The Right to Participate in Global Culture
Thursday, October 15, 2009 by Anonymous
Recent New Zealand news media is in a spin at the moment with the Rugby World Cup broadcasting rights bids flying from all corners.
For those hidden under a rock these past few weeks, Maori TV put in a bid to broadcast the Rugby World Cup 2011 free-to-air. A big government switcheroo took place however, when TVNZ placed a last minute bid above that which Maori TV placed. Beneath the name calling, racism and questionable business practices, reasons for TVNZ pulling a quickie behind Maori TV's back are cited by the New Zealand Herald as simply Maori TV cannot reach 100% of New Zealanders, a demand made by John Key himself.
Rugby is, like it or not, part of New Zealand's culture. It is slathered across TV, the internet, radio and newspapers and informs much of our pop culture. As such, all New Zealanders, it seems, have the right to see the Rugby World Cup free-to-air.
Belief in this right to freely partake in our culture is so strong that the government and major broadcasters are now locked in a battle for rights, stirring up alot of angst and wasting alot of time (in my own humble opinion).
It is this belief in the right to share in ones culture freely that I think plays a large, but often unnoticed part in Piracy.
I'd like to take myself as an example. I am one of the few people out there who do, in some ways, agree with some of the propaganda about piracy. I know that alot of a film's success is based on box office reciepts and a film can be saved or even attain cult status by later DVD sales. Knowing this I try to avoid downloading, burning and copying and don't buy pirated DVDs, and the same goes for music. However, I do have one exception. I will priate what I can't see/access in New Zealand.
Big foreign films splashed across magazines like Empire (which has a New Zealand circulation) and music and movies that are advertised on global sites like IMDB (lists actors and films from round the world) and even pop up film trailers on bigger sites have become regular sights and sounds of my daily experiences on the net. They are part of my culture if you will. They are advertised on sites I visit, discussed on global social networking sites I use, and reviewed in print magazines I read. They are as much a part of my world and culture as the Rugby World Cup is.
Yet much of the time these films and CDs are not released in NZ.
Some could argue that it is the right of the owner/artist where the product is distributed, but I call that into question. If a reccord company only wanted an American auidence, then their advertising should have stayed focused on national mediums like radio, newspapers, TV and film. The internet has no national bounds. Sites are easily accessed by the world and are now geared to handle that. Registration to any website now days includes country of origin and timezone details to best accomodate a global auidence.
Like John Key, I believe my culture should be freely accessed. If CDs are advertised to me, I expect to be able to participate in the culture of supporting the artist by purchasing the CD and enjoying it.
To me, and a large group of my morally concious friends, piracy is not a means to getting what we want (alone), it is a way to protest the current global culture, and national business practices.
It's time corporations, Lables and distributors recognised that the Internet is a global entity. If they are contributing to the Global culture, they need to be prepared to go all the way with it.
For those hidden under a rock these past few weeks, Maori TV put in a bid to broadcast the Rugby World Cup 2011 free-to-air. A big government switcheroo took place however, when TVNZ placed a last minute bid above that which Maori TV placed. Beneath the name calling, racism and questionable business practices, reasons for TVNZ pulling a quickie behind Maori TV's back are cited by the New Zealand Herald as simply Maori TV cannot reach 100% of New Zealanders, a demand made by John Key himself.
Rugby is, like it or not, part of New Zealand's culture. It is slathered across TV, the internet, radio and newspapers and informs much of our pop culture. As such, all New Zealanders, it seems, have the right to see the Rugby World Cup free-to-air.
Belief in this right to freely partake in our culture is so strong that the government and major broadcasters are now locked in a battle for rights, stirring up alot of angst and wasting alot of time (in my own humble opinion).
It is this belief in the right to share in ones culture freely that I think plays a large, but often unnoticed part in Piracy.
I'd like to take myself as an example. I am one of the few people out there who do, in some ways, agree with some of the propaganda about piracy. I know that alot of a film's success is based on box office reciepts and a film can be saved or even attain cult status by later DVD sales. Knowing this I try to avoid downloading, burning and copying and don't buy pirated DVDs, and the same goes for music. However, I do have one exception. I will priate what I can't see/access in New Zealand.
Big foreign films splashed across magazines like Empire (which has a New Zealand circulation) and music and movies that are advertised on global sites like IMDB (lists actors and films from round the world) and even pop up film trailers on bigger sites have become regular sights and sounds of my daily experiences on the net. They are part of my culture if you will. They are advertised on sites I visit, discussed on global social networking sites I use, and reviewed in print magazines I read. They are as much a part of my world and culture as the Rugby World Cup is.
Yet much of the time these films and CDs are not released in NZ.
Some could argue that it is the right of the owner/artist where the product is distributed, but I call that into question. If a reccord company only wanted an American auidence, then their advertising should have stayed focused on national mediums like radio, newspapers, TV and film. The internet has no national bounds. Sites are easily accessed by the world and are now geared to handle that. Registration to any website now days includes country of origin and timezone details to best accomodate a global auidence.
Like John Key, I believe my culture should be freely accessed. If CDs are advertised to me, I expect to be able to participate in the culture of supporting the artist by purchasing the CD and enjoying it.
To me, and a large group of my morally concious friends, piracy is not a means to getting what we want (alone), it is a way to protest the current global culture, and national business practices.
It's time corporations, Lables and distributors recognised that the Internet is a global entity. If they are contributing to the Global culture, they need to be prepared to go all the way with it.