I for one have wondered if copyright is really necessary to secure the interests it is designed to secure. At the very least, right now copyright terms are outrageous in relation to the supposed goal. Do we really think that people will stop writing if their rights to a work die with them? Or *only* twenty years after they die? Right now, it's life of the author plus seventy years. That's three generations of monopoly, because that's what's necessary "to promote the Progress of Science and Useful Arts?" Really?
As for the future of content, the provider needs to add new things that improve the content if they want people to pay for it. For instance, Steam is a digital distribution platform for video games, that also functions as unobtrusive DRM (you must log into Steam to play your Steam games). It also brings with it the best update-pushing system in the business, bar none, a great community, highly responsive sale prices, access to free preview weekends and beta events, and now it's even allowing you to backup your save games to Steam's servers and play them on any system. It is the perfect platform, because it gives players and developers both unique and high-value benefits. Developers get DRM, players get unobtrusive DRM. Developers get in-your-home points of sale, players get great deals and the ability to re-download the game easily without discs. Developers get access to the gaming community (the "Your friend is now playing [X Game]" notifications are great free advertising) and gamers get to be part of the community.
So yeah. If you want me to pay, it needs to be value-added that I can't get elsewhere for free.
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Date: 7/4/11 18:13 (UTC)As for the future of content, the provider needs to add new things that improve the content if they want people to pay for it. For instance, Steam is a digital distribution platform for video games, that also functions as unobtrusive DRM (you must log into Steam to play your Steam games). It also brings with it the best update-pushing system in the business, bar none, a great community, highly responsive sale prices, access to free preview weekends and beta events, and now it's even allowing you to backup your save games to Steam's servers and play them on any system. It is the perfect platform, because it gives players and developers both unique and high-value benefits. Developers get DRM, players get unobtrusive DRM. Developers get in-your-home points of sale, players get great deals and the ability to re-download the game easily without discs. Developers get access to the gaming community (the "Your friend is now playing [X Game]" notifications are great free advertising) and gamers get to be part of the community.
So yeah. If you want me to pay, it needs to be value-added that I can't get elsewhere for free.