MPAA says "they're doing something" about offering legit services, ignores the fact that they're doing it poorly

Here's Techdirt's Mike Masnick at his finest, nailing a point perfectly:

[MPAA spokesman Howard Gantman] says that somehow, magically, because there are more crippled, annoying, expensive, incomplete movie services out there, no one should complain. You see, in the MPAA's world "offering something" is proof that they're innovating, even if it's not what people want.

MPAA Pretends 'Offering Something' Is The Same Thing As 'Offering What People Want'

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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Jake0748

Oh good. I get to make the first comment. And it is: Christ, what (clueless) assholes.

Thank you, carry on.
- Anthony MacPherson
  
  That was a really long way of just claiming “First!” :P
  - Jake0748
    
    No, really! I just wanted to express the long-held and widely-held 0pinion that the mpaa and all “artistic rights business units” suck and are assholish. Being first was just a bonus. :D
nixiebunny

They could start by getting Netflix to put their DVD catalog on the Netflix streaming service. I mean, really?
- Jake0748
  
  The phrase “too little, too late”, comes to mind.
  - Thad Boyd
    
    Nah, I don’t think so.
    
    Allowing a la carte pricing for cable TV stations would, at this point, be too little too late. But sticking everything on Netflix or Hulu? That would give most viewers exactly what they want. (Yes, I prefer to own things, and to have local copies that are not subject to Internet connection hiccups and availability. But most people seem to be a lot less picky than I am.)
    
    I wonder what the piracy rate is for shows or movies that are available on Netflix and Hulu. Someone should compare the numbers.
- http://halfbakedmaker.org Robert Baruch
  
  This. Every time I find a movie on Netflix and it says “Add” and not “Play”, I’m like, WTF?
ocatagon

He says piracy is growing exponentially, but guess what: legitimate online video is growing exponentially too. More and more people are watching video online – of course it’s going to grow. It’s going to keep growing until everyone is watching all their video online.
Matthew Stone

At this point, I think the most helpful way the MPAA could contribute to developing online movie services is to go out of business.

And don’t worry, moral guardians. We can find someone else to rate our films for theaters. The circle of life will continue somehow.
- abstract_reg
  
  And even if we don’t it will still be ok.
mobobo

Farting can also be considered as “offering something”.
msbpodcast

People? What are these people of whom you speak?

Oh Human rights… What a fascinating concept.

I think that Spielberg has an option on that…
Blaven

Why does it cost $3.99 to watch a movie like “The Dictator” on Amazon.com while it only costs $1.20 to rent the disk from Redbox? You would think it would be the other way around, since shipping and stocking disks in boxes around the country has got to be more expensive than pushing bits through the internet.

The only thing I can think is that the MPAA wants to discourage legitimate downloads in a desperate attempt to hold on to their outdated hard media business model. Which is a shame, as the more barriers they put up, the more pirate sites pop up and the more viewers get used to illegal downloads.