Vote With Your Dollars

Mark Cuban is fun to listen to. I don't always agree with what he is saying, but when he gets going on movies, tv, dvd, high def, and the like, you better listen up. He gets what's happening in today's digital media world. He understands the forces at play and he is doing something about it. His recent post calling out movie theaters was especially enjoyable to me.

Now to the title of this post. By no means am I against try before you buy when it comes to music and movies. Most of my music purchases are spurred by tracks that I hear in DJ mixes that I download from the net. Many of these mixes are put out by the guys making the music, but many are not. Technically, they are illegal, but if it weren't for these mixes, these record companies would have a few thousand dollars less in their revenues. If I hear something I like, I make an effort to purchase it. I vote with my dollars because I want more of things that I like.

This works the same way with movies. It's cool to see friends borrow a movie and then like it enough to go buy their own copy. They are supporting the products they enjoy. Along with the success shown by direct delivery media stores, it would be nice to see expanded try before you buy opportunities because this is already happening every day and I'm not talking about file trading networks.

To bring this back around, there is a movie called Bubble that is releasing at the end of the month. It's worth noting because the movie is releasing in theaters, on DVD, and on TV, all on the same day. You can't get much more try before you buy than being able to watch it on TV and then go buy the DVD that same day. I plan to cast my vote for day and date and will buy the DVD. Will I like the movie? I sure hope so, but even if I don't, that's fine. This is a statement buy. A good movie will just be a bonus.