I don't know whether this is less of a problem in the US, but I've been trying to get a little more into anime at the moment, and I'm getting nowhere because of availability issues.
See, I don't pirate/stream things illegally, ever. I want to be a film-maker myself, so it seems a tad hypocritical to do so.
But anime is really starting to test my morals. DVDs are in god awful short supply, and when they're not, they charge the same as normal full length series for a handful of episodes, which you know damn well ends with a cliffhanger.
The lack of online options is perhaps even more inexcusable. What few there are always seem to just have licenses in the US. It seems like it should be a no brainer. Offer online streaming and pay with ad revenue or make it a subscription/pay per view service. No importing, no need to charge so unreasonably. I don't like subscribing for stuff online (thus why I don't just get netflix) as I don't like to have bank details online if at all possible, but I'd definately consider it if it allowed me to watch things that simply aren't greatly available in physical form, which I always prefer.
This however, brings up a bigger question. How much right do companies have to complain about piracy when their products aren't reasonably available legit? I'm a "paying customer" here, as much as saying that makes me feel like I'm acting entitled, and as we've seen so many other times, I'm having far more trouble getting what I want than the goddamn pirates are, and not just because they don't have to pay for it.
So, do you think that companies should not have the right to stop people pirating their products when said products are not available legitimately in any easy way? Personally, I don't think so. I think when a copyright claim is made, they should have to provide evidence that the product being copied is easy to purchase legitimately in the locale that it is being pirated. If not, no right to complain until efforts are made to change that, and pirating/streaming that particular thing is not considered illegal until there are actually other options.
See, I don't pirate/stream things illegally, ever. I want to be a film-maker myself, so it seems a tad hypocritical to do so.
But anime is really starting to test my morals. DVDs are in god awful short supply, and when they're not, they charge the same as normal full length series for a handful of episodes, which you know damn well ends with a cliffhanger.
The lack of online options is perhaps even more inexcusable. What few there are always seem to just have licenses in the US. It seems like it should be a no brainer. Offer online streaming and pay with ad revenue or make it a subscription/pay per view service. No importing, no need to charge so unreasonably. I don't like subscribing for stuff online (thus why I don't just get netflix) as I don't like to have bank details online if at all possible, but I'd definately consider it if it allowed me to watch things that simply aren't greatly available in physical form, which I always prefer.
This however, brings up a bigger question. How much right do companies have to complain about piracy when their products aren't reasonably available legit? I'm a "paying customer" here, as much as saying that makes me feel like I'm acting entitled, and as we've seen so many other times, I'm having far more trouble getting what I want than the goddamn pirates are, and not just because they don't have to pay for it.
So, do you think that companies should not have the right to stop people pirating their products when said products are not available legitimately in any easy way? Personally, I don't think so. I think when a copyright claim is made, they should have to provide evidence that the product being copied is easy to purchase legitimately in the locale that it is being pirated. If not, no right to complain until efforts are made to change that, and pirating/streaming that particular thing is not considered illegal until there are actually other options.