UK Govt moves to prop up failing business model

February 13, 2008

As reported in the Times, and followed up by CrunchGear, the Government here in the UK is considering forcing ISPs to take action against any of their users who are downloading copyrighted material. This is how the proposal will work (from the CrunchGear article):

Users “suspected” of having illegally downloaded something will get an e-mail from their ISP notifying them of their anti-social behavior. A second offense will result in a temporary suspension of Internet connectivity and a third will see the contract with your ISP ripped apart.

This is, of course, is being lobbied hard by the music and film industry who are quoted as saying that ISPs had “done little or nothing to address illegal downloading via their networks”. The most laughable quote of all, though, is:

This is the number one issue for the creative industries in the digital age, and the government’s willingness to tackle it should be applauded.

So, it’s the number one issue for the creative industry, and how do they tackle it? By suing the pants of people or bleating to Ministers. What they’re not doing is addressing the real issue: Why do people download copyrighted material? Here are a few thoughts, just off the of my head.

Maybe it’s because they’re frustrated with the “creative” industry’s DRM, which prevents them from playing their legally downloaded purchased content on which ever device they choose.

Maybe it’s because they’re tired of being stiffed by their local cinema, who charge more for a Diet Coke and a bucket of popcorn than the local drug dealer charges for a week’s worth top-notch snort (so I’m told).

Maybe it’s because they’ve shelled out for the latest in DVD player technology, only to watch the “creative” industry render that technology obsolete thanks to a $400m back-hander.

Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because the majority of the content produced by the “creative” industry (especially mainstream music) is such generic, mass-produced, pop pap that people don’t think it’s worth spending their money on.

I’m tired of being told that the content I want isn’t available for download in my region - even though I can buy it on DVD from my local store; I’m tired of buying stuff from iTunes only to find that it will only play on my iPod; it pisses me off that you think of me of as a pirate before you think of me as a consumer.

So, here’s little tip to the “creative” industry - it’s time to get a little creative. Instead of whining about illegal downloads and hoping that someone else will sort it out for you, how about you look at better ways to make it easy for people to legally download your content.

And here’s a tip for HM Govt, too. You’ve got more important things to worry about than this. Tape cassettes didn’t kill their industry, neither did video tapes or writeable CDs. Nor will the Internet. Their current distribution model is broken and it’s up to them to fix it, not you.

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