Monday, December 5, 2011

Pirates of the DC Universe

Arrrrrrgh Matey, what do you know about piracy? Perhaps you know about the music piracy epidemic that rose in the beginning of 2000s, or maybe you're just still stuck on the corny beginning line of this blog post. Basically, piracy is a problem that haunted the music industry as soon as people had the hardware to consume music digitally, and this article (http://www.tuaw.com/2011/05/08/publishers-choice-will-the-ipad-be-the-hero-or-villain-of-the/) argues it is threatening the comic industry today.

The author argues that the launch of the iPad with its tablet form factor will influence individuals to download comic books illegally because
a. it's free (obviously)
b. reading a comic would feel very much like reading a comic book directly
c. the iPad provides a much more appealing avenue to read comic through than simply downloading off of a computer monitor.
This problem is especially heightened due to the younger, more tech-savvy audiences the comic book industry is now targeting. This being said, the author proposes that comic book publishers "copy the people copying their products to save the industry," stating four steps that he believes must happen:

  1. Release issues at a reasonable price of $0.99 to $1.99 each.
  2. Release issues the same day that print copies ship to comic book stores.
  3. Publish all current titles on the iPad.
  4. Begin publishing back issues and series in groups (ie: X-Men #1-100) and sell them in groups of 25 or 50 at a reasonable price.

So, what do you guys think? Do you think there is a way to stop piracy from devastating the comic book industry? Moreover, do you think piracy is the main problem the industry is now facing?

4 comments:

  1. Honestly I really don't think that this is going to stop piracy. Songs on Itunes are only $.99 or $1.29 or something, yet there are still thousands of people who refuse to spend just that when they could spend nothing at all. Also, think about the target age for comics. One category is very young kids who don't have very much money at all. If they can figure out how to get comics illegally for free, its a habit they will probably keep for their lifetime. Although I wish piracy would stop, I just feel like these steps aren't a very realistic way to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with your comment, and more so, I don't think piracy is the main problem with the comic book industry. Seeing as comics' audiences are shrinking, the die-hard-fans still purchasing comics wouldn't want the industry to die. This being said, I feel as though they'd purposely go to their favorite comic book shop and support it, not even thinking of making the move to read comics online, yet alone download them illegally.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think there is just less interest. When people want comic heroes now they want the movies and the TV shows. I don't think that piracy is the problem. The problem is the growth of other ways for people to occupy themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think that lowering prices and publishing the comics the same day won't stop piracy because why would people pay for it when they can download it for free.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.