6 ms·

I don't believe most people think content creator's shouldn't get paid. My circle of friends have quite a few people who download stuff illegally. However, mos

I don't believe most people think content creator's shouldn't get paid. My circle of friends have quite a few people who download stuff illegally. However, most just want to try it out / watch it and if they like it they'll pay money for it. The problem with content creation, is your content can suck. I think my favorite example of someone creating content and essentially letting it be copied (but asking everyone not to) is Louis C.K. [1] He made his stuff easy to download (hell I bought it), priced it reasonably, and asked everyone to please pay. I actually saw the comedy show first through a friend. I paid him because it was good, and I wanted more content. In the reverse case, I'm gambling that the content is not only good and worth my time to watch / read / look at, but that it's worth the $X I am being charged. I can see why people don't like this method, and why people download pirated software, movies, TV shows, etc. Edit: FYI I create a lot of content. Blogs, youtube videos, software. I find the Warren Buffet approach of giving everyone a fair deal, with a terms sheet that's readable works best. One thing I personally would love to see more of is a full or partial refund policy for every piece of content I buy. I guarantee 99% of people wont use it, but when a movie really sucks or a game doesn't live up to what's promised, you can get your money back. It incentivizes honesty, and it'll help you similar to how it helps stores like LL Bean (where it actually gets more people to buy your product(s)). [1] https://louisck.net/news/a-statement-from-louis-c-k https://louisck.net/news/a-statement-from-louis-c-k

edem 10y ago
Exactly my point. I see this every day when I see the nth installment of Call of Duty and it is simply a steaming pile of crap. Who wants to pay for something he can't even try and there is a decent chance of it being crap?
- benwad 10y ago
  There are demos, reviews, and about a million voices on the Internet saying the new Call of Duty is crap. If you then go out and buy it then you should accept the risk it might be crap.
  - cr0sh 10y ago
    > There are demos, reviews, and about a million voices on the Internet ...because none of this could ever be wrong. /didn't the US have an election recently or something...?
johnfn 10y ago
> I don't believe most people think content creator's shouldn't get paid. Of course not. For most, it's a clear case of cognitive dissonance. People say things like torrenting should be legal because information wants to be free and copying is different than stealing and you know all the rest. Then you ask them if content creators should get paid and they say of course. Then you ask them how, and you get blank stares. They haven't thought that far. Maybe they say "it's not my job to figure it out, the content creators should do that." Interesting. Have you considered the fact that maybe it's not as simple as it seems? That maybe a single indie content creator like you or me will very poissbly NOT be able to solve this incredibly difficult problem that is LITERALLY DESTROYING ENTIRE INDUSTRIES AS WE STAND DEBATING WHETHER IT'S POSSIBLE? That, for example, journalism has got their smartest minds working on it, and nothing workable is popping out? And so god help an indie like me who doesn't have a fraction of a fraction of the clout of, say, the WSJ? I mean, your Louis C. K. example is fine, but I'm sure you realize that not everyone in the world is Louis CK. That not everyone has his reach and his reputation, and those are both huge contributing factors to the success of his campaign?
- mbrock 10y ago
  Torrenting should be legal because criminalizing decentralized network technology fucks up the internet and requires the government to spy on all traffic. This kind of argument is quite similar to why drugs should be legal even if their effects are bad -- the effects of prohibition are simply worse, and immoral. "Information wants to be free" is not a crazy hippie idea, it's just the fact that it's extremely difficult (or basically tyrannical) to stop information from flowing once you have internet. Should content creators be paid? They should be paid whatever they convince someone to pay them. Indeed it's not my job to figure it out. Maybe selling consumer download access to digital audio is not a viable business model in the presence of hard-to-stop piracy; well then, sell something else.
  - s73ver 10y ago
    If it's not your job to figure it out, why do you feel entitled to their content without paying?
Analemma_ 10y ago
> I don't believe most people think content creator's shouldn't get paid. I believe most people say they don't think content creators shouldn't get paid, but their revealed preference indicates otherwise.
- lettergram 10y ago
  To the contrary, I believe places such as: https://www.railstutorial.org/book https://www.railstutorial.org/book Or the Louis CK example highlight that people are willing and happy to pay. They just don't want it prices super high or be unable to check it out first.
- wfo 10y ago
  You're going to need a stronger argument than "I know what's in your head better than you do" if you want to accuse wide swaths of people you've never met of lying.
  - s73ver 10y ago
    Actions speak louder than words.
    - Dylan16807 10y ago
      Their actions only apply to the 1-2 ways any particular item is generally sold today. That doesn't generalize to "creators getting paid" as a class.
s73ver 10y ago
Loius C.K. got to do that because he had already made a name for himself. Louis C.K. couldn't do that if he wasn't already famous. And while you say your circle of friends just pirates to "try it", most people that I've heard that reasoning from inevitably find some reason to not pay at all. "Oh, I ended up finishing the game. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be, so I'm just not going to pay."
anigbrowl 10y ago
I don't believe most people think about anything other than themselves, which is what they've been trained to do and which neatly explains the popularity of piracy and the dearth of actual support for the arts..

edem 10y ago

Exactly my point. I see this every day when I see the nth installment of Call of Duty and it is simply a steaming pile of crap. Who wants to pay for something he can't even try and there is a decent chance of it being crap?

benwad 10y ago
There are demos, reviews, and about a million voices on the Internet saying the new Call of Duty is crap. If you then go out and buy it then you should accept the risk it might be crap.
- cr0sh 10y ago
  > There are demos, reviews, and about a million voices on the Internet ...because none of this could ever be wrong. /didn't the US have an election recently or something...?

johnfn 10y ago

> I don't believe most people think content creator's shouldn't get paid. Of course not. For most, it's a clear case of cognitive dissonance. People say things like torrenting should be legal because information wants to be free and copying is different than stealing and you know all the rest. Then you ask them if content creators should get paid and they say of course. Then you ask them how, and you get blank stares. They haven't thought that far. Maybe they say "it's not my job to figure it out, the content creators should do that." Interesting. Have you considered the fact that maybe it's not as simple as it seems? That maybe a single indie content creator like you or me will very poissbly NOT be able to solve this incredibly difficult problem that is LITERALLY DESTROYING ENTIRE INDUSTRIES AS WE STAND DEBATING WHETHER IT'S POSSIBLE? That, for example, journalism has got their smartest minds working on it, and nothing workable is popping out? And so god help an indie like me who doesn't have a fraction of a fraction of the clout of, say, the WSJ? I mean, your Louis C. K. example is fine, but I'm sure you realize that not everyone in the world is Louis CK. That not everyone has his reach and his reputation, and those are both huge contributing factors to the success of his campaign?

mbrock 10y ago
Torrenting should be legal because criminalizing decentralized network technology fucks up the internet and requires the government to spy on all traffic. This kind of argument is quite similar to why drugs should be legal even if their effects are bad -- the effects of prohibition are simply worse, and immoral. "Information wants to be free" is not a crazy hippie idea, it's just the fact that it's extremely difficult (or basically tyrannical) to stop information from flowing once you have internet. Should content creators be paid? They should be paid whatever they convince someone to pay them. Indeed it's not my job to figure it out. Maybe selling consumer download access to digital audio is not a viable business model in the presence of hard-to-stop piracy; well then, sell something else.
- s73ver 10y ago
  If it's not your job to figure it out, why do you feel entitled to their content without paying?

Analemma_ 10y ago

> I don't believe most people think content creator's shouldn't get paid. I believe most people say they don't think content creators shouldn't get paid, but their revealed preference indicates otherwise.

lettergram 10y ago
To the contrary, I believe places such as: https://www.railstutorial.org/book https://www.railstutorial.org/book Or the Louis CK example highlight that people are willing and happy to pay. They just don't want it prices super high or be unable to check it out first.
wfo 10y ago
You're going to need a stronger argument than "I know what's in your head better than you do" if you want to accuse wide swaths of people you've never met of lying.
- s73ver 10y ago
  Actions speak louder than words.
  - Dylan16807 10y ago
    Their actions only apply to the 1-2 ways any particular item is generally sold today. That doesn't generalize to "creators getting paid" as a class.

s73ver 10y ago

Loius C.K. got to do that because he had already made a name for himself. Louis C.K. couldn't do that if he wasn't already famous. And while you say your circle of friends just pirates to "try it", most people that I've heard that reasoning from inevitably find some reason to not pay at all. "Oh, I ended up finishing the game. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be, so I'm just not going to pay."

anigbrowl 10y ago

I don't believe most people think about anything other than themselves, which is what they've been trained to do and which neatly explains the popularity of piracy and the dearth of actual support for the arts..