var json_comments = new Array("
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Jonathan Quinn
June 30, 2009 8:49 PM
Moderate | Flag for review

It's not as much the free content for me, it's the fact that many content providers want to maintain the status quo for distribution. You will watch at our time, when we say and at our leisure. TPB eliminates this, not to mention the restrictions of location, With shows like Top Gear and the IT Crowd from the BBC. There's no way for me to watch current episodes of Top gear and other BBC programs. iTunes only works if the content providers want to provide the content to the interwebs, this new service will undoubtedly Sink.

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3 replies
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TechnoDestructo
June 30, 2009 9:34 PM
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@Jonathan Quinn: Also the iTunes client makes my ass pucker, I hate it so much.

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BytheSea
June 30, 2009 8:57 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Jonathan Quinn: Exactly, what you said.

There's also the issue of paying a subscription for something I don't use very often. But if you pay a la carte, I'm sure they'll charge far too much for a single download.

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NeverLetMeDown
June 30, 2009 9:52 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@BytheSea:


OK, I just don't get this. It seems like you're saying:


1. You won't pay for a subscription
2. You won't pay a la carte


So, I assume that you'll just go without, then?

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consumerfan
July 2, 2009 2:27 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@NeverLetMeDown: No - he's saying he won't pay for a subscription and MIGHT not pay a la carte.

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JamieSueAustin
July 1, 2009 12:20 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@NeverLetMeDown: I won't pay a la carte if the price is too high. But if I was given an option of a subscription for a day or week instead of month by month I'd be cool with it. I don't use Pirate Bay or similar very often.

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NeverLetMeDown
July 1, 2009 12:48 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@JamieSueAustin:


Well, they don't sell it like that, so your (legal) choices are a la carte or monthly.

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jamar0303
July 1, 2009 9:15 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@NeverLetMeDown: Or move to China. Really cheap media? Sure, why not? Decent dubs of shows that have never been re-aired anywhere else due to stupid licensing issues that disappear when the channel dubbing and re-airing them is gov't-owned? Just lovely.

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anduin
July 2, 2009 12:54 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@jamar0303:
china does it right, steal everything and somehow those who make it still get paid boatloads

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NeverLetMeDown
June 30, 2009 10:16 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@downwithmonstercable:


Sure there are, but BytheSea has essentially said that it's not about the format or availability, he just doesn't want to pay for content.

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liquidnumb
June 30, 2009 10:57 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@NeverLetMeDown: He said he doesn't want to pay as much as they're charging. There are better points to nitpick, NLMD.

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NeverLetMeDown
June 30, 2009 11:27 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@liquidnumb:


If he doesn't want to pay what they're charging, then he doesn't get the content. Seems pretty simple to me.

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logicalnoise
June 30, 2009 8:54 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

it's a front, in actuality the company formed by the initial members has sold their name rights but under the agreement that the company also take on new responisblities for managment. the entire process of selling teh site is so it can be restructured and become even less based in one location. the current plan is to have torrent files transferred via p2p and then tracked trhough teh entire network not just on pirate bay servers. this makes presecution extremely hard since it will require lawsuits and evidence from all over the world. and the actual website will be managed by several companies instead of just one.

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Myotheralt
July 1, 2009 12:05 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@logicalnoise: I sincerely hope yours is the correct answer.

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OggJoshua
June 30, 2009 8:54 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I would pay for a legitimate version of a private BitTorrent tracker network like OiNK. It was a stupendous resource of any media you could want, before it was shut down. But it seems like RIAA companies' current mode of operation would prevent anything that useful from being built legitimately.

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1 replies
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anduin
July 2, 2009 12:56 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@OggJoshua:
in the united states.... thats why the most successful sites are in Europe, Asia and maybe Canada/South America. You guys stay dominated by corporations for life, I'm just glad the boogieman can't reach through and grab me like they do you.

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madanthony
June 30, 2009 8:55 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

because taking a p2p site and turning it into a pay site worked so well for Napster....

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4 replies
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Happy13178
July 1, 2009 4:14 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@madanthony: Such a shame, too. For me, Napster was never about getting for free the stuff that I could go buy in stores...it was about finding the music that nobody else had. I got more rare studio outtakes, live bootlegs and assorted acoustic unreleased material from there than I have anywhere since. Stuff like that was never what the RIAA really cared about, since the only people that would want that type of material (which was frequently below final release quality standards) were the fans who already went out and bought all the albums, and went to every concert, etc.

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Rectilinear Propagation
July 1, 2009 12:25 PM
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@Happy13178: THIS

It never occurs to them that the people using these P2P services are using it to get anything other than what they're trying to sell. You'd think that, after learning that people want this other stuff, they'd try to sell it but they don't.

Back in the day I used Napster to get songs like \"Killer Tofu\" and that JabberJaw song from that Cartoon Network commercial/music video.

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NeverLetMeDown
July 1, 2009 10:28 PM
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@Rectilinear Propagation:


Well, they may be a bit shortsighted, but really, they're right. Look at the top seeded torrents at any major torrent site - they aren't \"Killer Tofu,\" but Transformers/Harry Potter/Jay-Z/whatever.

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Cyco
July 1, 2009 11:49 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Happy13178: I agree completely. I giggled like a little girl when I found live recordings of Metallica and Megadeth doing acoustic performances of their songs.

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Michael Belisle
June 30, 2009 9:02 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@madanthony: Hey, they're number 2, and a very distant one. And Best Buy got Napster at a fire sale price.

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Copper
June 30, 2009 8:55 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I have already sought out new coves to fulfill my downloading needs that do not compromise my whereabouts.

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thisisasignin
June 30, 2009 8:56 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Then why would it still be called The Pirate Bay?
What next, MTV without music and Cartoon Network without cartoons?

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8 replies
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madog
July 1, 2009 3:27 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@thisisasignin: MTV only plays music videos when:

A: nobody is awake,
B: a singer has died.

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silver-bolt
June 30, 2009 10:38 PM
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@thisisasignin: But MTV without the vi....

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Rectilinear Propagation
July 1, 2009 12:12 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@silver-bolt: If \"I see what you did there\" is in the Urban Dictionary it should include a picture of Fry narrowing his eyes like that.

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dangerp
June 30, 2009 9:17 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@thisisasignin: Am I the only one that detected sarcasm?

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SunnyLea
June 30, 2009 9:25 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@dangerp: No.

I was beginning to get paranoid that I was the only one who could see it, though. Jesus, people! Don't scare me like that!

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iambeaker
June 30, 2009 9:13 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@thisisasignin: MTV no longer shows music videos, and the cartoon network is starting to show more reality shows. How about this analogy... Food Network without Food, and DIY Network without renovation shows...

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Saboth
June 30, 2009 9:13 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Duke_Newcombe:

Cartoon network has sucked for the past few years as well. And more and more they are coming out with live shows and now show live movies. Really wish I could get Boomerang....

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Michael Belisle
June 30, 2009 8:57 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I checked the calendar. Twice. It's not April 1.

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Megalomania
June 30, 2009 8:59 PM
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as noted, this is a part of larger maneuvering, but it's not paying for content that's the issue, it's the sheer ridiculous constraints that come with it. God forbid you want to put your movies on a computer so that you don't need to keep a huge stack of boxes next to your TV at all times. I OWN blu ray discs and I'd still like to download rips of them.

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Anonymous
June 30, 2009 8:59 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I read this around 4 am PST this morning and my first thought was \"time to start using demonoid again\"

anyone who thinks they can successfully make something people used to get for free into a paid service must have fallen asleep during the part about napster in their community college level business class

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Joshua Davis
June 30, 2009 9:02 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I've never pirated a song... but it burns me up when I hear a single on the radio and want to actual pay for it and after searching multiple online stores don't find it. And I know it's out there for a free download. No wonder their industry is in such shambles.

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bobcatred
July 1, 2009 4:52 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Derek Bentley: awww... TechTV was my favorite channel until they sold out to G4.

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Derek Bentley
June 30, 2009 9:08 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Agreed with others. TPB will sink. The big labels are wanting control over content, especially on the web. TPB turning legit will lose a lot of the hits it gets. They seem to think like G4 did when TechTV sold out to them: just because it got a lot of hits before doesn't mean you'll keep them once you change.

Personally I don't use torrents. They're too slow and sometimes incomplete. But worry not torrenters, from the ashes another will rise.

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5 replies
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anduin
July 2, 2009 1:01 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Derek Bentley:
too slow ? Say what ? Where else do you get 5gb+ files at 500kb/s + (best Ive got was 1mb/s)

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FrugalFreak
July 1, 2009 12:36 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Derek Bentley:

OK so who is going to upstart \"The Treasure Chest\"?

It will not be the same, and I expect it to sink fast.

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Devidence
June 30, 2009 9:17 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Derek Bentley:

Yes someone will undoubtedly pick up the slack here. Although TPB was by far the most vocal player in the torrent world, what that site stood for will not die so easily.

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Dan King
June 30, 2009 9:09 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I'd go legit..if it were reasonable and easy to do so. I like TPB because I can get tv shows and music that I wouldn't ordinarily know about. Not really sure I need to pay for that

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ph15h
June 30, 2009 9:11 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Duke_Newcombe: Doesn't work for either if you put it like that. MTV still has some music. Cartoon Network also has some cartoons left. MTV has reality television, Cartoon Network has old RL Stein stuff and movies with live people.

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sicknick
June 30, 2009 9:14 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I pirate things for the above mentioned reason. I cannot stand to pay for cable that I do not use a fraction of and then have a limited DVR option to watch things on. If I could pay for only what I watch and have it viable whenever and however I want to watch it, I would.

That option is not available. I'm currently watching season 3 of BSG since I never watched it while it was on regular services. I hate having to wait for the next episode (or worse, the next season, like with Breaking Bad). Sometimes, I'll watch four episodes in a row, then not watch for a couple weeks. Give me a pay service that lets me do this, and I'll pay. Until then, I'm all about downloading. I don't sell it, and I rarely keep anything past my watching it.

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4 replies
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AirIntake
June 30, 2009 9:58 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@sicknick: I pirated BSG for several reasons, none of which were me being unwilling to pay.
1) I didn't want to wait for it to air in Canada, when it was already available for download
2) I didn't want to watch it when it aired (Friday night at 8pm)
3) I wanted to watch it in HD, and it was only available in SD in Canada (on my Shaw cable at least)

Plus I hardly consider it pirating when I own every single ownable episode on DVD and bought them as soon as they came out. In my case, pirating made BSG money. If I had to watch it on TV and TV only I would have missed episodes and lost interest quickly.

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JamieSueAustin
July 1, 2009 12:27 AM
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@AirIntake:
I download a LOT of episodes of Torchwood because I don't want to wait for it to air in the US. Then I watch it air in the US and DVR it. THEN when it comes out on DVD I buy it (along with the books and magazines because I'm obsessed.)


When I do download I download things to see if I like them then if I do I buy them. It's not like you can really return open media to a store anymore and if you rent it then you are buying it twice.

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edicius
July 1, 2009 3:51 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@JamieSueAustin: Yep, I did the same thing with Life On Mars and Ashes to Ashes, neither of which have aired on US TV (although I think LoM at least has aired on BBC America, which I don't get on my cable provider). Followed by purchasing the Region 2 DVDs from Amazon UK.

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nybiker
July 1, 2009 1:35 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@edicius: While a given series might be great, you're not missing anything if it's shown on BBCA. Why? Because between their logo and on-screen text most of the screen is blocked,so you can't see what they're showing.

Of course, more and more cable channels are putting up more and more on-screen text (besides their vanity logos), so more and more shows are becoming more and more unwatchable (if you even attempt to do so).

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montusama
July 1, 2009 3:30 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@JamieSueAustin:

You can't really say this about British TV. Many series that I've watched the DVD is substandard because of some licensing issues with soundtracks and such.

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NeverLetMeDown
July 1, 2009 12:50 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@JamieSueAustin:


Sorry, but the Captain's gay. Then again, he is immortal, so he does have all eternity to come around to find you interesting... :)

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CaptainSemantics
July 1, 2009 1:35 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@NeverLetMeDown: But after that eternity, he's just going to be a big, shriveled, old face. And, really, that's not the same...

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NeverLetMeDown
June 30, 2009 9:54 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@sicknick:


\"If I could pay for only what I watch and have it viable whenever and however I want to watch it, I would.\"


Four suggestions:


1. Netflix
2. iTunes
3. Buy DVDs
4. Amazon VOD


There are lots of ways to legally get content when you want, where you want. People don't like them because they don't want to pay.

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Munchie
July 2, 2009 8:09 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@NeverLetMeDown: Issues with services

1: Netflix - They can take away whatever they want whenever they want. They don't have everythig I want.

2: iTunes - Fairplay DRM. I will not support DRM.

3: Buy DVD's - DRM again (I know its a joke). DVD's get lost and their options come no where close to what a bunch of files on a hard drive can do.

4: Amazon VOD - All issues that come with streaming, audio video sync issues, speed bufering, inconsisten freames, i don't actually have the files, etc.

What I want -

Buy file from site and download with no DRM, embedded tracking or any other manipluation of the files. I want it encoded with an industry standard format and the ability to dowload it again at any time I want.

Give me that and I start buying, anything less is me not have 100% control of what I own.

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subliminal727
June 30, 2009 9:19 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Legit P2P? So you want to charge us for it AND have us provide the bandwidth for everyone else who is also paying for it?

Better be damn cheap.

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Trenton Ray
June 30, 2009 9:22 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Does this mean the 'new' suprnova.org that TPB launched a while back will also go the way of the dodo?

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1 replies
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Moosehawk
July 1, 2009 2:10 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Trenton Ray: mininova already took a crap unfortunately

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qxrt
June 30, 2009 9:24 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I don't understand. So, the company that bought PirateBay outright said that they'd be changing the model to incorporate payments, but then the current administrators say that they won't change except to their own detriment? Either the administrators are insanely naive, or they're just in it for the money for the domain and are just spouting a bunch of nonsense propaganda to pacify their followers.

Obviously, a company that pays so much for a domain based on freeloaders is going to want significant returns. I can't think of how the administrators think the Pirate Bay's going to keep its mission intact if it gets sold to a company.

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downwithmonstercable
June 30, 2009 10:09 PM
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@qxrt: That's EXACTLY what I was thinking. Sounds like the current admins/founders sold it off knowing full well what it's gonna be, and are now giving some kind of Braveheart rally speech to make the sale seem like they were duped and that now the power is in the hands of the people or something...

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DefineStatutory
June 30, 2009 10:45 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@downwithmonstercable:


Uh, we sold the site, to guys who want to sharge you, but uh, you can just not use the site and they'll have to put it back to free. Yeah...that's it!

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korybing
June 30, 2009 9:26 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

In other breaking news: everybody stops using The Pirate Bay.

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golddog
June 30, 2009 9:30 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Uh this has been done before, with Napster probably being most analogous. Content on TPB is uploaded by individuals, most of whom I'd hazard to guess don't have permission to do so, same as Napster. When they go \"legit\" all those uploaders go away, same as Napster. The downloaders will follow closely on the heels of the uploaders. Paid content will fill the vacuum, except content producers and consumers have no motivation to switch from what they're using, and what will be on there will be supremely lame. Paid content on the Carnival version of TPB won't be any cheaper or more awesome there than it is anywhere else on the web.

However, I'm wondering if that's not their intention at all. Recently, many people in the EU have been getting psuedo-extortion letters from a law firm in the UK, retained by a collective of game developers, demanding the individual pay a 665 pound fine for \"uploading\" their content or they'll go to trial. The new owner of TPB would be in an excellent position to monitor and track downloads of all sorts, and hand that information off to a 3rd party, for a fee of course.

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Daniel Parmelee
June 30, 2009 9:43 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

People will go elsewhere to steal. Maybe TPB will attract new \"legit\" users, but with the plethora of BitTorrent sites out there, it's not like people will be strained to find places to pirate from.

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HPCommando
June 30, 2009 9:46 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

AAAHHHHHHRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrr!

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Thaddeus
June 30, 2009 9:46 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Even if torrents as whole die off, it wont matter. Some other form of P2P sharing or something else will come along and replace it. It is impossible to stop media piracy.

What ever springs up next will have a good five years and then it to will be bought out and repackaged. You can stop how it happens, even try to manage and control it, but not the fact that it is going to happen.

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1 replies
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GuinevereRucker
June 30, 2009 10:53 PM
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@Thaddeus: And I hope we do continue to try :)

It used to be hard to stop pirates on the high seas too, but I'm glad there's less of those around now!

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Siegeman
June 30, 2009 9:56 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

There are many other trackers out there, and I've been using them much more often than I ever did the pirate bay. What TPB provided, though, was a giant library where you could find ANYTHING. Most private trackers focus on one or two niches. (such as movies, music, games, etc.) Very few provide the same plethora of content that TPB did, but some come close.

I doubt anyone who used TPB will use the pay version. Do they really expect to be able to negotiate down prices with major corporations down to something a pirate would pay? I doubt Adobe would be willing to put out CS4 for a measly $50 when they can charge so much more.

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2 replies
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NeverLetMeDown
June 30, 2009 10:00 PM
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@Siegeman:


And I doubt most pirates would be willing to pay $50.

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NeverLetMeDown
July 1, 2009 11:49 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@FrugalFreak:


Huh? What, you disagree with the comment? What price do you think the people comfortable illegally downloading software _would_ be willing to pay? I betcha it's a lot less than $50.

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Sonicjosh
June 30, 2009 10:14 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Quick, everyone to Mininova.

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DefineStatutory
June 30, 2009 10:46 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

If people want to steal music and video, they'll do it.

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1 replies
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Mike8813
June 30, 2009 10:52 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@DefineStatutory: Agreed. I though we had a different kind of viewership at Consumerist, but reading the comments on this post is a little disheartening. Are honest people in the minority nowadays?

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watchout5
June 30, 2009 11:19 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

The Pirate Bay in it's current form is unprofitable, it's almost impossible to make a determination at this time.

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takes_so_little
July 1, 2009 12:05 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@thisisasignin: It's a more recognizeable brand name than whatever stupid name they would invent. Unless they called it \"Titties and Beer\" or something. But Frank Zappa's estate would probably sue.

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Duckula22
July 1, 2009 12:17 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

OOOOoooooooooooooohh, maaaaan!

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t0ph
July 1, 2009 12:26 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

I just queried \"The Hangover\" in TPB and got zilch, zero, nothing - not even a cam version. Just a bunch of unrelated crap...I guess I need to find a new spot to get my shiit from.

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2 replies
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t0ph
July 1, 2009 1:25 AM
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@NeverLetMeDown: Thanks Duder, but I have already seen the movie. @nd day it was opened. I am just saying that it is looking like the filter is being applied to TPB as we speak. And if you dont use torrents (except for your public domain works of course), then RELAX yourself. Seriously.

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NeverLetMeDown
July 1, 2009 11:51 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@t0ph:


Great, then I bet you're looking forward to either seeing it again in the theater and/or buying it on DVD or via iTunes or via Amazon VOD when it comes out.


As for me relaxing myself, what you're essentially saying is \"don't make t0ph actually think about whether what he'd like to do is actually legal or ethically respectable.\" Sorry if that's stressing you out.

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Ryan Gard
July 1, 2009 12:34 AM
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i have to say, this is less than surprising of a move on their part. One thing to really keep in mind in this sort of situation, is that they have fines that they are being held to. They really don't have any other way to take care of said fines, so for a company to come along and offer such an amount for such a deal helps tremendously. I mean, imagine the amount of traffic that shifts through the site, and imagine how much normal companies under normal circumstances would pay for something of that sort.

Win Win situation in that regard.

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bohemian
July 1, 2009 1:27 AM
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Since BBC refuses to air programs here until much later if at all and there is no HD or on demand option many shows are only available through torrents.
I have downloaded a few public domain items that were on there and it was a useful tool to distribute videos of what has been going on in Iran.
TPB and torrents do have other uses.

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zyodei
July 1, 2009 1:41 AM
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The best part of pirating media is that you don't have to give any money to these bastards who are making lives hell, strangling content, and undermining American democracy.


I would rather go without media than give a thin dime to anyone associated with the RIAA or MPAA.

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2 replies
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NeverLetMeDown
July 1, 2009 11:53 AM
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@zyodei:


I would rather go without media than give a thin dime to anyone associated with the RIAA or MPAA.


Great, then go without, nobody's stopping you.


Making lives hell


What, because you have to pay $15 to download or buy a movie? Yeah, that's pretty much the Rwandan genocide right there.

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montusama
July 1, 2009 3:27 AM
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well I don't use public trackers much anymore anyways so its not that important to me. Plus with sites like isohunt and mininova people have alternatives. Remember when Suprnova died? tens of sites poppped up so its not really a blow to file sharing as a whole.

On a side note I'm about to go back to usenet. It's hard to beat usenet's features, reliability and speeds.

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INsano
July 1, 2009 6:29 AM
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Shiver me timbers, this ship has sailed.

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Tansis
July 1, 2009 7:37 AM
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I read somewhere that in the USA 10% of computer users pirate music, movies, etc. I'm sure going legit might not be such a bad thing for them if they can get the other 90% to use it.

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Sven.T.Sexgore
July 1, 2009 8:29 AM
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In a way I think this is briliant but probably not in the way the buyers think.

With the loss they suffered at trial its quite possible the industry would then work at finding a way to shutdown the site entirely. Even if not users are more likely to be wary of a pirating site that is visibly in the crosshairs and being made an example of.

Now they've suckered a company into paying them for a site that, in being sold and made into a 'legitimate business', loses most of its actual worth and potential.

Perhaps, if they really are this cagey and not just sell-outs, there is then nothing to stop them from starting a new site - relocated, low-key, and rebuilding while the industry finds there next 'example'.

But maybe i give them too much credit - we'll have to wait and see.

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kabuk1
July 1, 2009 8:53 AM
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RIP, Pirate Bay. You will be missed. Good thing we still have Demonoid. Nobody is going to pay for shit they can get for free elsewhere. That's like paying for a prostitute when you have a willing fuck buddy.

I'm getting sick of the whole \"downloading is theft!\" bullshit. Is recording a song off the radio \"stealing\"? Or DVR-ing a tv show? Pretty soon the RIAA will begin insisting we pay for music before its even released.

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NeverLetMeDown
July 1, 2009 11:54 AM
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@kabuk1:


\"Is recording a song off the radio \"stealing\"? Or DVR-ing a tv show?\"


Both are generally covered under fair use. Distributing those copies, however, is not.


Don't like the law? Lobby to change it, or engage in civil disobedience by downloading illegally, and then informing the RIAA/MPAA that you've done so.

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antisan
July 1, 2009 10:50 AM
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My main motivation for downloading pirated content is that I can do what I want with this content. I usually get TV shows with the intent of screencapping and vidding from them - things that are actually impossible to do from DVDs on a Mac.

If I could buy files that were clean and not protected in any way (Itunes files and the like have protection to prevent Final Cut from having access to them) I would buy them. But I can't, so I pirate. I don't know why I can't do what I want with things I made- if I wanted to cut up a book that I bought, I'd be able to do that.

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Skin Art Squared
July 1, 2009 12:59 PM
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The Pirate Bay is far from the only resource of its kind out there. Any real pirate has multiple resources to tap. One ship sinking is only an inconvenience.

That said, I buy and rent my movies from Apple, and I buy hard copy CDs of music and rip to full uncompressed quality AIFF (because mp3s are for kids and people with no taste and low character). But torrents aren't just for college kids trying to get something for free. There are legitimate uses too. But I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a torrent service AND use my bandwidth that I'm paying for to supply and seed them.

The model will fail. Napster is a perfect case study.

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rawsteak
July 1, 2009 1:30 PM
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of course the teeming masses will pay for it. in fact, people will keep using PirateBay just like people keep using Napster, right?

wait.

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Michael Schwager
July 1, 2009 3:07 PM
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Genius! Sell off the name of a sight to an idiot investor who is gullible enough to think they can make money off pirates.

I think you'll see traffic to TPB drop off immediately, as the pirates find new trackers, leaving the investors with 7.7m less in cash, and the rights to a name.

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grapedog
July 1, 2009 3:25 PM
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When artists start putting out 15 actual good songs on a CD instead of 3, I'll start buying whole CD's again.


When a game company stops trying to charge me $50 to play their beta version of a game, and when they remove their antiquated copy protection that does nothing but screw the actual buyers and not the pirates, I'll start buying games again.


If the companies want everyone to pay for their content, they need to start putting out content thats worthwhile.

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trujunglist
July 1, 2009 4:50 PM
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I guess if they'd charge like $5/month and it legalizes the downloading, then yeah, but my guess is that content providers aren't going to just want $5. My guess is that they'd rather have a hefty price AND a lot of DRM laced into all of it. That's not going to happen under the current structure, so the question really is: how much is their model going to change to appease the RIAA/MPAA/etc? Because that is what determines whether or not they live or die.

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anduin
July 2, 2009 12:51 AM
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Pay them for what ? Theres over a dozen good p2p sites that are still free. I won't name them so that media watch dogs don't rat out another torrent hotspot. I wouldn't pay them a dime though, Im already \"stealing\" why would I pay for that privilege???

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jblaze1
July 2, 2009 3:04 AM
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Those sellouts will have bring about 0 users with them.

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vaporland
July 2, 2009 4:34 AM
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(1) See how much cheaper it is to shut down torrent sites by buying them rather than suing them? If the media and software industries really are losing \"billions\" to piracy, $7.7 million is chump change compared to the high priced legal fees everyone spends on suing downloaders.

(2) Once the sale closes, how much would the new owners get for turning over the email addresses and download histories of TPB's former booty sntaching clients?

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consumerfan
July 2, 2009 2:28 PM
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A guy sitting on a sofa with a bag of cheetos is going to want TV-on-demand. And that's available.

A guy sitting by his computer wants that too. But the content needs to be available in any country, on any operating system and in an open format.
In order to compete with torrents, you also need to be get the data to the guy quicker and more conveniently. And, since payment is required, easy payment options.

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stands2reason
July 7, 2009 5:50 PM
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At least mininova and isohunt will always be there for me...

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