brwnbear wrote:I am just puzzled that the only post that seems to understand the changes at netflix comes from a guy who admitingly uses pirated music and movies.
That's more part and parcel than you would believe. But, first, let me just say that I am not pretending to be all Robin Hood-like. I just don't feel the pressing need to NOT take this glorious opportunity to acquire music and movies in a easier and cheaper manor with a next-to-nil chance of getting caught. I am moral ... to an extent.
That aside, I actually get knots in my stomach thinking about the RIAA and MPAA. Even further, if I were more studious, I'd be in law school right now as I am extremely passionate about ending the lunacy surrounding intellectual property law or, at least, protecting the small business from these predatory patent lawsuits. As such, we have the music and movie industry, the busiest bees in the "Fuck you!" hive. Years ago, when I was fancying myself as a future bar & restaurant magnate and learning the ropes, I had the pleasure of meeting the douchebags from ASCAP (read below for some of their finer work). The short version: they represent the songwriters and composers of the songs we hear every day. Thus, if you have a business that plays music, you owe ASCAP money. They don't tell you how they came up with this number or where the money goes ... just give me; and I am not exaggerating. So, my boss and I said, "Fuck you." He was promptly sued and lost. Bar closed. This repeated three times over my life, once BMI added their fucking palms to the pile, too.
To put their lunacy in a quick sentence; they wanted money from a girl named April who would play at our bar by herself every so often. She was unsigned and had no designs on ever signing a record deal. ASCAP's stance: "We will collect dues for her just in case." I swear on every god you guys believe in that is what he said straight to my face. "Just in case." Are any of you real estate agents? If so, this is the equivalent of the carpenter looking for money from you every time you sell the house because he built the place.
So, in short, I am very in tune with what the movie and music companies are up to (re: I could have a third anti-Apple rant here, too).
And now poor Netflix is being taken to the cleaners. Again, it is little more than a team of bored attornies duping the MPAA out of a bunch of cash by scaring them into thinking the movie industry will crumble if NetFlix continues to "screw" them out of sales. They then offer a cure; in this case, my guess would be upping the licensing fees but I have no proof. Of course, this is going to cost the MPAA and fille lawyers' pockets. Of course, the plan is a bullshit red herring and the MPAA goes along for the ride because they are stupid. I always feel silly when I call major business executives stupid while I sit in a furniture-less one bedroom apartment, but that's what they are. You don't need to be a genius to see this happening before when it happened with the ...
... RIAA! Their cadre of legal thieves stole sacks of cash from the RIAA's conglomerate with the big idea to sue people - including your grandma - who had IP addresses show up in their log as downloaders. If they actually procured a few million dollars from it, I'd be shocked. Too bad for them stupid-ass Trendon and the rest of us normal people realized it before the RIAA realized it was too late they were being tricked by their legal councel more than any kid with a torrent was and stopped the lawsuits. It took ten fucking years for the record companies to come to where they are now - ya know, the 21st century - and play ball with iTunes, Zune, and Amazon if they hope to make any money. Sadly, they took dozens of honest and dishonest companies for the ride and every single one of us.
So, again, I hate these fucks more than you could imagine and I poke my nose in to every argument companies have with them because I can pretty damn sure their hands are tied.
And, in more Dave's territory, I just read that Goldman Sachs (ya know, one of the group of useless fucks that make sure you can't eat because your car needs gas) increased their share target to $330. This is a company that fires 20% of their employees just to keep everyone on their toes. They rarely miss their target and Armchair Trendon can't see why they would fail now. Netflix has no competition other than, maybe, Amazon prime. They'll spend assloads on licensing to increase their streaming library (everyone's number one complaint about NetFlix) and any competition will have to do the same. Can someone name a service as efficient and inexpensive as NetFlix asides from my fictional "Creative Acquisitions Movies, Music, and Games" LLC? I can't.
And, Dave, if I recall correctly, doesn't NetFlix have a history of shitting all over short sellers? if I had $264.99, I'd by a share right now.
By the way, this is the second time I have been THISCLOSE to unleashing an anti-Apple tirade but pulled back.
