TVNZ’s Close Up and a new study on NZ copying habits
TVNZ’s Close Up last night interviewed CFF’s Bronwyn Holloway-Smith about the section 92A review along with Telstraclear’s Matthew Bolland and APRA’s Arthur Baysting. On the show APRA said they were against termination (!) but that they favoured slowing down connections. TelstraClear were rightly talking about the wider issue of the business model needing to change, that there are unsatisfied customers that still can’t even buy movies when they want it. Of note was the new study of New Zealanders opinions on accessing and copying content. The study cover legal and illegal copying, and here are a few choice quotes,
Quotes from people surveyed
“I know that there are things that will never be available in NZ through stores, therefore I look for that content elsewhere. An example of this is British content which will never be shown on NZ television. Same kind of thing with obscure music that NZ does not buy through retail. I think there needs to be a massive restructuring and a look at the kinds of things that are available legally and keep in mind that the retail section is so limited here in NZ. “
…
“The record industry needs a major shakeup – the current approach is like trying to stop an avalanche with a stick. I don’t have a solution but whatever it is, the artists will get much closer to their audiences and will get paid, but the record companies and intermediaries will not be necessary and will not survive.”
…
“The creator has for a fixed period of time exclusive ownership to profit on the content, but at some point in the future it is expected that copyright expires and the content enters the public domain. Right now I consider that owners, publishers and middlemen are actively extending their rights beyond what is fair using obnoxious tools like DRM etc….so they are not playing fair, therefore they have abused consumer rights and I lose interest in being fair to them myself.”
…
“In the past, recording companies, publishing companies etc. were all very important to allow artists to reach customers. In today’s world however, we are rapidly finding that artists can very easily find customers independently. I think there is a growing perception that most of the money you pay when you buy an album is not going to go anywhere near the artists, and I think a lot of people resent that, I would count myself among them.”
