Escapist Podcast - Science and Tech: 014: I Cannae Defy the Laws of Physics, Captain!

[The Escapist Staff]

014: I Cannae Defy the Laws of Physics, Captain!

In this episode of The Escapist's Science and Tech podcast, host CJ Miozzi and Escapist writers talk about recent headlines in the world of science and technology: the new physics-defying space drive confirmed by NASA, the 2012 solar flare near-apocalypse, the giant mystery holes in Siberia, and more.

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[Sanunes]

What I would really like to know with piracy is when iTunes was released did it have an impact on the amount of music being distributed through torrents and peer-to-peer software?

It also makes me wonder if HBO is ever going to change their model as well, for the programming they offer has been reported to be the most pirated television, so is that because of the restricted access they have and if it is would changing or offering another method for people work.

 

[Rhykker]

What I would really like to know with piracy is when iTunes was released did it have an impact on the amount of music being distributed through torrents and peer-to-peer software?

It also makes me wonder if HBO is ever going to change their model as well, for the programming they offer has been reported to be the most pirated television, so is that because of the restricted access they have and if it is would changing or offering another method for people work.

I'd like to know that as well. I'm willing to bet that that form of piracy went down after iTunes, but that's just my opinion, based on people I know talking much, much less about music piracy. Hell, I'm not even sure I know anyone who still pirates music. But that may also be a factor of growing up.

 

[Spyre2k]

It'd say the release of iTunes put a serious dent in music piracy. Having it cheap and easily integrated into your ipad made music on the go so much easier. One of the clear indicators I'd say is the industry itself. After the release of itunes and other digital distributors there was a major decline in the music industry pushing for anti-piracy regulations.

Then it wasn't until later as inet speeds increased that the media industry starting coming out about pirated shows and movies. And many of them are still behind the curve, though sites like netflix and hulu help by giving legal means of accessing the content.

Though on the topic of piracy I saw an amusing article about Japan trying to crack down on manga and anime piracy. But once again the issues is there is, in most cases, no legal way to obtain those materials because they don't have distributors out side of Japan. Some of the more popular anime shows though in recent years have been airing on sites like CrunchRoll and Hulu within one week of airing in Japan so that helps those series.

 

[Sanunes]

It'd say the release of iTunes put a serious dent in music piracy. Having it cheap and easily integrated into your ipad made music on the go so much easier. One of the clear indicators I'd say is the industry itself. After the release of itunes and other digital distributors there was a major decline in the music industry pushing for anti-piracy regulations.

Then it wasn't until later as inet speeds increased that the media industry starting coming out about pirated shows and movies. And many of them are still behind the curve, though sites like netflix and hulu help by giving legal means of accessing the content.

Though on the topic of piracy I saw an amusing article about Japan trying to crack down on manga and anime piracy. But once again the issues is there is, in most cases, no legal way to obtain those materials because they don't have distributors out side of Japan. Some of the more popular anime shows though in recent years have been airing on sites like CrunchRoll and Hulu within one week of airing in Japan so that helps those series.

The sad thing with what Japan was doing is not only the digital piracy, but the physical piracy as well. Where I live there used to be at least two stores that focused on selling Manga and Anime, but they both closed quickly after finding out most of their stock was pirated goods, but it looked completely legit and could no longer get most of the material they were selling before.

 

[Rhykker]

It'd say the release of iTunes put a serious dent in music piracy. Having it cheap and easily integrated into your ipad made music on the go so much easier. One of the clear indicators I'd say is the industry itself. After the release of itunes and other digital distributors there was a major decline in the music industry pushing for anti-piracy regulations.

That's an excellent point - we can use the Rage Against Piracy as an indicator of how bad music piracy is, and that rage certainly settled quite a bit after the Tunes.

 

[GabeZhul]

It'd say the release of iTunes put a serious dent in music piracy. Having it cheap and easily integrated into your ipad made music on the go so much easier. One of the clear indicators I'd say is the industry itself. After the release of itunes and other digital distributors there was a major decline in the music industry pushing for anti-piracy regulations.

That's an excellent point - we can use the Rage Against Piracy as an indicator of how bad music piracy is, and that rage certainly settled quite a bit after the Tunes.

Not quite. The "rage against piracy" was done by the record companies to "combat" their falling CD sales. What iTunes did was practically killing CD based music, or at least severely pushing it back.
Since digital downloads cannot be traced the same way as CD sales, record companies simply lost their central statistic they used in their arguments.
There is a similar thing going on with game publishers and Steam (and GOG and the other such services) now. Sure, they are still bitching about "lost sales", but it is nothing compared to how much game piracy was vilified just a couple of years ago.

 

[Rhykker]

It'd say the release of iTunes put a serious dent in music piracy. Having it cheap and easily integrated into your ipad made music on the go so much easier. One of the clear indicators I'd say is the industry itself. After the release of itunes and other digital distributors there was a major decline in the music industry pushing for anti-piracy regulations.

That's an excellent point - we can use the Rage Against Piracy as an indicator of how bad music piracy is, and that rage certainly settled quite a bit after the Tunes.

Not quite. The "rage against piracy" was done by the record companies to "combat" their falling CD sales. What iTunes did is practically killing CD based music, or at least severely pushing it back. Since digital downloads cannot be traced the same way as CD sales, record companies simply lost their central statistic they used in their arguments. There is a similar thing going on with PC gaming and how Steam (and GOG and the other such services). Sure, they are still bitching about "lost sales", but it is nothing compared to how much game piracy was vilified a couple of years ago.

Excellent points! They've lost their yardstick.