BitTorrent Getting Hit Where It Hurts

From Yahoo:

One of the web's most popular file-sharing sites has shut down less than a week after Hollywood announced a flurry of lawsuits against operators of such internet servers.

A note posted on Suprnova.org says the site is closing down for good: "We are very sorry for this, but there was no other way, we have tried everything."

Last week, movie studios sued more than 100 operators of U.S. and European sites that host BitTorrent links but did not name the defendants.

Desperate, isn't it?

Here's how BitTorrent works: instead of users downloading a file from one place, files are split up and hosted all over the web; it speeds up download time, and makes it really hard to track the origins of these files. Which is why "pirates" love it so much.

But trying to keep people from information -- words, music, or movies -- is fruitless. That doesn't make theft permissable, but it does mean that these companies need a new business model. When I have found myself in possession of music acquired without payment, and discovered that I liked it, I have purchased the album. When I don't like it, I dump the file. And I'm not the only one who does that. I remind these media machines of the library argument: people check out books from the library, sometimes even making photocopies and distributing them to friends -- and yet bookstores still sell books, and publishers haven't gone out of business.

Lawsuits will not keep the future from coming, and will not address the real issues facing the music and movie industries: how to provide content with value to consumers, and how to adapt to new buying/acquisition methods.