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The pre-existing content is the problem. How many people would subscribe to Amazon and Netflix if the only content available was produced by Amazon and Netflix?
by twblalock 6y ago
The pre-existing content is the problem. How many people would subscribe to Amazon and Netflix if the only content available was produced by Amazon and Netflix?
In some ways the video/DVD business was better for consumers, because once you've bought the DVD you won't have to go pay more money next year to be allowed to watch it again. The problem is very few people can afford all the DVDs they might ever want to watch.
- CobrastanJorji 6y agoI think you could solve a lot of this problem by coming up with a legal framework for a digital first sale doctrine. If I buy a movie digitally, I need a way to legally sell it or, critically, rent it to someone else. Make that happen, and all of these digital rental services will suddenly increase their catalog a hundredfold. Netflix would do it overnight, since they already have a massive DVD warehouse and they'd just need to stop shipping the DVDs.
- f1refly 6y agoI don't think that matters. Like really, at all. I think the first thing you'd have to come up with is a service that sells drm free, so people can actually get what they paid money for. When I "buy" digitally from either amazon or google, there's no way I'll ever see an mkv file or anything like that. When "buying" video digitally, I don't ever get the feeling that the stuff is really "mine". When I buy from bandcamp, I can download a flac and archive it. That music is mine. When I get it from google, I can view it from their website. That movie is not mine. And let's not pretend that sales would go down. Music is sold like this for a long time, just like copying without permission unfortunately didn't kill Hollywood all this time.
- _fizz_buzz_ 6y agoI think this also depends on your viewing habits. I very rarely rewatch movies/TV shows. So I could never really justify to outright buy DVDs.
- vladvasiliu 6y agoI think this is actually a good point as to why streaming works so well. How often do people rewatch the same movies / tv shows? I know in my case those are in the single digits. There's also the convenience factor. You're over at a friend's house and decide to watch a movie? Better hope you grabbed the dvd with you or that he has one. Just discovered something you wanted to see? Have to wait a day or two or drive to the store to get it. Oh, not what you expected and get bored after ten minutes? Tough, you won't get your money back.
- TheSpiceIsLife 6y agoThere’s always outliers. You’d be shocked to find out how many times I’ve watched Deep Space Nine since I subscribed to Netflix two years ago. It’s great because most of the episodes are utter garbage, but.. At least $3 of the AU$15 per month I pay could go directly to Andrew Jordt Robinson and the writers for their outstanding work on Elim Garak.
- majewsky 6y ago3 whole dollars? But I'm just a humble tailor. :)
- TheSpiceIsLife 6y agoThat tickled me, thank you 8)
- schwartzworld 6y agonow with streaming, I almost never rewatch things. but when I had a collection of DVDs (VHSs before that) I rewatched all the time.