Buying vs. Streaming

[DavidW]

One thing that has always concerned me about TV streaming is that they can simply remove TV shows at any time. Not just "Netflix has lost the rights to this classic movie," but "Netflix has removed a show that was created and paid for by Netflix." HBO Max has been the main villain in this story - creating new TV shows, writing them off as tax losses, and then permanently banishing them so that people cannot ever see them again. (Except through piracy.)

The music industry is different because Spotify, Qobuz, Pandora, etc. are not actually making the music. Old albums might disappear sometimes (like the George Lloyd Albany series just did), but at least there is not an HBO equivalent situation where Spotify produces its own songs and then banishes them. ... Yet. This is part of why I am worried about BIS. What if Apple decides the whole label is a "tax writeoff"?

It used to not be a problem because there were physical releases of those tv shows, but that is starting to go away as well.  At least much of the time, these big platforms are just selling the rights to one of the free streamers.  But some do get lost forever.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

One thing that has always concerned me about TV streaming is that they can simply remove TV shows at any time. Not just "Netflix has lost the rights to this classic movie," but "Netflix has removed a show that was created and paid for by Netflix." HBO Max has been the main villain in this story - creating new TV shows, writing them off as tax losses, and then permanently banishing them so that people cannot ever see them again. (Except through piracy.)

The music industry is different because Spotify, Qobuz, Pandora, etc. are not actually making the music. Old albums might disappear sometimes (like the George Lloyd Albany series just did), but at least there is not an HBO equivalent situation where Spotify produces its own songs and then banishes them. ... Yet. This is part of why I am worried about BIS. What if Apple decides the whole label is a "tax writeoff"?

Gulp! 

PD

[Spotted Horses]

One thing that has always concerned me about TV streaming is that they can simply remove TV shows at any time. Not just "Netflix has lost the rights to this classic movie," but "Netflix has removed a show that was created and paid for by Netflix." HBO Max has been the main villain in this story - creating new TV shows, writing them off as tax losses, and then permanently banishing them so that people cannot ever see them again. (Except through piracy.)

That's a concern. I remember reading a recent article in which the producer of a canceled HBO series complained that he or she had no access to it in any form.

It's not an entirely new phenomena. There was an old show, HBO I think, called The Days and Nights of Molly Dod, with Blair Brown, which has never resurfaced, reportedly because music licensing problems would make it prohibitively expensive to release. I can also recall a cute television show, The Naked Truth with Tia Leoni, which has never made it to any physical release. Not lynchpins of civilization, but still.

[ando]

FYI: Plex is offering a "Black Friday" 25% off deal on their lifetime membership until Tuesday, Nov. 28 (about $89 plus tax), which for folks looking for an online option for connecting to their home collection is a great deal.

https://www.plex.tv/plex-pass/

[ando]

Just wanted to say that despite a hiccup (billing issue) Plexamp rocks. It's the brother music app to the main Plex platform. I'd heard its praises before but the app is miles ahead of all the other platforms in terms of showcasing (shuffle, mixes, sequencing) your personal music library. And no, I don't work for them; just grateful for a decent streamer.

[ando]

But a mono playback option would be nice. Til then I'll keep Spotify handy.