A rapid interview with author of FREE RIDE, Robert Levine.

1. Rapid Fire with Robert
Levine
Curated by Prashant Harish Hari

2. 1) Would you agree the Internet overall is uncontrollable?
And that we've reached a point in piracy which is now beyond
what we can call piracy with accessibility to content being so
universal? Or would you say with the right measures in place,
it still can be controlled?
The Internet is uncontrollable in the sense that everything is
uncontrollable, but we haven’t let that stop us from trying to
regulate other kinds of technology. When we talk about
piracy, we have to decide what our goal is. If
the goal is to eliminate piracy, I think that’s unrealistic; we haven’t
done that in the analog world, where it would presumably be
easier.

3. 1) Would you agree the Internet overall is uncontrollable?
And that we've reached a point in piracy which is now beyond
what we can call piracy with accessibility to content being so
universal? Or would you say with the right measures in place,
it still can be controlled?
I think the goal should be to reduce
piracy to the point where it doesn’t
prevent the legal market from
functioning. And, to answer your other question, I think
we’re close to that with music, but there are signs that this is coming
back. So, OK, how can we reduce piracy? To me, piracy
thrives when there’s a short distance between
legal and illegal options in terms of convenience.

4. 1) Would you agree the Internet overall is uncontrollable?
And that we've reached a point in piracy which is now beyond
what we can call piracy with accessibility to content being so
universal? Or would you say with the right measures in place,
it still can be controlled?
If you think about New York, it’s often possible to buy pirated DVDs
in the Times Square subway station, but this has disadvantages: the
guys selling them are never in the same place, their selection isn’t
good, and the quality of their product is often low. Most people just
rent or buy legally. Now let’s look at Bangkok; there, you can buy
pirated DVDs in stores, conveniently, and the fact that they want you
to come back means they’re less likely to rip you off. The
convenience difference isn’t so great, piracy thrives, and the legal
How can we bring this
market is in awful shape.
about online?

5. 1) Would you agree the Internet overall is uncontrollable?
And that we've reached a point in piracy which is now beyond
what we can call piracy with accessibility to content being so
universal? Or would you say with the right measures in place,
it still can be controlled?
Partly, we need convenient legal options. We also
need enough enforcement to keep piracy inconvenient. I think that
enforcement needs to be against what I call commercial infringers –
for-profit entities engaged in illegal mass copyright infringement. I
don’t think enforcement against
individuals is as practical.

6. 2) With advances in wearable technology like Google Glass
and the I watch, what do you think the Impact will be on the
content and culture industry?
I’m not sure the “iWatch” will matter all that much in this particular
context. Same with Google Glass, at least in the short term. I see it as
more of a privacy issue. There are obviously potential copyright
what’s going to stop anyone
issues, as well –
who goes to a movie from recording it
while they watch, then live-streaming it
online?

7. 2) With advances in wearable technology like Google Glass
and the I watch, what do you think the Impact will be on the
content and culture industry?
I think it will take a while before that’s practical. And, once again, I
think we ought to regulate it sensibly. There are special laws against
camcording movies as they play. Perhaps there’s some way to adapt
those without interfering with privacy rights. I haven’t
thought about this much. But, again, I think
Google Glass will raise a lot more privacy
issues than copyright issues.

8. 3) What would you think the consumers should actually pay
for in today's Internet age- the content ? Or the quality of the
packaging and experience ? Or access to the content across
multiple devices (e.g UltraViolet) Or something else? The
customer journey has changed drastically in terms of how
one gets hold of content (books, movies, TV)
“Should” is hard to deal with; consumers will say
everything should be free, while businesses
would say the opposite. I think the question is how
do we restore a functioning market for media
and what do they find worth paying for in
that market? I pay for the New York Times every month, and
the main reason I do so is that because I like reading it.

9. 3) What would you think the consumers should actually pay
for in today's Internet age- the content ? Or the quality of the
packaging and experience ? Or access to the content across
multiple devices (e.g UltraViolet) Or something else? The
customer journey has changed drastically in terms of how
one gets hold of content (books, movies, TV)
I’m sure I could get it for free if I put some work into it; the Times’ paywall is
hardly airtight. But I’d just as soon pay for it. You know, the leading reason
why consumers don’t pay for newspaper content is that no one asks them
There
to. There are other reasons, of course, but that’s the main one.
are other ways to get people to pay for
content, and I think the most important are the ones you mentioned:
Packaging and access.

10. 3) What would you think the consumers should actually pay
for in today's Internet age- the content ? Or the quality of the
packaging and experience ? Or access to the content across
multiple devices (e.g UltraViolet) Or something else? The
customer journey has changed drastically in terms of how
one gets hold of content (books, movies, TV)
We know packaging works. I think access will, too. UltraViolet
is
exactly what consumers say they want: Instant,
online access to what they own. Now maybe UltraViolet got
some details wrong. But the idea is strong – this is what people want. Well, I
should say it’s what most people want. Some people are offended at the
People
idea of any closed system. But I think that’s not a popular view.
pay $2 to get their own money out of an ATM.
There’s no reason this can’t work.

11. 4) Would you agree the current model of operation with
piracy will affect studios in the longer term? Despite the
overall US boxoffice receipts made in cinema was over 10.5
bn? Or was 2012 an odd year out for cinema?
I think it’s deceptive to look at US box office receipts, since they
don’t matter all that much. For most films, box office
receipts make up between a fifth and a
fourth of total revenue—and that’s
worldwide. Films also make a lot of money on DVD, and that
business has just been devastated—not only by piracy, but I think
that’s a big part of it. If you look at the studios, they’re having tough
years—closing departments, layoffs, that kind of thing. That’s
reality.

12. 5) For Newspapers, do you think a model where consumers
pay for the quality of the content via its journalistic integrity
(i.e pay per the article) than a complete free access works
better?
I think charging for journalism is a great model for
quality newspapers that don’t deliver what I’d call
“commodity news”—just a summarization of the
day’s events. It works well for them. It wouldn’t work for others.
But it might be worth trying to make a paper better so you could
charge for it. I also think that it makes more sense to
charge for the paper than to charge by the
article—the former gives publishers more control
and more flexibility.

13. 6) Is there a market opportunity in DTH (Direct-to-Home
releases) being missed completely?
Perhaps, but that's not the right question to ask. First
off, I
think we're starting to see movies become
available sooner, and in more formats, so I think
this is an ongoing process. But, just for the sake of
argument, let's start with the premise that no movies are available
as Direct-to-Home releases on the day they come out. Is that a
market that's being missed? Of course! But that market wouldn't
exist in isolation. So the real question is: Would the positive
effects of that market outweigh its negative
effects?

14. 6) Is there a market opportunity in DTH (Direct-to-Home
releases) being missed completely?
For example, if it's suddenly possible to see movies at
home as soon as they're available in theatres, it's
easy to imagine that theatres might stop running
those movies. Or that more theatres might close.
And these questions aren't just financial: Although the economics of
direct sales might be better than those of theatrical showings,
theatres provide significant marketing benefits; movie marketing
is done with theatrical openings in mind, and that
tends to fuel demand for movies all the way through
their lifecycle.

15. 6) Is there a market opportunity in DTH (Direct-to-Home
releases) being missed completely?
Now I don't know the answer to this question - there are
just too many variables. But this is how studios
think - in terms of maximizing revenue
against a significant sunk cost. And anyone
who finds this strange ought to remember that much of
Google's success is due to the same kind of thinking: It
doesn't just sell ads, it maximizes the revenue from each
ad sale, according to a complicated, proprietary auction
system.

16. 7) Do you think a model like ultraviolet is the model of the future where
the individual pays for a one off access to x amount of content on the
cloud for a monthly basis which can be accessed across any device?
Also, what (if any) different implications do you see for industries like
Bollywood and Hong Kong versus Hollywood? Or do you think it will be a
global issue and all industries will face the same issue regardless of
cultural boundaries?
I don’t think there is “the” model of the future, any
more than there’s one model for the present. I think
we’ll have a few difference models, just as we do now. As far as
UltraViolet, it’s hard to say—I just don’t know. But I do think
the idea of paying for access will be a much more
important part of the future than paying for
discreet pieces of content, a la iTunes songs.

17. 7) Do you think a model like ultraviolet is the model of the future where
the individual pays for a one off access to x amount of content on the
cloud for a monthly basis which can be accessed across any device?
Also, what (if any) different implications do you see for industries like
Bollywood and Hong Kong versus Hollywood? Or do you think it will be a
global issue and all industries will face the same issue regardless of
cultural boundaries?
But, remember, that’s not exactly new: Cable
television works the same way. The format is
different, but consumers buy blanket
access to a certain amount of content for
a certain amount of time.

18. 7) Do you think a model like ultraviolet is the model of the future where
the individual pays for a one off access to x amount of content on the
cloud for a monthly basis which can be accessed across any device?
Also, what (if any) different implications do you see for industries like
Bollywood and Hong Kong versus Hollywood? Or do you think it will be a
global issue and all industries will face the same issue regardless of
cultural boundaries?
As far as Bollywood and Hong Kong, I’m not sure I know enough
about the businesses there to comment on them in a meaningful
way. I do think that foreign film businesses would
benefit from more copyright protection, which
would allow producers to invest more, which
would in turn allow filmmakers to do more, which
would help create the kind of production values
that would allow those countries to make more
money exporting their films. But as far as how those
businesses should look, it’s hard for me to say.

19. Robert Levine
• Robert Levine on Twitter: @RobertBLevine_
• Website: http://freeridethebook.wordpress.com/
• FREE RIDE on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Free-Ride-Internet-Destroying-
Business/dp/1847921485

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