It was clear from the late 90s that media was going purely digital for the foreseeable future. From MP3 downloads to the Creative Zen Vision M, music and video were going digital and staying digital. To this day I can purchase and download a digital audio file without DRM, and I can keep it forever. I can put it on my phone, I can put it on my computer, my Xbox One X, my media server, and have that file anywhere I want it to be. I can't, however, do that with video files. The best I can do is own a license to stream a video file from a number of providers. But what happens when one of those providers ceases operation?
I received an email from UltraViolet that its service would be closing and that I would no longer be able to access videos through its site. It informed me that I could link my account to other providers and still be able to access my content there. However, it also cautioned me to never unlink the account, or I would lose access to the streams to which I own a license.
To be completely honest, I don't even know which movies or TV I have through UltraViolet. Apparently I was linked there from some Fandango promotion, and that's how I got an account. I don't know whether I have it linked to a Movies Anywhere account or what, but I kind of don't care. If I don't know which videos I have a license to, then why would I care if the service is closing? It's kind of like losing a box of old school assignments - I never think of them, I never need them, and I have no clue what they consist of.
But it bothers me that I have a license to this content, and unless I got to some lengths to preserve it, then I lose access to the content. You know what I don't have to do that with? My physical media. You know what else I don't have to do that with? Files backed up on my hard drive or media server. You know which other files I wouldn't have to do this with? Pirated media.
With downloaded, DRM-free files that I have either purchased legally or otherwise, I am solely responsible for their preservation. I don't have to rely on some streaming service that may not be there tomorrow. I also don't need to rely on a steady internet connection in order to enjoy the media that I have. When I have a tablet on the road, I can't exactly watch media that's stored on someone else's servers, regardless of my rights to it. There are some parts of this country that lack a competent internet connection, and if I were to travel through them, I would lose access to my media. It shouldn't have to be that way.
Regardless of whether I know which media I may be losing access to, I shouldn't have to potentially lose access to it in the first place! And it doesn't end here. Amazon has been known to shut down accounts of those who are critical of the company, and those users lose access to all of their Kindle books, audio files, and video files, not to mention any other digital media they may have once had access to. I don't want that to happen to me, but I want to retain my privilege of criticizing Amazon and not lose access to my media (not that I really have any complaints - I happen to like Amazon). I even only have so many downloads of MP3 files that I have a license to. Why? Why would I bother with any of this if I can just pirate media and have it on my terms?
I think that there are many out there that want to legitimately purchase audio and video files for a reasonable price and enjoy them on their own terms. I also recognize that there will always be those who want to obtain digital media for the sake of not paying for it. But the idea that I should have the be restricted because of those who do not pay for their media is wrong. I paid, I should have unlimited lifetime access.
So long as media companies refuse to allow end users to access and control the content that they paid for, there is always going to be a red-hot piracy scene. Fight it as much as they may, piracy is going to flourish as users desire to control their own access to media files.
