

It's 2012 and this still happens; trying to buy music online and failing - tomflack
http://thomashambleton.com/its-2012-and-this-still-happens

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nicholassmith
For industries that talk repeatedly about how piracy is killing their profit
margins, they do make it really overly difficult to give them money.

I'm a big fan of Fringe, I wanted to stream it (personal choice of not wanting
any more 'stuff' taking up space) so I could rewatch all the seasons on the
run up to the end. I check Netflix UK to find nothing, so I check Lovefilm and
still nothing. Decide to pay for it, check iTunes no dice. After much
searching I find one place, selling at a ridiculous mark up. Give up, watch it
via shady means as I wait for DVDs to be delivered.

There's literally no reason for them to not get their catalogues on these
services other than they've never bothered to adapt. Darwin in action says if
they don't they'll be reduce to suing random people off the street to keep
afloat.

~~~
tomjen3
As long as you keep buying the DVDs, you are perpetuating the problem.

~~~
nicholassmith
Sure, and as long as I keep torrenting things I'm also giving them an excuse
to just blame it on the pirates. Both are valid arguments, and both are a bit
over board.

~~~
batista
Whereas the "if the made it as easy as I want, very few people would pirate"
is not?

~~~
nicholassmith
It's just as ridiculous, all of them are based in truth but taken as far as
possible. Better streaming would kill off the pirates but who do it as nothing
better exists, but that's still not all of them.

------
Paul_S
I had a similar experience with amazon and digital downloads. Region
restrictions on the Internet? Really? It baffles me to no end that they do it
even though it's obvious _why_ they do it - suits are still thinking we live
in the 18th century (which they probably do to be fair to them).

To give credit to Amazon, the "restriction" put in place is purely a token
gesture and they do their best to not enforce it in any way. This is smart.
They have to do it because unlike amazon the publishers live in some fantasy-
land but they do their best to let you get around it if you want to so they
can still make a sale and you can buy what you want. I'm not saying Amazon is
in any way benevolent - they're just not stupid and they want to make the
sale.

~~~
DVassallo
> _even though it's obvious why they do it_

It's still not that obvious to me. The publishers should be in the business of
maximizing their profits by selling as many copies as they can; I want to give
them my money for a copy; I'm also ready to pay for the international
bandwidth to have the digital bits distributed to my location (Ireland);...
and yet they force the distributors to kick me out of the shop.

What are the publishers gaining by refusing international sales at a price
which they are in control of setting?

It becomes even more odd that I'm normally able to buy the CD versions without
any restrictions... The thing is, I wouldn't know where to stick these CD
nowadays.

~~~
Paul_S
They sign a deal with the owner of the rights to the product which might be
exclusive to a region. This is a leftover from the the days of yore. The owner
for example might want to sell direct in his country, but is happy to let some
other distributor sell things in another country but without cannibalising his
sales so they put a restriction on where he can sell the item.

All of which makes no sense on the Internet. But we've only had the Internet
for what? Two decades? I guess it'll take a few more for them to accept it. Or
maybe they will succeed and recreate the borders from the real world on the
Internet.

~~~
tomflack
That doesn't make sense when the product _isn't offered at all_ outside of a
certain region. No local distributor makes money by not selling something.

------
tbundy
Had a similar experience. Only it was for a band from my own country! They're
shooting themselves in the foot, with shotguns.

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4018774>

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mmanfrin
I discovered this when I moved for a spell to Italy. I knew that netflix and
the like had a good chance of not working, so I _bought_ copies on Amazon. I
get over here and go to my account and I see a country restriction message.

I _bought the files_ but I cannot watch them.

What utter stupidity.

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tomp
I think the OP is surprised only because s/he is biased, because he lives in
Australia.

I live in Slovenia, and for me, this happens ALL the time!

~~~
tomflack
No, this is par of the course for us in Australia as well. I'm not surprised,
more exasperated that it still happens.

------
islon
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

~~~
corin_
Is that quote really relevant here? Would anyone see this and think "those
mean record labels, they're being racist because they hate Australians"?

Don't get me wrong, it's a nice quote, but it's the sort that's so nice that
every man and his dog pick it up and chuck it around even when it isn't
appropriate.

~~~
tomjen3
I don't think that, but I do say that.

If you start to argue contracts, the history of commerce, international
copyrights, etc, etc, etc fucking cetera you bore people to death. If you
simply call it racism, or nationalism, then what are they going to do? Argue
that racism is okay?

Most of the world is politics and in politics its not about presenting a
logical comprehensive argument. It is about winning, and making the enemy
lose.

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gregd
So I'm curious because I don't have these issues...what happens if you "Change
Store" in iTunes? Does it not work?

~~~
tomflack
You have to create a new Apple ID for the store, using a different email
address. Then you have to find yourself a credit card issued in that country
or buy iTunes vouchers from that country online and have the codes sent to
you.

~~~
junto
This is the digital equivalent of a Chinese burn.

------
amorphid
Thanks for introducing me to a new band. I just created a new Pandora station
for Palomq Faith!

~~~
corin_
Just FYI, she's a singer, not a band (and in case it was a misreading rather
than a typing error, her name is Paloma not Palomq) :)

