this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2024
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Or many service providers competing on price, quality of service and features, not competing on exclusivity like they do now.
Like grocery stores. Imagine if only one chain has the exclusive rights to sell potatoes and another one has rights to pasta. They can ask whatever price they want, because what you gonna do? Go to another store to get your 'taters cheaper? Hah, you'll cry and you'll pay what we ask! (BTW, growing your own potatos and sharing them with your neighbor infringes on our rights and is illegal. We'll sue you to oblivion if we catch you doing it.)
I think a better example is just physical media sales. Retailers generally all carried the same physical stock. You would occasionally see special editions or something that might only be available at certain stores, but it was extremely rare to only be able to buy certain titles at certain retailers.
Or the prime example: movie theaters. We passed regulations to prevent movie theaters from being bought by studios and used as exclusive avenues for the distribution of certain media. You had a movie, you released it to all movie theaters that wanted it, you couldn't just make a deal or buy out Regal or Cinemark, or make your own theater. It ensured a level playing field.
One of the biggest problems with streaming that we have simply refused to acknowledge is that the safeguards necessary to create a healthy market, the safeguards we've used previously with other distribution models, were never put in place. And we're seeing the fallout of that now.
This is the best take I’ve seen yet, with the benefit that it’s literally already been done.
It’d be interesting to see what would happen if they tried to mandate this now, but I’m sure it’s already too late.
I would think in a way it’s like what happens with the music industry. Don’t get me wrong, that industry has its own problems, but for the vast majority of music, I can listen to it on Spotify, YT music, Apple Music, etc. I don’t need to sign up for Sony+ to listen to their artists, etc.
Same should have happened to the movie industry.
Don't give them ideas!
This is an excellent take and I love the idea.
However what about the counter example of car dealerships? Isn’t that the same model as theaters separate from studios? Yet car dealerships have degenerated into a morass of sleazy scam artists who most of us would do better to avoid. I’m a Tesla fan partly because I don’t have to deal with a dealership. How do we either fix car dealerships or prevent theaters or streaming providers from going down this path?
Does not work for media, since media is a good that you need a specific version of. You don't really care what potatoes you buy (simplification) but if you want to watch a specific show, movie or play a game -you can't really subsidize it with another. So exclusivity does not work for potatoes but works for media. We would need a global overhaul of copyright to work this one out.
It totally works for media. Just need a law that says, if a work is published, anyone can distribute it for the same fair licensing fee. That's the way "cover" music works - any cover band can play any other musician's work. Nobody can refuse them that right. Then the venue where they perform pays a flat fee to an agency for the license. This doesn't work great in music, but we could create a better model for streaming. it's not impossible.
Musik industry has an extra layer of rights management companies that deal with exactly that issue. So I agree, we could create a legal framework or even an industry self regulating system to work that problem out. But I kind of said that already:
Studios aren't allowed to buy specific movie theaters to force you to go to them to watch their movies. Same concept here.
Yet Disney found a pretty creative work around. But that might be a good idea that distribution and production should be separated entities - if well implemented well could solve the problem. Haven't thought about it.
Imagine having to pay for your potato subscription even if you're only eating pasta this month but maybe next month will be 'tatember
Ah, my favorite month, Octato
This is the perfect comparison!
Oh yes, I would!
Not a great analogy since pasta is easy to make potatoes are easy to grow.
And movies are easy to pirate