Why Piracy Sustains?

Ans:

The question actually is - 'Why people pay Rs. 200 for sundry items like a cup of coffee, while buy/download pirated material to save as low an amount as Rs. 150?

Here is what I think -

There is 1 thing that makes people sensitive to price, and it is the 'Experience'. I am ready to spend Rs. 100 for a CD of good songs (even Rs. 100 for a song like 'coffee...' which is composed by you). But the thing is that the the distribution sucks. Believe me. I will prefer paying Rs. 50-100 for a VCD/DVD which have been made available by Mosaer-Byer instead of downloading the movie via torrent which might take 12 hrs. But to buy a CD, I have to go [:(] and face a sales-person [:(] who sucks [:(]. He just does not understand 'value' of what he is selling. So, the CD's are just thrown into a box [:(], and the customers are expected to make a 'discovery' of what they want [:O]. Compare this with pirated material. Take e.g. torrents. You can search [:)], you can download samples [:)], you can read comments [:)], check ratings [:)] - and if all THAT satisfies you, you download the item. The factor that the item is free ('stolen', if you please) is, thus, essentially secondary.

It is all about 'experience of buying' - if the experience is good (as in CCD) I am ready to pay Rs. 100 (for 1 cup of coffee). If it is bad (as in most taparis), I decide against paying even Rs. 5 and prefer to go home and make myself a cuppa.

And believe me, for artistes, their time will have more 'value' than your actual creations when you are alive.

Linkbundle: NYTimes.com Paywall Decision

Here are some links which more insights and analysis about NYTimes.com decision to implement paywall/metering for its content -

1. NYT execs' memo to staff about metered model for NYTimes.com - Romensko

An Important Decision about Our Future

Today we are announcing that we will be introducing a paid model for NYTimes.com at the beginning of 2011. As you will see in the press release, we have chosen a metered approach that will offer users free access to a set number of articles per month and then charge users once they exceed that number.

2. NYT Describes Online Plans - Vallyweg

A tipster was selected for a survey on nytimes.com and graciously copy/pasted from it for our benefit. The Times was gauging interest in two premium packages that it calls NYT Gold and NYT Silver.

3. Monetize The Audience, Not The Content - A VC

The worst examples of subscription services are those that break the content up into free and paid. It's as if some content is worth more than other content. I think that is the wrong idea most of the time, and especially in news and news related content.

4. Only 2.4% subscribe at newspaper pay sites - Reflections of a Newsosaur

A puny 2.4% of print subscribers is the average number of people paying for online content at the handful of daily newspapers that have been bold enough to erect pay walls, according to a new survey.

 

29.

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