Download to Own, Rental, or Streaming? It’s All DRM And We Deal? Pragmatic Outlooks.
I’m just thinking the distinction is kind of weird.
Some people tend to really champion one thing or another, like against digital rights management (DRM). I think regardless how you feel about the issue on digital delivery of anime, it’s important to look at it from the big picture.
The really basic concept here is that it cost money to create and deliver anime to us, so it makes some sense for us exchange money for it (or rather, for them to charge us money to watch it, or use it to deliver ads and have advertisers pay or some form of that).
Naturally, the purer form of the delivery, the better value. Things like DRM are, in a nutshell, giving the user less value. To an extent, “streaming” media is also a form of DRM in the inability (and lack of common knowhow) to record a stream, giving us less value. Think of it like radio. But at the same time, that kind of distinction is not all bad compared to a less-restricted format, much like how radio and streaming media can deliver to users who just have access to a wirelessly-wired portable device (eg. a radio, iPhone), versus having to carry around a personal media player (PMP; eg. Zune) and worry about storage. Of course, the better way to look at it is that streaming media is really just a DRM-laden, on-demand broadcast.
A rational consumer’s perspective is that if we are to receive a more restricted product or service for our money, in exchange, we ought to pay less. And vice versa–less restrictions mean it should cost more money.
But the world doesn’t work that way.
We all know by now that Funimation is going to stream and sell DTO+DRM versions of Shikabane Hime: Aka, which I’d like to call it “UNLIMITED DEADGIRL WORKS.” Sounds like a lot of fun, right?
So why do they have a download-to-own (DTO) option? Besides that Hulu makes content owners and licensees almost no money? A DTO option is not only giving people what they want (having more options is always good, I suppose), but Funi makes more off it than they would from ad-supported, free streaming.
Still, from a value-to-consumer perspective, it’s crazy why would anyone pay $2 for something you can watch off Hulu or Youtube at any time, for free. Granted I don’t have details about Funimation’s DRM platform in terms of compatibility and what you can do with it (I’m most interested in how you can port videos to a PMP), but unless they gimp the free streaming options, or add some value (like, HD?) to the DTO option, it seems like you are paying a lot more for not a whole lot more.
Not that should stop you. More importantly, how much more do you think we ought to pay for a DRM-free alternative, if we suppose the world does work that way? And the logical follow-up question–how much more money would it take to wrestle that DRM mindset away from Japan’s license holders?
I get the feeling that’s not a productive train of thought. Perhaps a better question is how much control are we willing to give up and how much limitation are we willing to live with for cheaper media?
I’m guessing it’s as low as things can go, if we’re getting it for free.
And is it really a bad thing? I might as well be a card-carrying member of the EFF, but I understand that the enemy is not DRM but it’s how we use it. It’s in the heart of man, in the business models that casts over this present darkness during a time of uncertainty. The law of nature, as it always were, is that freedom is something we have to fight for, that it belongs to the vigilant. So the question becomes, ultimately, is the freedom of our digital distributed content worth the fight considering the money we save?
And how do we fight it?
Does boycotting it work, even? The dynamics of the situation is obvious–DRM makes content holders feel comfortable about taking the dip into “new media.” I think publishers, as witnessed by things like Hulu, are generally less afraid of not having that sort of control. And we know the Japanese are often the most paranoid ones. If we can consider Funimation’s initiatives a positive step to move away from locked-down digital content, does buying in to their DRM stuff helping or hurting things? That might be the hardest thing to answer.
One thing to note about streaming video; who says they have to keep it posted forever? They could post it, and then pull it after a few months… just to make you buy the DTO version, or the DVD version when it (inevitably) comes out. That’s the problem with depending on the ‘free’ stream - it inevitably will not stay, and you don’t control it so you don’t get a guarantee that you’ll always have access to it.
Also, Hulu is not available outside the US - and certain YouTube streams are similarly locked to regions, so if your IP is in Japan or Europe because you’re there for business or pleasure and want to view your anime… you can’t. The issue with the DRM is very basic, and one that certain people (those who bought into the Plays-For-Sure DRM’ed stuff, the people who bought Yahoo music-DRM’d songs, and now people who bought music from Virgin’s online business) have discovered; the servers aren’t guaranteed to be up forever, so you lose access to the music if your PC dies or the hard drive takes a dump or you move computers or some other event happens that takes away your access to the music as the keys are no longer being issued. And again, the YouTube solution is no solution at all.. as ultimately, as with the DRM’d stuff, you’re not in control of the media or the access to it. At least with a physical DVD, you have physical control over the disc itself and the only restrictions are those put in place by the DVD’s region-locking and any DRM stuff that keeps it from playing correctly on a computer.
Ultimately, the only solution is new business models pioneered by companies who aren’t afraid to take a loss, and which achieve a critical mass as far as acceptance from the marketplace goes. Of course, with the tightening of IP rights in the United States with the so-called “PRO-IP” bill, I don’t think that change will happen in the United States.
When you pay for DRMed media, you are not buying the media. You are buying a license to view it. That license can be revoked at any time, and if the licensor dies then you lose your license with it. It is not permanent.
When you buy DRM-free media you actually are getting unlimited use of that media (within the bounds of copyright law, of course).
DRM is all about control. It’s anti-consumer, and should be resisted. The whole concept is predicated from the assumption that you, the paying customer, are a criminal.
Besides that, Funimation’s effort is completely misguided in that it’s restricted to the US only. I would happily pay $2-3 per episode for Shikabanehime Aka, if it was DRM free and the bastards would actually let me buy it. I was also very happy to pay BOST for Strike Witches and Crunchyroll (they had higher video resolution) for Druaga. Gonzo’s online distribution efforts were pioneering, forward-thinking and generally worth supporting. Funi’s efforts are poorly considered and clearly intended to simply attempt to double-dip on their customer base. It will do 3/5ths of utterly nothing to stop fansubbing, because the bulk of the internet are considered unworthy of access to a legal option. Their approach is almost as retarded as what Sony are doing with Xam’d. At least Funi are asking for a remotely fair price. Though I bet their video quality - even on the DRMed paid downloads - will be terrible. Wouldn’t want to cannibalise sales of their DVDs, after all.
The only way to fight is to a) not buy anything, b) make sure you’re vocal online about why you won’t buy into it, c) support companies like Gonzo / BOST who *do* offer reasonably priced DRM-free series, and if you feel inclined d) write Funimation a letter. If they don’t read and take into account that sort of correspondence then frankly they deserve to go under like their contemporaries.
In an ideal world, US anime distributors would all go bankrupt and we’d be buying or anime in high-definition, digital, subtitled form, online, directly from the Japanese producers. I don’t actually see why that can’t be happening already. Except that it seems that when it comes to the Internet, a lot of Japanese and US corporations are stuck in 1998.
Yea DRM is F’d up! I was writing a related post a couple weeks back, on the premise of licensing, and how companies should allow a transportable license (basically, allowing you have any form of the information, so long as it is not being used commercially). It wouldn’t matter if you downloaded titles, because you would be licensed to hold it.
Not that it would be cheap, but at least it’d be legal, and it doesn’t have to be that expensive, since the seller has no obligation to provide a copy, that is up to the license holder to obtain.
I haven’t thought it entirely through, but we need innovative models, because all parties are annoyed.
I’m just going to lightly address some of this, to clarify things. Not going to argue it one way or another.
Haesslich basically pointed out the main reason why a DTO option is attractive. I think the worries about licensing and IP blockage are valid but ultimately that can be overcome with smarter DRM technology. It’s bound to happen sooner or later that we won’t have to worry about keys and what not.
The regional problem both Haesslich and NZ brought up are addressed by a good understanding of the fundamental statement:
Even when you buy some copyright-protected media without DRM, you don’t own it.
The truth of the matter is when you buy a CD or an 8-track, you don’t own the music. You just own a recording limited to certain use. The terms of use is governed by law. DRM is just a puppet that spawns from the legal power that be which allows copyright owners to enforce their legal rights.
The region blockouts are artifact that most copyright owners cannot and does not have the ability to market their wares in different regions, and the incentive is there to sell it to multiple sub-licensees to capitalize on localized marketing. So even in an ideal world companies like Funimation will continue to exist because they serve an important function. From a business perspective you want the freedom to do localization outside your own organization, at any rate. It’s cheaper.
The main point I made in my post, implicitly, is that companies like Funimation are actually one way to solve the core problem–that Japanese license holders are stuck in 1998 (more like 1988 if you ask me). They provide an impetus for Japan to change because America is ahead of them, and Funi has to play by American rules. We can cheer on Gonzo all we want, but that’s not all we can do to affect the situation.
Boycott I think works better on something that’s already established.
Yeah, by boycotting it now without saying why, it’s throwing out the baby with the bathwater. We can generally agree that options for digital delivery is a good thing and it’s a step to a better reality (in other words, NegativeZero’s perfect world). It’s just that it won’t be everyone dial up to BOST for their anime, but we all can just go to either BOST or a local distributor for anime all at the same time without that time lag. Digital distribution works to make that reality possible.
If there are legally free and paid versions of the same content, I would definitely go the free route. But then again, I’m one of those lucky US viewers.
Funimation’s US only restriction on their DRM may mainly be due to the Windows standard but the deals with licensors and the requirement of a credit card are other contributing factors. At least they are offering this one on the global platform of YouTube so citizens of the world have some opportunity to see it without charge.
BTW, Funimation contacted Tokyo Tosho about Shikabane so they’re serious about enforcing their US copyright.
I am left out of this a but because I well never, ever DTO. I simply don’t have the HD space, and half the reason I buy DVDs is to put them in a collection.
Omo: you’re correct in that if you buy non-DRMed media you don’t own the copyright for the intangible ‘property’ itself. I left out the key word ’should’ in my statement. People assume that when they buy a CD or DVD they own it, but that’s not quite in line with reality, and is an inconsistency that really should be fixed. Also, there’s the problem that the big media companies want to have their cake and eat it too. If you are buying a license, then you should be able to have that disc replaced at cost price should the media it’s on become obsolete or damaged. If you’re buying a physical product, then you should be able to do whatever you want with that product. Their ideal world is where you’re renting a license, essentially.
Incidentally, I purchase a lot of DVDs, but I do *not* buy the local releases. Australia’s DVD releases come out months later than the US ones, have inferior video quality (NTSC masters converted to PAL, so you have the lower NTSC resolution coupled with the lower PAL framerate and 4% speedup) and cost more. So I don’t have much love for the idea of supporting the ‘local’ industry. Although whenever Bandai messes up and prints a shitty disc (see Eureka 7, Code Geass) I’m basically SOL since they won’t replace faulty discs if they were purchased by a filthy Australian or something.
Restricting their work to a certain region because they can’t market effectively in other regions is a bullshit excuse, sorry. There’s nothing stopping them from taking your money over the internet and offering you a digital product over the same internet. The real reason is that US companies like Funimation only bother to buy a sublicense from the original producers for a small segment of the world. They’re essentially a bit-player. It’s nothing to do with marketing, it’s to do with distribution, and the fact is that the internet enables instant digital distribution to practically anywhere on the planet. Big media companies got to the point they’re at because they were in control of all the distribution channels, and now they’re not. They’ve been outpaced by technology, and by people using that technology.
Incidentally, I don’t buy anything on DVD that I haven’t already watched end-to-end via fansubs. And when I get said DVDs, they go into my shelves and are generally never watched anyway. :P If I couldn’t get fansubs, then I doubt that I’d still be pouring money into this hobby at all.
It’s worth keeping in mind that if we lived in Japan we’d be viewing this stuff on TV, for free.
@CalAggie: Credit cards aren’t something unique to the USA, you know. I regularly buy things online from US and Japanese/international retailers using my Australian CC. A Visa/Mastercard is a Visa/Mastercard. It doesn’t matter where it’s issued, all they care about is whether your billing and shipping address match with the bank’s records, and ideally whether they have the correct verification number.
The inecentives studios like Gainax and FUNimation are taking by streaming their shows is the way forward. I’m not that hung up on HD or downloadable episodes; most of the time I won’t even rewatch the show. BUt if its offered up being streamed for free, and the shows have a chance of being realeased in other regions so that I can buy them if I wish to, I have no problem whatsoever.
>> Restricting their work to a certain region because they can’t market effectively in other regions is a bullshit excuse, sorry.
No, it’s more because they know they can get more money for it (and cost them less) if they hold out, so they do. It cost more and potentially gain them less if they do a world-wide distribution model as it would subject them to local business limitations and legal limitations/liabilities.
I guess the underlying assumption here, as Omisyth pointed out, is that these releases are akin to a broadcast. You see it, if you like it you can go buy it. It’s advertising for the DVDs, really. Now if you officially don’t release to a particular region, you can’t really write it in your financial statement that you’re selling to that region even if people do import it. It’s a buyer-beware situation.
So this is why until the whole release chain gets picked up at a local region, it’s not likely we will see a near-day-date release of a show in broadcast form with the Japanese broadcast premiere. If you want to rail on someone, you ought to complain to your local distro and not the Japanese. I think it’s just more efficient and effective that way.
In other words, there are stuff that stops them from taking your money over the internet, and the internet is actually for marketing, not for selling crap. You want the post office for that.
Funi has downloadable stuff at present, it’s not HD and it’s windows-specific, so I doubt you’re going to get what you’re hoping for from them. They also sell a limited amount of stuff over iTunes which is bi-platform and has a less strict DRM, but DRM nonetheless.
To Hassleich:
So true, but that isn’t an argument for buying a DTO version, though. DRM depends on having a server up and running, just as streaming does, and you’re at the mercy of both the content provider and the technology provider — usually Microsoft, who waffle regularly on their DRM direction. Take Wal-Mart’s recent debacle when they changed their online music store model from DRM (based on Rhapsody) to DRM-free (Amazon-style mp3 store). Eventually the outcry from people who had “purchased” music prompted them to bring their DRM servers back up, but there’s no guarantee that has to happen. So streaming ends up being something you don’t pay for that might get canned (at which time you’d hope there was a DVD or some alternative), whereas DRM is something you DO pay for that also might get canned. I willingly threw money at Gonzo, Bost, and Crunchyroll, because while the files aren’t HD, they’re legit and I have them forever.
I also agree with you and Omisyth that it should at least partially serve as an ad for a DVD — fansubs are filling a perceived market gap on our part because we don’t have the broadcast anime. Funi’s streams are in a sense going to fill the gap legitimately by adding another market, North America, to the people who get free TV anime. But I do understand the problems people outside of the region have with it, because that gap is global and Funi took away the gap filler for the rest of the world when they put up their North American one.
Yea, that’s it in a nutshell.
I should revisit this topic and just boil things down to something like that…if I can stay on course and not go into wild and fanciful tangents.
“If you want to rail on someone, you ought to complain to your local distro and not the Japanese. I think it’s just more efficient and effective that way.”
Tried that. They do not listen and they do not care.
“In other words, there are stuff that stops them from taking your money over the internet, and the internet is actually for marketing, not for selling crap. You want the post office for that.”
Tell that to Amazon. Or Apple, who have made a fortune selling ‘crap’ online. Or all the musicians that have found they can sell their music digitally online to anyone in the world.
I don’t buy things from the post office, either. I use their services to deliver physical things to me. Which I buy online.
I understand your argument - these releases are advertising for their DVD releases, and they don’t sell those DVDs outside North America so why advertise to people who arent’ their audience - but I think it’s crazy that I’m sitting here, downloading anime because I’m actively prevented from paying for it in the format I want it in. The way I see it, fansubbing and distribution of fansubs online is filling a need which is not being catered for by legal means. Streaming subs is a step in the right direction, yes, but it’s flawed. It will also do almost nothing to stop fansubs, and all that Funi going around and stomping out fansubbers does is antagonise people.
Just to be clear, both Apple and Amazon made crap money with their digital distribution outlets. They make their money selling crap through the post office. Internet retailing is just a fancy way of doing mail order, really.
I don’t think it’s crazy that you’re sitting there and actively prevented from paying for it in the format you want. Mostly because I doubt you’d pay the price to get it done, which is why it’s not happening. Money talks, whining generally doesn’t. I guess that’s the other assumption I made in my post. Actually I raised this point as a question.
The point being all these entities that are sucking and denying you the things you want will move if you pay them enough. It may not be true 100% but I think it’s sufficient motivation.