p2pnet - rss feed: Warner Bros goes BitTorrent
p2p news / p2pnet: With 14 class actions hanging over its head, Warner Brothers is the first of the Big Six Hollywood studios to use the BitTorrent protocol.
The new MPAA BT is, of course, loaded to the gills with DRM.
Now, from this summer, "BitTorrent users will be able to buy Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Corpse Bride and North Country," says the Guardian Unlimited. "Older films such as Natural Born Killers, The Matrix or Dog Day Afternoon will also be available."
A TV show will cost $1 and the studio will attempt to get the same money for downloads of one of these elderly movies as it does for a DVD. Meanwhile the movies have been, and still are, readily available online.
"Warner Brothers’ offerings on BitTorrent will be loaded with special digital rights management software, locking the files from being distributed illegally," says the story. "That means that while BitTorrent will take advantage of users’ bandwidth to redistribute the bits and pieces of the movie files to other paying customers, it will be impossible for users to share files with their friends, unless those friends pay up."
According to the San Jose Mercury News, this marks a shift in the entertainment industry’s attitude toward online file sharing.
"The way we’re positioning this within Warner Bros. is, let’s take the [piracy] problem and turn it into an opportunity," it has Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group saying. "If we can convert 5, 10 or 15 percent of these users into legitimate customers, we think it can have a significant impact.”
Hollywood’s MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) has been forcing BitTorrent sites offline and suing individuals for allegedly uploading feature movies to the p2p networks.
It never mentions the fact that a significant number of the people it’s suing are actually Hollywood insiders.
Meanwhile, despite claims that they’re being ruined by file sharers, they major studios continue to report record profits.
Given the high price of admission to most cinemas, and the generally low quality of most major releases, millions of people use the p2p networks to preview movies.
Also See:
14 class actions - Warner Music in trouble, May 6, 2006
Guardian Unlimited - Warner hopes for legal sales torrent, May 9, 2006
San Jose Mercury News - Warner Bros. to embrace file sharing, May 9, 2006
offline - MPAA launches massive attack, February 24, 2006
May 9th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
What a fucking farce. It took them how long to “position” this idea?
$1/TV episode sounds pretty decent, considering a boxed set on DVD usually costs ~$3/episode. Trying to sell OLD movies for the SAME price as DVDs is just stupid - where is the discount for the users doing all the distribution work?
Look it’s a nice idea and the sheep will probably buy into it, but I won’t be buying ANYTHING with DRM attached to it.
May 9th, 2006 at 1:07 pm
sshhh…listen to this…
it’s the sound of bram cashing his most recent multimillion dollar paycheck.
May 9th, 2006 at 1:19 pm
DRM ???
No sale .. ever.
May 9th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
So first we need to pay up a DVD price for a movie - a singel file - which we probaly can’t play in VLC or any other “free” media player.
Secondly we need to spread this DRM crap with our upload to others?
… This gotta be the most stupid schem ever… I’m all for a new form of distribution but using BT in this way is just like shooting the cow, the farmer and gnawing of your own leg…
And DRM? There is ONE, I mean ONE person I have given my money to for DRM music - he’s name is Jeremey Soul. I have my reasons for this - but I think he is worth it.
DVD price for a DRM damaged movie which I can’t probably play on system of my choosing? HA!
May 9th, 2006 at 7:01 pm
you may know this already but…
Check out Pc Gamer’s pod cast where they interview Jeremey Soul. Check out this link: http://www.pcgamerpodcast.com/
Its pod cast 32
May 10th, 2006 at 5:54 pm
Thanks, I enjoyed that one
(can’t wait for the Supreem Commander soundtrack)