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Patreon and kickstarter models function based on closed-off perks for the supporters, not just superfans ready to give money for no reason. This is reliant on s

Patreon and kickstarter models function based on closed-off perks for the supporters, not just superfans ready to give money for no reason. This is reliant on some protection for those perks, otherwise there is no reason for that model. The idea that piracy isn't stealing is nonsense. Why don't you try creating something, then having someone rip it off against your will, plaster it all over their ad-supported platform and flip you the bird when you ask for a share of proceeds.

cwkoss 7y ago
Early access seems to be a pretty common model, which I think is pretty effective. I like that as a minimally-coercive incentive: everyone gets access, but you can pay to access it a week sooner. This is the most common model used by Youtubers AFAICT. I have had my content "stolen". Someone in China likely made more off the game I wrote than I did: good for them, I would have never been able to reach that market. I was focused on making a quality web-game and they iframed it with ads. Didn't hurt me a bit - even helped a bit because I continued getting analytics from these new users. My inability to create a self-perpetuating monetization strategy for my game does not mean that I'm owed anything: if people donated more I would have worked on it longer, but they didn't so I didn't. Fond memories for everyone involved. I view the idea that "nobody should be able to make money from the fruits of my labor" rooted in pettiness and insecurity. If you can consistently create good things at a good pace, people will support you. I didn't meet that bar, got a 'real' job, and that's fine. The idea that a single work of creation should be able to support someone for years (or even the rest of their lives) is a fantasy that only entered the public zeitgeist in the past few decades: I suspect largely as the result of IP trolls like Disney, MPAA and RIAA.
NoodleIncident 7y ago
Big kickstarters often send out physical goods as rewards. In general, the rewards on both platforms are only interesting to superfans in the first place, whether they're physical or digital. It would be impossible to measure, but I can't imagine it's that common for those exclusive rewards to be pirated, or for someone to decide not to give money because they can get the restricted content for free. If your argument is that both theft and piracy make the "owner" of the "property" feel bad, then I don't think that really proves they're the same thing. Neither does the fact that in both cases, someone who did not create the product is profiting from it; it's not a zero-sum game, their profit isn't equal to your loss.
wolco 7y ago
I've seen developers spend years making a game only to have little press and no one buying or playing it. That game was put on torrent sites and people started to write about it and the game became a success. Piracy can turn a great product that no one knows about into a success.
- cwkoss 7y ago
  I agree. I think the segment of people who are willing to pay full price but pirate purely for financial reasons is vanishingly small. Most pirates are trying content they would not be willing to buy, which expands the market for most content (provided that content hasn't already been carpetbombed via ads across many media channels so most people already know about it).

cwkoss 7y ago

Early access seems to be a pretty common model, which I think is pretty effective. I like that as a minimally-coercive incentive: everyone gets access, but you can pay to access it a week sooner. This is the most common model used by Youtubers AFAICT. I have had my content "stolen". Someone in China likely made more off the game I wrote than I did: good for them, I would have never been able to reach that market. I was focused on making a quality web-game and they iframed it with ads. Didn't hurt me a bit - even helped a bit because I continued getting analytics from these new users. My inability to create a self-perpetuating monetization strategy for my game does not mean that I'm owed anything: if people donated more I would have worked on it longer, but they didn't so I didn't. Fond memories for everyone involved. I view the idea that "nobody should be able to make money from the fruits of my labor" rooted in pettiness and insecurity. If you can consistently create good things at a good pace, people will support you. I didn't meet that bar, got a 'real' job, and that's fine. The idea that a single work of creation should be able to support someone for years (or even the rest of their lives) is a fantasy that only entered the public zeitgeist in the past few decades: I suspect largely as the result of IP trolls like Disney, MPAA and RIAA.

NoodleIncident 7y ago

Big kickstarters often send out physical goods as rewards. In general, the rewards on both platforms are only interesting to superfans in the first place, whether they're physical or digital. It would be impossible to measure, but I can't imagine it's that common for those exclusive rewards to be pirated, or for someone to decide not to give money because they can get the restricted content for free. If your argument is that both theft and piracy make the "owner" of the "property" feel bad, then I don't think that really proves they're the same thing. Neither does the fact that in both cases, someone who did not create the product is profiting from it; it's not a zero-sum game, their profit isn't equal to your loss.

wolco 7y ago

I've seen developers spend years making a game only to have little press and no one buying or playing it. That game was put on torrent sites and people started to write about it and the game became a success. Piracy can turn a great product that no one knows about into a success.

cwkoss 7y ago
I agree. I think the segment of people who are willing to pay full price but pirate purely for financial reasons is vanishingly small. Most pirates are trying content they would not be willing to buy, which expands the market for most content (provided that content hasn't already been carpetbombed via ads across many media channels so most people already know about it).