Napster Founder Thinks You Should Pay $67 To Watch New Movies At Home

Napster Founder Thinks You Should Pay $67 To Watch New Movies At Home

The Germans probably have an overwrought, seven-syllable word for extreme irony. But I’m not sure anything can do justice to Napster founder Sean Parker, arguably the founding father of internet piracy, championing a ridiculously expensive movie startup.

According to Variety, Parker is one of the founders behind Screening Room, a new startup that would bring new studio releases into people’s homes. The cost would be $US150 ($200) for the secure set-top box, and $US50 ($67) per movie, which would be rented for 48-hours.

This is more expensive than the ~$30 it costs for two people to see a movie in theatres. I feel duty-bound to mention that it is also infinitely more expensive than the no money it costs to illegally torrent a new movie off the internet, a place a feel Mr Parker might be familiar with.

For those of you who claim that Mr Parker’s initiative will reduce piracy in a Netflixian sort of way: $67 is a crapton of money for one movie, and I gently posit that giving access to new movies outside of theatres, no matter how encrypted, will see a giant surge in piracy.

It’s probably for this reason that studio executives told Deadline the plan would be “the beginning of the end” and “so damaging, I can’t tell you right now how unhappy I am”.

[Variety]


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