I wonder if any of the 'experts' consulted by the Free State Initiative will be from the Social Science Research Council or Harvard Business School.
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/03/big_content_is_strangling_amer.htmlOne of the greatest threats to the US's ability to innovate lies within: specifically, with the music and movie business. These Big Content businesses are attempting to protect themselves from change so aggressively that they risk damaging America's position as a world leader in innovation.
At least in the Music and Movie business. To support your post; I use NetFlix, there was a Taiwanese film about an Autistic Girl that learned Karate from just watching it on TV. It was one of the best Asian films I had seen and was better than much of the stuff that comes out of Hollywood. It had Drama, Action, Romance, etc... and done very well.
I would have never seen this film if not for Content Service like NetFlix. I would rather watch NetFlix at $7 a month, than pay Hollywood $7 a movie.
The first shock that Hollywood will get, is when a famous Director markets a movie to investors for say a budget of $30 Million and releases it on Itunes for 0.99¢ a download. Now I am willing to bet that rather than Pirate the movie more than 100 Million People will download it. Will they make Billions? No, but 200% return on a investment isn't bad, especially in this market.
I am kind of surprised that Apple doesn't finance a major movie to give it a go. It would increase their relevance and power if successful. Itunes could be the next best "Movie Theater".