by Ellen Seidler | Copyright, Social Media
If you’re an indie musician, filmmaker, artist etc. it’s likely that you have a Facebook Page to promote your work or business. Over time, through hard work and conscientious social media marketing, you’ve built up quite a following. When you post updates to your page you expect that fans will see them right? Well, think again. Thanks to a change in their algorithm (and need to bolster revenues) Facebook has quietly altered the way their fan pages work. If you want all your fans (not just 20%) to see a post in their news feed, you’ll have to pay the privilege. A recent story in the New York Observer explains this new reality.
It’s no conspiracy. Facebook acknowledged it as recently as last week: messages now reach, on average, just 15 percent of an account’s fans. In a wonderful coincidence,Facebook has rolled out a solution for this problem: Pay them for better access.
Usenet, a website that offers (paid) subscribers access to a variety of “news groups” has long seemed immune from DMCA takedown notices. Could that be changing?
Content creators and ISPs (internet service providers) have come to agreement on a voluntary “Copyright Alert System” to begin at month’s end.
The progressive series of alerts is designed to make consumers aware of activity that has occurred using their Internet accounts, educate them on how they can prevent such activity from happening again (for example, by securing home wireless networks or removing peer-to-peer software), and provide information about the growing number of ways to access digital content legally.
“Six Strikes” aside, the ISPs involved have made it clear that no user accounts will be terminated. Let’s hope the goal of educating the public and reducing piracy is met. More information on the new alert system can be found here.
A new kindle book by author Morris Rosenthal provides a how-to for those who find their work uploaded (illegally) online. The book “An Author’s Guide to Fighting Internet Copyright Infringements” He explains his motivation in writing the book on Amazon.com:
I’ve probably spent more time fighting copyright infringements than writing books over the last six years. In one case, I went as far as a two and a half year fight in Federal court. But the bulk of my time has been wasted sending DMCA notices to sites that take down one infringement only to put up another.
After years of frustration I had given up even trying, but when copyright infringements began appearing above my own pages in Google search following their 2011 Panda update, fighting infringements took on a new urgency.
I took a “look inside” and from what I read, it looks promising as a guide to navigating Google’s DMCA process and the web at large. You can purchase the book for a mere 99 cents on Amazon here.
Alan D. Mutter looks at the decline in newspaper ad revenues on his blog Reflections of a Newsosaur:
With the objective evidence suggesting that the newspaper business is living on borrowed time, publishers should be using their residual economic power, brand power and marketing power to develop new digital products to protect and sustain their valuable franchises. Or else.
by Ellen Seidler | Copyright
With the Election Over, Attention Turns Back to Congress and What Awaits Musicians
Chris Castle takes to the pages of Huffington Post to explain five reasons why musicians (and those who care about music) should not support the misleadingly titled “Internet Radio Fairness Act.” Here’s Reason #3:
3. Pandora Wants to Legislate Profits on the Backs of Artists: Now that Pandora has a $2 billion or so market cap, the simple truth is that Pandora is trying to legislate its profits on the backs of artists and so does Google and Sirius XM — a company that has $1.5 billion in cash on their balance sheet. This is just about money, it’s not about music.
But for musicians, the salary remains the same.
Read Chris Castle’s full post “The Tide has Risen-Five Reasons to Worry About the Radio Fairness Act” here and more on the growing political debate in a November 4th story from the NY Times “Fight Builds Over Online Royalties.”
China Daily Reports that Free Music Online is Coming to an End
I’ll believe that headline when I see it, but when it comes to cracking down on piracy in China I suppose any news is good news. The China Daily is reporting that online music distributors in China are in talks with Warner Music Group, Universal Music and Sony Music Entertainment to “charge” for music downloads. Not everyone is supportive, nor optimistic about the proposed effort. Read the entire story on China Daily here.
Debate Over Internet and Tech Issues Keep Low Profile During Campaign
Despite a long and cantankerous campaign, neither candidate seemed to pay much attention to issues surrounding the internet and technology. That’s bound to change once the dust settles. For a breakdown on the two campaigns and their take on technology issues, check out this report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
by Ellen Seidler | Copyright
According to an Associated Press story published on NBCnews.com, the U.S. embassy in Vietnam is utilizing a social media account on Zing, a website notorious for online piracy, in an effort to reach out to the country’s young people. This, despite the fact that Coke and Samsung recently pulled advertising from the site due to concerns about rampant piracy. Embassy officials defend their presence on Zing saying that options for outreach are limited in a country where the government controls most media.
The embassy said it recognized the concerns for U.S. copyright interests posed by Zing but that it believed that “contact with users of this website” could reduce traffic or infringing activity on it. The mission sometimes uses its Zingme page to post about copyright infringement.
Its statement noted that the site had removed, at its request, the link to infringing material that appears on other Zingme pages as a matter of course. It also noted to its lack of options in a country where the Communist government controls the media, saying “there were few spaces for public discourse and intermittent access to Facebook”, referring to a block the government sometimes puts on the American social networking site.
Artists in Asia, like those in the U.S. who are feeling the negative impacts of rampant online piracy, are critical of the U.S. embassy’s stance on Zing.
“Zing is destroying the industry and they know it,” said record producer Quoc Trung, who is leading a campaign against online piracy. “We need people to pay for music, not just click on it. It is now or never.”
To read the full AP story, go here.
by Ellen Seidler | Copyright
From “Arbitrage’s” Facebook page
Richard Gere’s new movie “Arbitrage” was released this week to positive reviews and healthy box office returns. According to Variety, “Arbitrage …is banking on $750,000 Friday and roughly $2.3 million for the weekend at just 197 locations.” It’s not the robust opening weekend box office returns that makes this worth nothing. What’s significant is that the film’s theatrical release was only one part of a “day-and-date” release business model utilized by Lionsgate/Roadside. “Arbitrage” was released in theaters and VOD (video-on-demand) the same day.
Roadside Attractions used the same release model with their 2011 indie hit “Margin Call” , a film that grossed 5 million dollars in domestic box office. While some argued that the simultaneous VOD would undermine box office revenues, (VOD numbers aren’t made public), given the fact that Roadside is using the same approach with Arbitrage, one can only assume they liked what they saw.
Aside from bottom line figures, this release model is significant because it should dampen demand for illegal, pirated downloads. With “Arbitrage” immediately available via VOD, those who want to watch the movie right away, and avoid the theater, can do so via iTunes. Amazon Instant and similar on-demand sites.
But thwarting piracy isn’t the only benefit. For distributors, the option of using day-and-date release or the “ultra” release (releasing on VOD before a theatrical release) give studios a cost-efficient way to market a film.
Tom Quinn, President of the new Weinstein distribution company Radius was interviewed in a recent Entertainment Weekly article. Radius is distributing the Sundance hit “The Bachelorette” via the “ultra-release” model. Releasing the film on VOD a full-month before it’s September 7th theatrical release helped generate buzz and made it a #1 download on iTunes:
Once the movie hits VOD, the hope is that audiences will click to it, so to speak, and help spark the word-of-mouth campaign for the impending theatrical release — without the massive expense of marketing a major film. ”Not only is [VOD] a marketing tool,” says Quinn, “but more importantly, it’s a revenue generating marketing tool…
While it may seem somewhat counterintuitive — wouldn’t VOD ultimately take away some of the money the movie would otherwise be making at the box office? — when it’s working right, this “multi-platform” release pattern forms a mutually beneficial feedback loop, with the VOD release fueling the theatrical box office, and the theatrical release raising awareness for VOD. “You’re only creating more audience by showing your movie,” says Quinn. “If it has good word-of-mouth, then you should show it to as many people as you possibly can.” –Entertainment Weekly
Piracy apologists have long argued that online piracy was good for business. Problem is, the piracy “business” is predicated on theft, benefiting criminals like Kim Dotcom, not creators. Despite endless spin to the contrary, illegal downloads do not generally translate into profit for creators.
The key to these new models is the fact that distribution choices are controlled by rights holders, not pirates. Profits go to creators and not to thieves. A film’s distribution can be tailored to match audience demands and generate revenue–two goals that need not be incompatible.
Fact is–movies and music don’t have to be free for the internet to be free.
For more on Radius and their use of this new distribution model, Toronto Q&A: Radius-TWC Presidents Tom Quinn And Jason Janego On How Multi-Platform Is Changing The Indie World
by Ellen Seidler | Copyright
This morning I came across a two articles that offer insights as to how another effective front is being formed in the war against online piracy. The first piece, “Piracy Threatens Digital Growth” from Tech Central, highlights the need for media companies to “embrace” technology in order to “keep abreast of” consumer demands:
…the two biggest challenges facing content producers and distributors are piracy and regulation. “Most consumers don’t see piracy as a crime, or they see it as a victimless one,” she says. “The industry needs to shift consumers to the legitimate end of the spectrum.”
Some media companies, including film distributors, are considering releasing content on all platforms simultaneously because ease of access and timing are two key factors in getting consumers to pay for content.
The second, is a report cited by Terrance Hart in a blog post on Copyhype, that analyzes the impact France’s controversial 3-strike anti-piracy law has had on illegal downloads (and legitimate sales).
HADOPI’s numbers show that, contrary to the claims of copyright skeptics, the law did not threaten “vast swathes” of French internet users with punitive measures based solely on accusations. Instead, it seems to have achieved its purpose of educating users…consumer awareness of HADOPI has increased iTunes sales in France by over 22%. And a report by HADOPI itself after 17 months of operation showed that the clear decline in online piracy coincided with a rise in quality and quantity of legal cultural offerings.
Taken together, these two pieces offer compelling evidence that ongoing efforts to fight online piracy should include a bilateral effort to alter consumer habits–via legal means (legislation) in tandem with the continued development of new business models. As Hart eloquently points out,the goal of France’s law was not to punish downloaders, but rather to encourage legal consumption. So far, results are encouraging. The success of France’s 3-strikes law demonstrates that consumers, if gently dissuaded by the law from illegal downloading, will purchase content from legit sources (i.e. iTunes, etc.).
On the other front, in terms of commerce, it’s clear that, as technology evolves and platforms improve, those in the business of creating content are moving quickly to adopt new distribution models, releasing popular content to worldwide audiences, on a multitude of platforms, simultaneously. The BBC recently utilized this new approach with the UK season premiere of their the hit TV series “Doctor Who” on September 2nd. Rather than force U.S. fans to wait (and thereby encourage illegal downloading), BBC America made the series available to American viewers within 6 hours of the program’s initial broadcast in the UK. ABC (Australian Broadcasting) followed suit, offering the series via their premium service within minutes of the UK broadcast. This is good for business.
Moving forward, content creators, and those who represent their interests, should continue to apply pressure to those entities that profit from piracy (cyber-lockers, ad providers, and payment processors) while also directing attention toward the consumers of illegal content. Rather than demonize them, let’s do as France has done and use the law to divert them toward affordable options that provide immediate access to the content they’re so anxious to see. Hart noted that a voluntary “graduated response” agreement between U.S. ISP providers and the content industry is set to begin in coming months. If U.S. content creators, corporate and independent, are smart, they will be poised to leverage this alliance by matching their distribution models to meet customer demand. Consumers and creators will gain, and piracy profiteers will lose.
Usenet, a website that offers (paid) subscribers access to a variety of “news groups” has long seemed immune from DMCA takedown notices. Could that be changing?
A new kindle book by author Morris Rosenthal provides a how-to for those who find their work uploaded (illegally) online. The book “An Author’s Guide to Fighting Internet Copyright Infringements” He explains his motivation in writing the book on Amazon.com:
Alan D. Mutter looks at the decline in newspaper ad revenues on his blog Reflections of a Newsosaur:
