Agree with points 1 and 2 as areas of concern (and, as I stated, QFX is me picking winners) however I fundamentally disagree with point 5.
The notion that 'nothing competes with free' is flawed for several key reasons.
First, it assumes every individual has zero moral qualm about stealing and that this is perfectly acceptable and even possible in every scenario. It isn't. Even if it was, with music as an example it is still is quite difficult to source illegal copies of popular content, let along obscure material.
Secondly, it assumes that pirates can offer a better service than legal companies. This is, in almost every scenario, false. If 'free' were the dominant business model, there would be no Netflix, no Amazon, no iTunes and no Spotify. The fact is, these companies 'sell' their product and, by offering it without restriction on demand to any consumer along with powerful recommendation, customisation and social networking features, they offer a service pirates cannot match.
Spotify launched in Sweden in 2008 and, between 2009 to 2011, music piracy fell in the country by 25%. Coinciding with massive growth in the Spotify service. torrentfreak.com/music-piracy-continues-to-decline-thanks-to-spotify-110928/
Additionally, using Game of Thrones or Homeland as examples of people's willingness and desire to pirate proves the exact need for the existence of services such as Netflix. HBO attempted to apply its archaic business model of making the service extremely hard to access (you could only get it by subscribing to them). It is simplistic to say that Aussie's were alone in this piracy, it was America's most pirated show ever as well. Research shows that consumers will begin to pirate a show/movie within two weeks of release. The piracy is not Netflix's fault, but rather evidence of the outdated HBO model. It is also evident of consumer's great desire for instant on service, something Netflix provide better and faster than a pirate. www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/05/09/hbo-has-only-itself-to-blame-for-record-game-of-thrones-piracy/
QFX Price at posting:
5.2¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
