In most articles about why people pirate movies, I find that two points are mentioned.
1) Getting a movie the legal way is much slower and harder than getting it in a few minutes at the comfort of your room
2) There will always be people who don't want to pay for movies.
Now to talk about India specifically, the first point breaks down. Our internet speeds aren't really high enough to promise that a movie download is faster than taking your bike and renting the DVD for ₹25-50 nearby.
Regarding 2), we find that people have no qualms buying tickets at theaters for > ₹100. Buying DVDs however is very rare, at least among the average Indian populace.
So unless we find a middle ground piracy is still going to happen. And frankly, I think we have much bigger problems than piracy to tackle.
About 1) Yes, broadband is less prevalent in India. But, storage costs are low. It is easy to get it from a friend who has the movie.
In how many cities do you find a legal DVD renting service for INR 50 ?
2) You are spot on about the 2nd point. It is a marketing failure on the part of movie studios that DVDs are still such a niche market. Multiplexes and cafes are booming, so why not DVDs. Availability may again be a factor. Before Flipkart, buying a DVD was a chore, esp. if you don't live close to a shopping mall.
Completely agree.. this calculation makes sense to me, the average salary of a college graduate in the US is 5000$, and a DVD costs around 50$, so by the same proportion a DVD should cost between 100 and 300 Rs. However a Game DVD costs 2300 Rs. i.e. no middle ground..
> average salary of a college graduate in the US is 5000$
Median personal income for a US person age 25+ with a BS degree or higher is $49303 per year. If you only consider those with a full-time job, it's $56078.
1) Getting a movie the legal way is much slower and harder than getting it in a few minutes at the comfort of your room
2) There will always be people who don't want to pay for movies.
Now to talk about India specifically, the first point breaks down. Our internet speeds aren't really high enough to promise that a movie download is faster than taking your bike and renting the DVD for ₹25-50 nearby.
Regarding 2), we find that people have no qualms buying tickets at theaters for > ₹100. Buying DVDs however is very rare, at least among the average Indian populace.
So unless we find a middle ground piracy is still going to happen. And frankly, I think we have much bigger problems than piracy to tackle.
Just my ₹2