The music industry is really really really mad - their sales are plummeting, through the floor, beneath the basement, into the nether regions of middle earth. Consequently, they are taking it out on anyone and everyone.
The movie industry is equally upset, frantic even at the drop in movie attendance and film purchasing.
I would be just as frantic or more if I were them. It is a good thing they have a scapegoat. If they didn't, they would have to confront the real problems they face and that takes courage, strength, and intelligence.
The courage to face the truth - the majority of movies are bombs. Not because they are illegally downloaded, but because they are bombs. Mayer and Goldwyn would never have stepped into the pile of shit the studios have today. Films for entertainment not for political indoctrination. the 1950s political films do not even remotely come close to the budget busting political attacks put out today in the name of entertainment.
Strength to make the changes necessary to save your industry even though it will hurt in the beginning.
Intelligence to balance the issues, understand the causes, and recognize that your billions are not being lost on illegal downloads, they are lost on useless musicians paid 100 times too much and actors paid 10 million more than they should be paid, films that should never see the light of an office let alone a studio. Unfortunately, the RIAA, film studiso, music companies are lacking all three so they look for scapegoats and blame the downloaders.
You want to turn your industry around. Here is how you do it:
- the actual Cd costs pennies.
- 1/6 of all musicians, drop them. There are too many producing the same stuff and overwhelming/flooding the market.
- 1 new Cd every 8-12 months and no sooner, can be longer.
- singers - paid according to units sold based upon preceding sales numbers or if a new artist, some standard fee. A musician cannot make 20 million unless their CDs consecutively sell enough units to add up to 20 million, which they will never do.
These adjustments will bring the price of CDs down 20-30%. You will see a spike in purchases.
Allow songs on the internet to be downloaded, but follow Radiohead's example. Devise your Cds so any copying will result in a loss in quality. People will download, enjoy the song and buy the Cd because they want the best quality and it is now cheap enough they could buy two instead of one - AND GUESS WHAT - THEY WILL!
You want to know what will happen if you follow your current insane plan - people will begin trading their CDs. You will see a DRAMATIC drop in sales at that point and ain't nothing and no court anywhere that will listen to you whine at that point. STOP the madness before it comes to that because it will go there.
Want to save the movie industry. STOP making so many stupid films. Honestly - just cuz you hate Bush doesn't mean the entire country is interested in any anti-Bush film just cuz. You spend over $350 million dollars on the anti-war/Bush films and gross an amazing $50 million. Whooppee. Talk about loss. If everyone downloaded a stupid movie it would never equal $250 million or $300 million. be thankful they do - otherwise it would be a whopping 48 people who go an watch your movie and that would be a crying shame. Stop with the intellectually stimulating films - they are less intellectual and less artsy than you think, and second, we don't care because they are not entertaining. Make films that entertain. If we want morality crammed down our throats we will go to church, not the theater.
Actors get paid not based on their highest grossing, but the three last films produced averaged. If they bomb 3 times, they ain't making $20 million. They will be working for whatever the term - standard wages. That will bring the films down considerably. Use Hollywood sets, use the lots you built over decades instead of flying off to Austria or Switzerland - just because the actors and directors want a vacation doesn't mean we need to pay for it. Learn to tighten your belts. Make do. Lower ticket prices from 10 back to 7.50-8.00 and leave them there. 2 times as many people will go to the theater and you can push back video releases by six months and keep the films out longer.
Loss up front in both industries. Suck it up. 6 months to a year and your problem will be LARGELY solved. You lower ticket prices and I promise you without reservation, a dramatic increase in attendance.
Don't believe for one moment raising rates to $11 or $12 will compensate because as you do, fewer people will go to the theater and your numbers will drop.
Look, films cost $10-11 now. Your attendance has dropped between 15-30%. Purchase of illegally downloaded/copied movies has increased by 5-10%. Answer - lower ticket prices to $7-8 and you will see an increase in attendance by 30-40% washing away almost entirely the purchase of illegal downloads and honestly, at that point you'd be making more money anyway.
Fail to make changes and you will be suing everyone because everyone will be trading films, CDs ... and your business will fail.
Continue at your risk, but stop blaming someone who downloaded 20 songs by an artist no one knows and a song that isn't sold any longer. Some people download 1 song by an artist because they want one song now 17 crappy tunes that cost $20 too much. They want one and they want to be able to listen to it anywhere at any time without downloading licenses. Fix these issues and you save your industry. Fail, and your industry sinks.
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