Interview with Jack Valenti - aka The Devil Himself

[mglenn]

http://www.hpronline.org/news/347207.html?mkey=628413

Some interesting Quotes and my editorial comments:

The music industry now is suffering nine, ten, fifteen percent losses in revenue.

Ya in cassette sales... if you take out those numbers and look at them again their sales were way up the entire time napster was working.

When you compound that over the next three or four years, the music industry is dead. I don't see a future for it. After awhile, who's going to produce it?

You heard it here first boys and girls, Brittney and Christina are on there way out and theres nothing you can do to stop it. My only question is "Who's buyin the beer so we can party?"

It now costs about $350,000 to produce a CD

Hmm I just produced one last night and it didn't cost me anywhere near that.

it costs $80 million to make and market a movie.

Really some of the best movies I've seen have been made for less than 2 million.

What is fair use? Fair use is not a law. There's nothing in law.

Need I say more than US Code: Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 107

In the digital world, we don't need back-ups, because a digital copy never wears out. It is timeless.

What would he say if his bank told him that?

Today, it's illegal to copy a videocassette. No one has a fair use to copy a videocassette. If you lose it, you get another one, and there's nothing wrong with that. That's what people have been doing for generations.

This is a flat out lie! You have the right to make backup copies of software, movies and music! (See above link)

[fnordboy]

unbelievable...

Someone needs to take his ass out.

[lance]

Greedy, greedy, greedy. I think we had a discussion late last year about copyright. Mglenn I am so glad you quoted the fair use section of the code, saved me from digging it up .

Best,

Lance Man

[TomSpeed]

Jack's the Devil? That's a little strong. However, he definitely is lying and obscuring laws and facts.

In many ways, the recording industry brought it's difficulties on itself. Yes, the CD is the best means of providing music (vs. records and cassettes), but do they need to cost $18 or more? Musicians need to get paid. However, they get only a fraction of those $18. It was only a matter of time before cheaper means of providing music would be developed. I'm not sure if dropping pre-recorded CD prices will stem the tide of people burning their own CDs. The genie is out of the bottle with today's computers. How can the music industry compete?

In some ways though, we might see a reduction of the number of creative artists and overall music variety, due to a decreased willingness by the music industry to invest money in finding and promoting new artists. I don't think it will be as drastic as the music industry contends, but there will be a decline. The future is still out on what the overall effects of the demise of the music industry as we know it.

DVDs are also overpriced. However, the cost of buying a DVD has declined on a much greater pace than CDs. I think people are more willing to part with their money to buy DVDs because of all of the bonus material that most DVDs contain. Providing these extras is a bold move by movie production companies and filmmakers. I have a feeling DVDs will be around awhile.

The facts are that Jack knows the world is changing and he's trying trying to hold what's he's got. It's unlikely that he will succede.

[lance]

DVDs are also overpriced. However, the cost of buying a DVD has declined on a much greater pace than CDs. I think people are more willing to part with their money to buy DVDs because of all of the bonus material that most DVDs contain. Providing these extras is a bold move by movie production companies and filmmakers. I have a feeling DVDs will be around awhile.
.

Tom Speed,

The big difference with DVDs is that one of the major studios, Warner I think, is actively pushing the price of DVDs down. They want the price down so people will buy more. I can't recall where exactly I saw this article. Either it was at http://www.thedigitalbits.com or may have been over at the forum on TVShowsonDVD.com.

Best,

Lance Man

[GaryEA]

Valenti. Ugh.

The music industry; I've been hearing the same greedy whining about the industry for years. Loss in profits, loss in revenue. Did it ever occur to him that the music industry is freakin' mess, and it's not our fault?

If there is any loss in sales it's because of two things - 1) The artist's aren't appealing to the masses are the marketing is skewed too far towards any one one style, crowding completely good artists out of any chances on the radio; and 2) It costs more than fifteen bucks to buy a CD, when it costs them dollars (if that) to make it. And everybody knows that BS.

Hell, I'll add another reason becaue he makes me so chipper - the industry is bloated with too much cash and not enough solid, productive talent. There's so many flash-in-the-pan, teen jailbait wannabes, boy bands, rap artists that sounds alot like... well, the last rap artist I just heard on the radio, and angst ridden quasi-metal bands. Is there anything original anymore? Why buy a new CD? I probably already have, with different lyrics.

If there's any reason why it would cost $350,000 to produce an album, it's probably spend on bad marketing to sell bad music.

Movies; If you stood in the cafeteria of the film school I went to, stood on a table and barked out his name, you'd be pummeled with Snapple bottles. And there's a really good reason why.

He's bad for the industry. Here's another industry so overgrown it's ready to fall over, ridden with uber-producers and talent that demand millions for cheap acting. TV shows that cost ten million an EPIOSODE help that along really nicely.

And he walks around bitching and complaining how the industry is getting cheated when it's practically hemorraghing cash. In short - he does nothing.

Video; Jack, forget Napster. You lost me at "illegal".

And if I want to tape off the tv, I'm going to tape off the damn television. That's what the vcr is for. And if I want a copy of it, I'm going to dub it, because that what the cable between vcr's is for.

Same goes for software.

And lance is right; while the prices of CD are still so high it's stupid, studios are actively trying to reduce the price on DVD, and the VHS market is a bargain compared to five years ago.

...

Other than that, he's a really nice guy!

Gary

[Natasha (candygirl)]

There was a good discussion about this here
and the artist formerly known as pgh kenny posted a link to a great article
here

[mglenn]

My favorite quote on the subject has always be from Robert Heinlein's Book entitled Lifeline:

There has grown up in the minds of certain groups in this country the notion that because a man or a corporation has made a profit out of the public for a number of years , the government and the courts are charged with the duty of guaranteeing such profit in the future, even in the face of changing circumstances and contrary public interest. This strange doctrine is not supported by statute nor common law. Neither individuals nor corporations have any right to come into court and ask that the clock of history be stopped ,or turned back, for their private benefit.

[K-man]

Mike, I think a lot of farmers should read that thought. Thanks for posting it.

[lance]

There was a good discussion about this here
and the artist formerly known as pgh kenny posted a link to a great article
here

Candygirl,

Thanks for the info.

Best,

Lance Man