Navigating the seas of internet piracy

Let’s face it, YouTube has a hot monopoly, but you can’t blame ‘em. No one else caught on as quickly; now traditional media sources like Viacom scramble to catch the digital video clip bus. Viacom may be too late, so it filed a $1 billion suit against YouTube for copyright infringement.

Sound familiar? Napster succumbed to similar pressure from Metallica and the RIAA, and started charging for downloads as clone programs such as KaZaa sprung up, staying under the radar. Who’s going to pay for something you can still get free? Then the RIAA started making examples of users who illegally downloaded music. It didn’t stop pirates and didn’t get people to pay. When was the last time you heard “Napster”?

YouTube’s parent company is too savvy to charge users, so they’re trying to eliminate the offending videos. Some speculate Viacom really wants a piece of the action or partnership, but the company denies it. Publicity is my guess, because otherwise not aligning Viacom with YouTube seems strange:

BitTorrent, a popular file-sharing technology that claims 135 million users
worldwide, developed a loyal following as a tool for pirated video and audio
downloads. Now, the company has re-tooled itself as the BitTorrent Entertainment
Network and partnered with Viacom and other media companies to offer paid video
downloads. Users can buy new release movies for $3.99 each; TV shows and music
videos cost $1.99. So far, 20th Century Fox, Lions Gate, MTV Networks, Paramount
Pictures, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and MGM have signed on.
John W. Schoen, MSNBC.com

This is what Napster creator Shawn Fanning should have held out for. If enough devotees “steal” media with your server’s help you have enough buzz to generate big bucks and buyout. That’s the lesson I see here. People want internet content free—at least at first—then pseudotheft pays off. What did we think all the out of work information tech geeks would do when the bubble burst? They found a way out of a necktie noose. Good for them.