Rufio Wins Again

Lots of people like to think that the fall of The Pirate Bay will initiate a new era of free entertainment. But until we have a utopia where robots serve us and we do nothing but create and absorb entertainment, artists will need to get paid to eat, which means the entertained will need to give if they want more entertainment.

There are already a few systems that work: pay per view, on demand, and television. Pay per view works just like going to a movie, or a video rental place, or a concert that isn't live, and it's really expensive. Once the majority gets comfortable with the internet these places will be completely extinct, replaced by NetFlix type services. The only way for movie theaters to survive is if they lower prices and make watching a film into a communal experience.

OnDemand services like Fox's are great because they provide currently airing shows completely free with three 15 second commercials. This creates a whole new world for advertisers (on one hand, less advertisements = less revenue, on the other, less advertisements = more focused advertisements = more revenue). The problem with these services is that they are not available for films and you can't watch every show you want, especially shows that are not airing (South Park does it right).

Finally, there is the most stable form of entertainment distribution: television. Television is great because it's cheap, plentiful, and reliable. I think it's really interesting that Hulu going not-free is completely overshadowed by TPB.

This system we use makes people feel they have an obligation to watch a movie (that was recorded with a shaky camera) on their tiny computer screens. Pirate Bay's resurrection as VideoBay is a good step towards an easier entertaining world, but I doubt it'll work flawless because the networks like their system and they control the producers and keep their army of online-phobic loyal.



In other news, mcchris FINALLY finished Part Six Part Two. This album's 3 months late and it's a preorder right now.. when's it gonna come out? Zuckuss' Prius is real snappy pappy though.. so maybe it'll be worth it.. it'll probably be worth it. (UPDATE! The song got taken down on myspace. Checkout YouTube for piratized)