale - It’s to expensive and I will pay for it later (when I actually have an income)
- Outside of the OEM software that comes installed on their laptops the reality is that students tend to pirate a lot of computer software, mainly because they can’t afford to spend $500 on MS Office or Adobe Photoshop. When they enter into the workplace they continue to use the programs they have become accustom to, but the idea is that now they are paying customers. Sort of like borrowing money from a friend that you know you can’t pay back right away, but some day you plan to set it right.
Music
Perceived Criminal Equivalent - Under age smoking or drinking
Rationale - I support my favorite artists by going to concerts, I only download what I would have never bought before and the music industry really just doesn’t get it
- This is something that most young people know is illegal and they will eventually grow out of, but there is still a lot of bitterness and resentment against the system. Exhibit A - Sony has just launched a new DRM free downloading service. To download the 37 DRM free albums users have to first go to a Sony store and buy a scratch card with a code on it, then go home and use that code to access the site and then finally you can download the music you wanted in the first place. I mean what could be simpler. Wait, why not just pay online and download directly over a high-speed connection?
Movies
Perceived Criminal Equivalent - Vandalism of an abandon warehouse
Rationale - I still go to the movies or I only download movies I would never pay to see
- Movies rank higher in the piracy hierarchy for two reasons. First it takes a concerted effort and time to download a movie (the files are huge). Second, unlike music which N-Geners support through going to concerts, after you download a movie you are not likley to rent it or watch it in a theatre.
Video Games
Perceived Criminal Equivalent - Shoplifting
Rationale - I don’t want to pay for it and I know how to get away with stealing it
- Pirating games for video game systems (Nintendo, XBox or Playstation) is at the top of the list. It not only involves a blatant disregard for digital copyright laws, but users have to physically alter their machines in order for the games to work. While they do by the system from the company, they don’t spend another dime on the game revenue and there is very little incentive to spend 60 dollars to buy a game that you already own.
This post is not meant to condone piracy or peg Net Generation members as hooligans who have no respect for intellectual property, but rather to shed light on some of the less discussed issues around piracy in a light hearted manor.
I look forward to the discussion the will hopefully follow.
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Great post Brendan. I totally agree with the hierarchy as well as the quote “The actual product doesn’t have to cost anything in order to make money.”
There are “for free” or “almost for free” business models to combat most forms of piracy: advertising, concerts, software support, nominal charges for high quality downloads, subscription fees to content libraries, etc.
The only place I see this being difficult is video games. What’s the free business model for video games?
Comment by Naumi Haque - January 9, 2008 5:12 pm
[...] (For those avid blog readers, this move would make ISPs the new emperor Palpatine on the Brendan Peat hierarchy for piracy.) [...]
Pingback by Wikinomics » Blog Archive » There’s a new sheriff in town - January 9, 2008 6:59 pm
Oftentimes the movies would fall into the same category as TV shows, if the movie is shown on TV. There would be no difference in this case.
Comment by Ben - January 10, 2008 11:10 am
Naumi, I agree that figuring out the free model for video games is hard and one of the reasons it tops the list.
The interesting twist to the free model has been In Rainbows, the latest album from Radiohead. The band gave the album away for a user defined donation amount, but when it was released in CD form it still topped the charts with 122,000+ sales in the first week.
It will be interesting to see the implications this has for the music industry and how bands release albums. Everyone was down on the idea when they found the average price paid for the album was around 8 USD but if you combine that price with a number 1 chart listing it looks like Radiohead made a very savvy business decision.
Comment by Brendan Peat - January 11, 2008 12:23 pm
[...] HBO’s ‘free’ downloading service headed in the right direction The other week I wrote about the lack of choice TV viewers are provided with and how it factors into their rationale for pirating shows. “Time shifting and TiVo lead net generation members to find little wrong with downloading thei… [...]
Pingback by Wikinomics » Blog Archive » HBO’s ‘free’ downloading service headed in the right direction - January 22, 2008 11:06 am
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Pingback by Wikinomics » Blog Archive » When free isn’t cheap enough - January 30, 2008 1:01 am