On the weekend, we went to the cinema to watch The Great and Powerful Oz. I enjoyed the movie. Won't say too much (spoilers!) but it gave an explanation of how The Wizard and The Wicked Witch of the West came into being. Interesting, with enough of the feel and flavour of the original Wizard of Oz.
This is not what this post is actually about...
While we were waiting (and waiting) for the pre-movie advertisements to finish, the couple behind us were having a loud and animated conversation. It was difficult not to hear the discussion. It was even more difficult not to comment on it. I held my tongue though, as many of you will probably know, the following is a real sore point of mine. It all comes down to copyright.
The conversation began like this:
Girl: 'Did you see Game of Thrones, the other day. I haven't had time to watch it yet'
Guy: 'I download it on TorrentFreak (I think he said) watched it straight away.'
Now, I am not a fan of Game of Thrones, but even I know that it is shown 'express from the US', on Foxtel Showcase in Australia only two hours after showing in the US. How hard is it to wait two hours! For those who don't have Foxtel , I have also read today that Quickflix has made a deal with HBO so that Australians can legally download the series for instant streaming.
Yet, despite this, it appears Australians are still the pirate capital for this show. (along with London and Paris) http://delimiter.com.au/2013/04/03/despite-quick-cheap-legal-option-australia-still-top-games-of-thrones-pirating-nation/
What is that I hear? I don't want to pay to download it. Tough. Foxtel viewers have to pay for it. If you want it for free, then wait til it comes to free TV... like many of us had to in the past.
The conversation continued with the girl listing a long, long list of TV shows she watches (how she had time to go to the cinema, I don't know) and the guy listing all plus more shows that he downloads illegally so he does not have to wait for it to legally hit our screens. Apparently he does not like to wait to see them and has to see them immediately.
If you distil it down, the essence seems to be that illegal downloaders dont want to:
1. wait for it
2. pay for it.
It was only recently that we were able to get Doctor Who fast tracked from the UK. We used to have to wait months for it. We didn't die waiting for it. We learned patience and craved it all the more when we got it. So learn the words delayed gratification. All good things come to those who wait etc. Maybe this skill could prove useful in everyday life? hmmm? No one owes you a free ride.
TV shows and movies (as well as most other art, novels, music etc) are the end product of someones imagination, time spent creating the work (sometimes this could be a year or more), hard graft in finding funding and then making the final item. The final result may be for entertainment but it is also the source of income for many people and their families.
Somewhere along the line there has to be a payoff by viewers or no one gets paid. We, as viewers, pay either by pay per view (legal download), pay for view (Foxtel or equivalent) or via advertising (waiting til it goes to free to air TV). Patience and advertising is the flip side of seeing it for free. Simple facts of life.
Not only does it take money from the artist and actors who create it but illegal downloads endanger the continuance of your favourite show, skewing the actual audience numbers. I recently saw statistics on Game of Thrones. Apparently if the audience of 2 million who watched it legally in Australia, had actually illegally downloaded it, then the television show would not have got renewed. http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/box-seat/stop-stealing-game-of-thrones-says-us-ambassador-to-australians-20130427-2ilam.html
That is what copyright is supposed to help protect. Circumventing it will not only hurt the copyright's owner but eventually it will hurt the viewer.
Think about that for a minute. Are you willing to deny someone's family their income? Seriously? For the less altruistic out there, are you willing to jeapardize your favourite show being made for the sake of being impatient!
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