Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 29 April 2008 14:36
Opinion and Analysis
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Stuart Corner posed the question "Would you buy the DVD if you could watch a movie free online?" My answer is that there's no simple answer.
If the only difference between the two is the quality and presumably resolution, why would you unless you plan to watch it all again?
What you do need to bear in mind is that this particular movie -
Leading to War - seems (I haven't watched it) to come from a particular political perspective. So a good proportion of the people who watch it for free are likely to be sympathetic, so they may regard the purchase of the DVD to be a way of rewarding the makers - especially as it only costs $US10 and could easily be added to another Amazon purchase to get the total up to the threshold for free shipping.
So to that extent it is rather like giving away a podcast novel to build a fan base and then selling them the book. Some people will buy because they really like books (reading and listening are two quite different activities), others buy as a way of thanking the author. Indeed, some people act as unpaid promotions staff, and may provide CD copies of the podcasts to their friends - or even buy extra books to give away. Something similar will probably happen with Leading to War.
I can see how this move will lead to greater awareness and possibly sales to people that won't otherwise have heard about it, but we'll never know whether this particular title sells better or worse than it would have without the free internet release.
CONTINUED
