Great article, Johnny - well written with some valid points raised.
The issue mirrors the situation faced by film production companies across the board and everyone in the creative industries. File sharing has reached such a proportion that content providers are now forced to rethink their money-making model.
The major studios have a problem with file sharing; their models were established long before the internet came into being and it's not something that's going away.
The bigger the creature, the less likely it is to see a threat to it's survival until it's too late. If we were to look at fight producers as film-makers (which they are, catering for a specific market and audience), they'd slot right into the independent scene - cash hungry, resourceful and with an understanding of how the internet can work to their advantage.
Take a look at
JM Rolen's
http://www.jmrolen.com output for example (see pic). As suggested in the article, the producer actually benefits from file-sharing by offering free clips, each stamped with the identifying film title/number and a website address.
The matter is how much of a risk do you take by offering free content? Yes, there'll be those contented with just that. But just as a trailer entices you to watch a film, there'll be a lot more people aware of what's being offered via a clip and queuing up to see it. Which as suggested, means more people knocking on the door.
It's not just free content, but exclusive too.
Napali Video http://www.napalivideo.com give away good video interviews featuring their fighters for those who sign up to their mailing list.
And those two are the biggies. What do the smaller companies have in mind?
Bitchfight UK http://www.bitchfightuk.com offers fans the chance to interact with featured fighters via chatroom. The possibilities are endless.
There are both good and bad aspects to file sharing, but the end result is that now content providers really have to sing for their supper. The consumer is more than ever in the position of threshold guardian, waiting to be appeased or converted to whatever tune is playing.
