Piracy, we've all heard about it, and probably at one time or another participated in it. Napster, Grokster, Bearshare, they have many names. In the streets of New York and even in the small towns you can find copied movies and music. Yet... what about the other side?
Assumption: pirate CDs and DVDs sell for $5 & $10 respectively, at a markup of 800%.
Math: it costs pirates roughly $.62 cents & $1.25 respectively to produce each disc. We don't know if all costs are absorbed into that margin, e.g. pressing, printing, packaging, & distribution. But we can assume, based on the context of the "margin quote", that those costs are included.
The industry selling prices are $10 ~ $20 for CDs, and $15 ~ $30 for DVDs. Assuming equal production costs, it means they are marking up *at least* 1,500% to 2,500%. Talk about *piracy*! But there's more....
I know that the industry pays far less (roughly half!) to produce their packaged media. I've read the averaged cost is $.30 cents per CD and $.60 cents per DVD. That would make their markups more like 3,300% ~ 5,000% !!!
Even with the higher overhead of advertising, facilities, & royalty payments, what could possibly justify those kinds of markups? IMO, it borders on the criminal...
The industry has shown unbridled greed, and by pushing congress for laws to protect their practices, have also revealed themselves to be extortionists and racketeers at heart.
Who are the real pirates here? If pricing was brought more into line with reason, the "piracy problem" would simply go away..... in the end, they have only themselves to blame.
Also, how much money are the actual artists who CREATED this content actually getting? (if anyone can answer this, please post it)
Assumption: pirate CDs and DVDs sell for $5 & $10 respectively, at a markup of 800%.
Math: it costs pirates roughly $.62 cents & $1.25 respectively to produce each disc. We don't know if all costs are absorbed into that margin, e.g. pressing, printing, packaging, & distribution. But we can assume, based on the context of the "margin quote", that those costs are included.
The industry selling prices are $10 ~ $20 for CDs, and $15 ~ $30 for DVDs. Assuming equal production costs, it means they are marking up *at least* 1,500% to 2,500%. Talk about *piracy*! But there's more....
I know that the industry pays far less (roughly half!) to produce their packaged media. I've read the averaged cost is $.30 cents per CD and $.60 cents per DVD. That would make their markups more like 3,300% ~ 5,000% !!!
Even with the higher overhead of advertising, facilities, & royalty payments, what could possibly justify those kinds of markups? IMO, it borders on the criminal...
The industry has shown unbridled greed, and by pushing congress for laws to protect their practices, have also revealed themselves to be extortionists and racketeers at heart.
Who are the real pirates here? If pricing was brought more into line with reason, the "piracy problem" would simply go away..... in the end, they have only themselves to blame.
Also, how much money are the actual artists who CREATED this content actually getting? (if anyone can answer this, please post it)
