Yet another story on Slashdot about ridiculous numbers for losses claimed by the movie and recording industry trade organisations.

The silly kippers in the copyright publishing trade associations make the basic (and basically flawed) assumption that any copy made is a sale lost. This is just so ridiculous that... hang on, is it ridiculous?

There is a difference between movies and music: most people only watch a film once, whereas music bears many repeat listenings (well, if it's any good). In other words, the movie folks might have a point.

Might.

The music folks are completely wrong, since file sharing acts as a much better marketing tool than the homogenous mess that is broadcast radio. Indeed, peer to peer networks are the embodiment of viral marketing. Instead of poisoning them the music folks would be better off using them to push their material.

Oh, that's right - most of it is rubbish. Hmm.

I think there is a lot more wrong with the industry than unauthorised copying, but it is also worth remembering the different consumer dynamics of varying media. Lumping films and music together is a mistake.

Posted by Dunx at May 3, 2006 05:14 PM