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This ones for you Mike...
news.excite.com
Enough with Hollywood's monopoly
by Paul Somerson, Smart Business
I've had it with movie studios and record companies reflexively fighting any technology they think will dilute their profits....
...Hollywood has a very sweet deal. If you're Microsoft standardizing things to avoid operating system headaches, you're a dangerous monopolist. But if you're a movie studio or record company, with unctuous lawyers and lobbyists, and friends at the Democratic Leadership Council, you can have a real honest-to-goodness monopoly and charge whatever you want. If multiple companies offered the same popular movie or CD, competition would drive the prices down. But that's not how the system works. You don't like it? Go pound sand.
On another note, regarding advertising, Tivo, and ReplayTV. Watch for product placement to become much more prevalent in your favorite TV shows. You may be able to skip the Coke commercial, but you won't want to skip past George Clooney saving a little girl while having a coke and a smile. To the extreme, many actors will be be paid so well, and do so many commercial appearances, they will become instantly recognizeable with a product. No matter what TV show you see Wilford Brimley in, you will think of Quaker Oats. As an advertiser you just have to hope he doesn't die of Cancer, or get caught with a hooker...
Regards
Jay |
