Serge Jespers

I know I ranted about this topic before… But this just keeps bugging me. Here’s a question for you: When a large percentage of web users know how to circumvent geo restrictions on media files, what’s the point of even having geo restrictions?

I understand that copyrights need to be negotiated in every single country and that is just where this problem starts. Record companies, Hollywood studios, publishers and broadcasters are still thinking in old media and it’s about time that they wake up and join the rest of us here in 2009.

When a new TV show is launched in the US, it can take up to a few years before I can see it anywhere on local TV. So, if I choose to watch this before it is available in my country, why can’t I? Why do I have to wait fo my local broadcaster to pick this up and watch it when they feels like airing it? And what if they decide to cancel the show?

How about an example? I really like Burn Notice for instance. This show is currently in its second season in the US. None of the local commercial broadcasters has picked this up yet. Now imagine they pick it up next year or so. They may air season one and then decide to cancel it. Where do I go as a fan with geo restrictions in place? I know this show is available on Hulu but officially I’m not allowed to watch it.

Same goes for the music industry. What if I like artist X but the local office for record company Y decides not to release it in my country? What do I do? I download it. What if artist Z releases his album in my country months after he released it in the US? What do I do? I download it. Would I buy it if it was available (on CD or as legal download)? Absolutely.

There’s actually a very good example on YouTube right now: Esmee Denters. This girl from Holland used to just record herself singing and then upload it to YouTube. She rapidly became one of YouTube’s most watched stars and got offered a record deal by Justin Timberlake. While her videos were watched all over the planet, you can no longer watch her new videos because of that very record deal she got because people watched her videos…

And what about the movie industry? With some exceptions, movies tend to be released about 6 months to up to a year later in Europe. Most movies are already available in the US iTunes store before they hit the theaters in Europe. So what do people do…? I think you get the idea. Would I buy or rent that new release if it was available in the local iTunes store or equivalent? I sure would and I’m actually also doing that now. Again, it’s very easy to circumvent geo restrictions even in the iTunes store. Do I stop going to the movie theaters? No… I still go and see the occasional movie in the theater.

Also, when I travel to the US, I can walk in to any Best Buy, Virgin Megastore or the likes and pick up any CD. There are no geo restrictions on that CD but if I want to pick up a DVD or Blu-ray, I can’t play that when I get back home. So what do people do? Get a multi-region player.

So let me ask this again: When a large percentage of users know how to circumvent geo restrictions on media files, CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray DVDs, what’s the point of even having geo restrictions?