It would definitely be hurting somebody else if you make unlicensed t-shirts (for instance) if the company that owns the rights to the character were to make their own sometime down the line. People may not buy them from the rights owners because they already bought an unlicensed one awhile back. Regardless, the rights owners should have the sole decision as to whether or not that character ever makes it to a t-shirt at all…

Sure, it’s not the SAME as piracy, but it’s still just as wrong and illegal. The only thing that makes it better or worse in someone’s mind is the way in which the person chooses to justify it (“I think it’s okay because ______________”🕷️

I definitely see what you’re getting at, but piracy and unlicensed products are two very different things. Pirating a movie is directly stealing profits from the distributors/filmmakers. Making your own product, on the other hand, is not actually taking away profits from anyone. Sure, you’re making money off someone else’s idea, and many artists do not approve of that, but it’s impossible to equate it to piracy.

My stance with stuff like that is that nobody is actually hurting anybody else, by creating their own unlicensed merchandise. It may not technically be legal, I’m not even 100% sure, but I’d hardly be able to criticize someone for doing it – and in fact, as you pointed out, I’ve done it myself.

Good point, though. That’s a very interesting topic of discussion, though an entirely different one.

Torrents are a MUCH larger issue than screeners, to the point that screeners aren’t even an issue. Like you said, the main problem is that too many free movies are sent out to perhaps the wrong outlets, but even that isn’t a huge problem. It’s just a personal choice I’ve made, to not ask for free movies. I feel weird about it, given how much of an advocate I am for BUYING movies.

And you’re totally right. When you’re starting out in any artistic field, you kinda do have to offer your art up for free. For a brand new filmmaker to ask for money to see their first short film is pretty silly. But once you reach a certain point, you definitely do have to start putting a value to your hard work.

Thank you for this comment, because it really adds to what I’m feeling/saying here. I think too many fans have become way too comfortable with getting free stuff, and that ultimately can hurt companies/the overall genre, if not nipped in the bud. Again, I’m not equating screeners to illegal downloads, in any way, it’s just a personal stance I’ve chosen to take. I just don’t feel right being an advocate for the genre, and yet sending out e-mails every week asking for free movies.

Totally, having been a part of Amazon Vine and receiving free junk for the last decade from companies to review on my site it got to the point where the idea of reviewing any of this stuff was a total chore. I also saw first hand the downfall of a DVD distribution company (BCI Eclipse) who was flooding the market with screeners of expensive sets that I was all to eager to get my hands on at a time when I couldn’t afford to buy the sets myself. The company went under because they couldn’t turn a decent profit and sure, they didn’t go under because of the 1k worth of DVDs they sent my way, but I’m just one out of hundreds of folks who were receiving those screeners and it starts to add up. They were doing amazing work on those sets too, and now a big chunk of that stuff it out of print and hard for fans to get their hands on. It just left a bad taste in my mouth and I always felt bad that I didn’t put my money where my mouth is so to speak. Since then I’ve largely stopped accepting review copies and when I do I try to always buy additional copies of the product to give away on the site.

Haha. If plugging something into the back of the TV counts.

As an artist, it can be incredibly frustrated dealing with people. I have had to lowball myself in order to make sales, but in many cases people say that what I’m charging is still too much, despite the fact I don’t know anyone who charges less.

I just hope I can get to the point where I can pick and choose more than i currently do.But when a job comes along I don’t turn it down unless it’s insultingly low. To bad we don’t live in a time when many artists could find support.

Harlan Ellison has been raging about this for decades, unfortunately too many people are in such a rush and dont listen.

Creating art is a job of work and should be compensated as such. If the individual as an artist devalues it, how can you ever expect a consumer to do anything but as well?

You are WAY more high-tech than I am!

I use Chromecast to beam it to TV

On the subject of digital screeners, I think that’s definitely a better way to go. Hopefully, when people dig a movie they were sent a digital screener of, they’ll buy it once it hits DVD/Blu-ray. Personally though, I hate watching movies on my computer. Would rather pay and watch on the TV.

Amen to that last line. And that’s what I worry about. Can’t help but feel that many only really add movies to their collection/watch them when they’re getting them for free. You need to support with your money, as much if not more than you support with your reviews, tweets, etc.

Absolutely agree. Goes well beyond just the horror community, for sure. Art, as a whole, has really lost its value over the years.

There’s also the issue of it becoming a chore to review a movie, once you receive a screener. Always hated that. I like to watch what I want/when I want to watch it, rather than feel like I’m forced to watch a certain movie at a certain point in time.

TL;DR
Screeners are great until those receiving them begin to abuse the privilege and stop spending any money on the products they support.