Walking Dead Producer: Piracy's Pushing Content Creators To 'The Precipice'

[oldtaku]

Your crippled, stupid, ancient business model is pushing content creators to the precipice.

If you make it so people can conveniently get your content for a reasonable price, the only people left are the compulsive collectors who wouldn't buy it anyhow and people with no money who etc.

 

[Matthewmagic]

*Raises hand* Okay maybe I'm wrong, but in my experience I stopped pirating when the things I wanted became available for purchase in a way that was convenient to me. For instance, I never bought a cd until I realized my windows phone, xbox, and tablet all used the same service and buying it for one meant I had it for all the others. I stopped pirating games when steam became so much more convenient. I stopped pirating movies when Netflix and Hulu became staples of my life. So my question becomes, if it is possible for you to make money off of people who pirate by simply making these things available too them in a way that suits them, then why do you claim that people pirate when you don't meet that need?

 

[Zontar]

she produced a little thing called Terminator back in 1984, Aliens in 1986, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgement Day ... the list goes on, and these days she's The Walking Dead's executive producer.

In all honesty, that sounds more like a sad case of "how the mighty have fallen" more then anything else.

OT: I have to agree with the idea that piracy is an issue (it's sure harmed the western anime industry like no tomorrow), but the real problem is that the industry doesn't seem willing to change as quickly as the times are. Sure, Canada might now be simulcast with american programs and be considered part of the US domestic, but what about the 100 million people from other English speaking nations? From what I've herd the UK hasn't even finished Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. yet, and they have Winter Soldier released for them a week and a half before the US (which really screws over the tie in when the hype was there).

I mean hell, I could say that we should at least expect shows being aired in nations which use the same language to be done at the same time, but Space Dandy managed to pull off a day-of broadcast with a dub that was pretty dame good.

 

[PunkRex]

I'm not really one to talk as I don't download anything but there is a clear example in my mind of why she's wrong (sort of), MLP FiM.


I live in England and so far, legitimately, I have seen two episodes on CN at 7 in the morning about a year ago. I have seen two DVD's with about 4 random episodes each on both and none of the eps are on Netflix. So HOW would I see them if not for Youtube or other online sites? Piracy is a problem but ease of access is such a big deal the fact that a lot of creators refuse to even address it drives me mad.

I did the same for Adventure Time and I now own all the comics and the DVD's of the first season, the others arn't out yet. I know it sounds kind of spoilt but isn't it a bit unreasonable to ask me to wait so long to join in with the rest of the fandom? I'm not up to date with Game of Thrones and trying to avoid spoilers online is like trying to stay cool in the Sahara!

 

[Matthewmagic]

What I'm saying is they would have a greater impact if they simply realized that they are missing a market that wants their product, and learned how to serve that market.

 

[Grabehn]

Over here the only "direct" option is two days later, on a channel that fills the transmission with commercials... So no thanks.

And while I've had my gripes about HBO being included-then paid-then included again on the cable's normal plan thing. at least the channel gets that I don't want commercials interrupting the damn show.

 

[Parnage]

I wish I could blatantly lie and still be taken seriously. I really don't care what the duders done in the past clearly they don't get it today. Making up bogus anecdotes(easily checked one even) and then blaming it for any problems with your show is just silly.

I mean it's a hugely popular show that's doing okay despite amc slashing it's budget repeatedly, firing the original guy in charge who had a clue on wtf he was doing and then setting an entire 2nd season in a bloody farmhouse. But no..it's piracy that's driving people away from your show not the drop in quality.

I wish I could be so blissfully ignorant.

 

[PuckFuppet]

Because as we all know budgets are shrinking, jobs in the industry are drying up and television in particular (an ad driven medium in most cases) is slowly collapsing in overall quality.

 

[Gluzzbung]

So, shall we bring up the fact that piracy actually helps sales of movies, TV shows and games, along with their respective merchandise? And that, by having things available freely and conveniently for most people, they actually garner a far larger audience than most traditional methods of broadcasting and distribution would net them?

I'm trying to expand on that point but, really, there's no need. I can understand their concern when things like searching "House of Cards" doesn't yield any legitimate results for 5 pages, except that that's just not true. When I searched it, Netflix was the 14th result and the ones before were either reviews, wikipedia, news about actors, trailers or announcements. Combine this with Phil Fish's recent suggestion that all YouTube content creators should be paying the makers of the games they're playing in their shows, and of the amount they get from ads, the MAJORITY should go to the game makers, despite the fact that LPs and reviews can only help the sales of a game by providing it with invaluable free marketing.

And, really, I think if you make something good then you should have nothing to fear. People haven't changed over the last twenty years to being hateful of creators or artists, if they see something good then they want to reward the person who made it. Generally speaking anyway.

 

[Alterego-X]

Piracy is not "the symptom of a problem", or "a service problem", but a manufactured problem.

Even the people who want to argue that it is not *directly* piracy that is causing this menacing precipice onslaught of doom and desolation, seem to be taking it for granted that it is at least true, that creativity is dying, and artists are going bankrupt.

Well, if they do, that's not for the lack of money. Four years ago, The Walking Dead started out with 5 million in ratings, and now it has 15 million [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Walking_Dead_episodes]. The AMC Network's revenues grew from $1.08 billion to $1.59 billion [http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/amcx/financials]. Gale Ann Hurd personally has an estimated net worth of $50 million.

These are the kind of people who lay awake at night in their palaces, terrified that someone might be having fun without paying to them, while their bloated inustry is making them richer and richer.

Entitlement, that's what it is, completely ignoring the purpose of copyright as a necessary, but limited monopoly used to promote useful arts, and only falling back to the starving artist rhetoric when they feel like censoring the Internet even more, and keeping authority over even larger chunks of popular culture.

Precipice? If only...

 

[Mromson]

Why, what blissful ignorance we have here, milady. Would you like fries with that? Another random person talking about shit they don't understand, then cries when no one is doing anything to fix it.

 

[Reaper195]

As a New Zealander, most of the shows I want to watch are behind about two or three paywalls. I have no problem buying the series on DVD/Blu-Ray when they come out, but some like to take the piss like Game of Thrones and come out about nine month after the season finishes.

 

[Aramis Night]

"...pointing out that in searching for House of Cards she was unable to find Netflix as an option in the first 50 hits of a Google search."

Well, she's either a liar or an imbecile. Wikipedia, IMDB, Netflix, Facebook, Amazon. Those are the first 5 I get. There's also a giant google window on the right that tells you the network is Netflix, the awards its won, where you can purchase it and for how much. Scrolling through the first 50 results I couldn't find a single site from which to pirate the show.

Actually what makes this really hilarious is that she just exposed herself without realizing it. Google tailors its search results to your previous searches and site traffic. The fact that when she used google and got the results she did may very well say far more about her own habits than it does about google. Either she herself pirates, or she is driving herself paranoid over piracy and google is helping feed her paranoia.

 

[Sanunes]

I wonder how many shows that have been cancelled over the last few years might have been saved if there wasn't people pirating the content on the internet? The big shows like Game of Thrones and Walking Dead have enough ratings that its not a problem, but I wonder about the smaller shows that are barely hanging on.

Regarding her comments about where the show was on Google, she might have been exaggerating some, but if its like sporting events you can find a bunch of illegal stream sites when the event is airing and the broadcasters have them "disappear" as soon as they can, so if you aren't searching at the exact same time she is the numbers could be much different.

Reading her argument, I do agree that right now for a lot of the content that sees high piracy the consumer is basically stuck between piracy and paying through the nose. Its why I don't watch Game of Thrones or Walking Dead, for I don't want to pay a premium to watch something beyond what I am paying for other television shows and I can't be bothered to wait because by then it will have been spoiled by someone who has more money they I do.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I wonder how many shows that have been cancelled over the last few years might have been saved if there wasn't people pirating the content on the internet? The big shows like Game of Thrones and Walking Dead have enough ratings that its not a problem, but I wonder about the smaller shows that are barely hanging on.

Regarding her comments about where the show was on Google, she might have been exaggerating some, but if its like sporting events you can find a bunch of illegal stream sites when the event is airing and the broadcasters have them "disappear" as soon as they can, so if you aren't searching at the exact same time she is the numbers could be much different.

Reading her argument, I do agree that right now for a lot of the content that sees high piracy the consumer is basically stuck between piracy and paying through the nose. Its why I don't watch Game of Thrones or Walking Dead, for I don't want to pay a premium to watch something beyond what I am paying for other television shows and I can't be bothered to wait because by then it will have been spoiled by someone who has more money they I do.

None. The majority of those people would not have watched the show anyway if they didn't have the option to pirate it. Cable networks need to adapt to suit their customers. Right now, watching a show you want to watch on a cable network is a pain in the ass. It often requires you to be subscribed an entire network, also paying for cable(A useless service in my eyes), and region locks, delays, etc.
Can you really blame people? Give people the option to pay money up front to watch a whole season of a show streamed to their TV or online without any arbitrary delays? You'd have a lot less pirates.

 

[medv4380]

Does the walking dead producer have a vested interest in House of Cards. I get the feeling that this was a shameless stunt to get a bunch of people(myself included) to mindlessly Google house of cards to see if they can find the Netflix link knowing full well that it's on the first page.

 

[RedBackDragon]

It's worth bearing in mind that the problem isn't just a piracy issue; the business model as a whole is burdened with ridiculous policies that lock whole regions [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126957-Australians-Pirate-Breaking-Bad-More-Than-Any-Other-Country] into a system in which piracy or paying through the nose are the only two options on the table. That, and long gone are the days when Australia, for example, was happy to wait a few days, or weeks, or longer, for its content. Something needs to change, Hurd's right about that; but is it Google's search protocols, or something else?

its allways painful bearing in mind the obvious thing..

imagine two lemonade stands , side by side on the left pirate peters honest quenching's and on the right AMC bros lemonade

now pirate pete is an expert hes been doing this lemonade business for years, he sees a lemonade and he knows how its made right away and "cam" make an infinite supply or "rip" up a new batch so we know what both AMC bros and Pirate pete will have the same thing.

now lets go get some lemonade,
on Facebook all my American friends have been going spastic about this amazing lemonade the Walking D lemonade its been driving me nuts because i dont want the lemonade ruined for me so i havent been talking to them , i walk down to the lemonade stands...

at first i try to walk up to the amc stand , "hello" i say "i would love to try some the WD lemonade" the standperson looks me in the eye and says "no sorry that lemonade isent being released here for another two months", "Ok... i guess i mean that dosent make any sense you have a big bottle that says the WD lemonade right there on the table" i say , "no you cant have it for another 2 months i cant give it to you" says the standperson..

frustrated i just walk over to pete who gives a toothless grin and happily gives me a slightly oily bottle of the WD lemonade free of charge , how nice of him

little did i know the amc standsperson was watching me and he wasent happy...

the next week i hear theres a update of the flavor on the WD lemonade and things have gone a little fruity down at the stands...

as i round the corner to the lemonade stands a burly police man walks up to me and slaps a pair of funky glasses on my head and slaps a tracking bracelet on my wrist,

"gah what the hell! what is this nam ?" i say infuriated , "its new laws , you arent aloud to go to petes stand anymore and if you do we will fine you and maybe put you in jail" says the policeman , shocked at this i nervously round the corner and look towards the stands but i cant see petes stand anymore the glasses block him out , bewildered i walk up to the AMC stand and look at the standperson. " can i have this weeks the WD lemonade?" , "no you cant" says the standperson "its not out yet here" i reply "YES it bloody well is pirate pete would have that lemonade right now!" , "well you cant go to pirate pete , thats stealing and we have made the law so you can only come to us! and those glasses block you from being able to even see pirate pete" says the standperson "WHAT? thats so dumb why cant you just give me the lemonade when it comes out ! you can do it but chose not to! petes been providing lemonade for years without this problem" i yell, "NO you cant go to pete we arent changeing the way we do busniess for some banana rebublic , there are new laws and you cant go to pete , we DO not have to compete with him hes just a thief ,a pirate" states the standperson camly.

this is insane i think , surely pete is still there blindly i take a few steps and stub my toe on another stand , pete pops the lemonade into my hand and i head off home.

why would anybody go to AMC , pete provides a much better service i am never going to amc again!

i was arrested and executed under the new laws two weeks later~~

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Hmmm. Stop keeping your content behind region locks and exclusive paywalls. Or, force the new age of technology to conform to out-dated means?

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Nothing like being forced to stay creative and make stuff people want to buy to keep you on your feet!

Among all the examples of people who pirate these shows, there's one I haven't seen yet: Those who pirate it just because they want it on their computer.

See, I live in a house that is subscribed to HBO and we watch Game of Thrones as it airs... and then I also download it. I live on my computer and I could not care less about Netflix-style shitty streams that you don't even get to keep. When it comes to my favourite shows, I just want them on my computer! I re-watch them whenever I want and I'm not limited by a stupid DVR or poor streaming quality. I also make GIFs out of certain scenes.

tl;dr I just want the videos on my computer and the Blu-Rays (a whole fucking year later) don't even count since ripping them is pirating them anyways.

No ripping and transcodeing is fair use, its when you upload load them you become a dirty one legged bandit.