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Is Hollywood Making Exactly the Same Mistakes as the Music Industry? Warner Bros. Now Blocking Blockbuster...

Thursday, October 27, 2011
by  paul

The recording industry has lost more than half its value since 2001, and that's probably a conservative estimate. It's a long and complicated story, though major labels may best be remembered for adamantly refusing to license, for burying startups, and suing fans.  And, for pillaging the very companies they should have been saving (ie, WMG).  "It's just a catastrophic failure," said one of the industry's biggest dismantlers, Napster cofounder Sean Parker.      

But wait: it's not over. In fact, this is history in motion, the lessons are totally fresh.  So then, why does it seem like Hollywood is marching down the same perilous path?  Earlier this week, the Financial Times revealed that mega-studio Warner Bros. is trying to prevent Blockbuster from renting newer titles.  Instead, Warner only wants Blockbuster to sell DVDs, not rent them, for the first 30 days.  

So, that 'Blockbuster night' may have to wait a month.  Or, not at all: people will probably start downloading titles from the Pirate Bay, swap them on RapidShare, or find some other under-the-table method of acquisition.  Because not only will Warner videos be scarce at Blockbuster, but you'll also have difficulty renting them from Redbox, Netflix, or other film outlets.  

Then of course, many pirating users will be sued, as studios are increasingly dropping the legal hammer.  Just like major labels infamously did for file-swapping music fans.

Meanwhile, DVD sales are starting to plummet as consumers increasingly shift towards digital delivery.  But emerging platforms like Netflix are still struggling to get premium content: in fact, Warner is rumored to be expanding the delay period for fresh releases beyond the 30-day windows.

Sound familiar?

 

 



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