We Fixed It, You're Welcome - Disintegrating DVDs: Warner Bros. Digital Dilemma

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's something else here now, something new. From, exclusively on Paramount Plus, it's the series Stephen King calls Scary as Hell. Everything here is impossible, but it's also real. Sci-fi Vision calls it the best show streaming right now. We're running out of time and we still don't know the rules. Don't miss what the movie blog calls something you need to watch. Saving those children is how we all go home.

Starting point is 00:00:25 From, binge all episodes exclusively on Paramount Plus. All right, here's how this works. In each episode, we pick a company we all know that has something going on right now. Then we put ourselves in charge and see if we can fix it. You'll be hearing from Melissa and Operations, Chino on people in culture, and me on marketing. My name's Aaron. As always, a quick disclaimer, we are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice, or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone's thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

Starting point is 00:01:18 By the end, if we fixed it, you're welcome. All trademarks, IP, and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners. Welcome back to We Fix It, You're Welcome. Sometimes we have a full house on the pod. Today it's a two-hander. You've got Chino and myself. But fear not, we are fearless as ever and ready to be your fearless fixers. Today we're taking you back to the golden age of physical media.

Starting point is 00:01:41 that is media you can unwrap, open, read the booklet inside, you can lose it, scratch it, leave it behind it at her friend's house. It may have waned in popularity, but it's still around today. I think we're here to talk about a specific problem that's been happening lately. Chino, what are we fixing today? Yeah, so folks, gather around because we're talking about something that's kind of near and dear to all of our hearts at one point, which is physical media, as Erin has shared. So more specifically, the tragic fate of your old DVDs.

Starting point is 00:02:12 That's right, Warner Bros has confirmed that DVDs manufactured between 2006 and 2008s are literally disintegrating. So if you're planning on watching Blade Runner or the 2001 Space Odyssey on Disc, you'll be a little bit out of luck. But what this does is raise a bigger question. Does this mean that physical media matter? Like, does it matter anymore in an age where Netflix and Disney Plus and every other streaming service dictate kind of what's available at the click of the button? Are we losing something by letting go of DVDs and CDs and, you know, Blu-rays? Dare to say it even VHS is. So we're going to address this problem today.

Starting point is 00:02:59 So grab your popcorn unless you're trying to watch one of these DVDs and let's get into. to it. Yeah, I like what you're, you know, what you're saying about, it's the broader picture. It's not just the fact that there's this Warner Brothers specific issue. But digital media or physical media as a whole in this age of digital, it's still around. Like, we keep it around, right? We keep it in crates and boxes and anyone who is of a certain age has physical media and you just don't, you know, you might garage sale it. Maybe you see it, but you see bins of it elsewhere. but you might just want to keep it for some reason. There's something that compelling that makes you hold on to it, right?

Starting point is 00:03:40 I agree. So, you know, we were clearing out my mom's house a few weeks ago. And it's funny because I have a box of all of my old BHSs, like all the Disney movies that are there, all the like DVDs that I bought along the way. And I remember earlier this year we were visiting California, as our viewers and listeners have come to know. And while we were there, we stumbled across this estate sale.

Starting point is 00:04:08 And I've never been to an estate sale in my life. And there was a whole room full of just old DVDs and VHSs. And I didn't have the luggage. It was a few day trip. But I really wanted to just buy everything out because I just, I miss the physical act of putting your DVD or your VHS. or popping your CD into the radio or however you used to listen to it back in the day and having physical, you know, media that you can consume versus kind of in the more

Starting point is 00:04:42 digital world where you just, you know, press a button and hopefully it's there this month if you want to watch something specific or otherwise you're out of luck. You want to wait until it comes onto the streaming service. Yeah, and when you see a collection like that, especially a curated collection, you know it mattered to somebody, right? It was maybe a reflection of their identity as opposed to lazily hitting a like button or a thumbs up button after you finish watching something on a streamer. It is.

Starting point is 00:05:07 And it's really interesting too. And, you know, in the age of kind of this new digital media where, yeah, it's a click of a button, I find and I've had conversations with friends as well where, you know, that tangible physical media is something that people are starting to crave again, just because there's been so many times when I've wanted to watch a movie or I'm listening to a song that I really like. And for whatever reason, that song has been taken away from the platform. So now you have to use like SoundCloud or something else to find this specific mix that used to be there. And I just feel like there's no, there's no longer that kind of permanence and that feeling of actually owning something.

Starting point is 00:05:54 It's like you're, again, you're subscribing to something. something and you're at the whim of whatever these kind of streaming services dictate. Yeah. I don't know if you've ever been on vacation and you go, you know, do an Airbnb and you go to a cabin or something and they've got like six VHS tapes and 10 CDs and then you start getting very intentional, right? You slow down and you say, okay, we're going to watch this one tonight and then we're going to, we'll save that.

Starting point is 00:06:18 We really want to watch that one. We'll save that for later. And, you know, it's that right now we have a banquet of, I don't know, endless choices, really. when you go from one streamer to the next. But when you're restricted, you know, down to a handful of choices, you start to, you think differently about it, right? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:06:36 It's so funny because I remember visiting a cottage, or us Canadians call a cottage, which you guys call a cabin. And yeah, to your point, Aaron, there were only a collection and, you know, really interesting, interestingly curated shows and DVDs and collections that this person had.

Starting point is 00:06:56 And we were able to, watch a few fun things that totally forgot about. And I think, you know, it reminds me of the time when there was a huge blackout a few years ago. And, you know, for those that had power, which was great, but often, like, the Wi-Fi wasn't working. So you weren't able to, like, log onto your Netflix. So we're kind of going back to, quote-unquote, the Stone Age where, you know, you didn't have everything at your fingertips and you had to, like, wait to watch your favorite show. this is similar in vain where you get to watch kind of this curated other TV or, you know, movie that you've hand-selected. And it's like you almost cherish that moment a little bit more

Starting point is 00:07:39 because, you know, you only have that. There's not a thousand other options. And there's still reasons to seek it out. Like I have an app that tells you what streaming where across all the streaming services. And I'd say one out of five times. says not available in any of your, you know, your services and it's not available in digital media. So then you say, okay, I'll wait. You wait for the library to be sold or resold and become more back available or you seek out the physical media version of it. You say, okay, I'm going to go track down the DVD, right? Yeah. And, you know, there's been so many times, too, where I'm, like, going to watch something. My weird movie that I love is, like, deep blue sea. It's a silly one.

Starting point is 00:08:22 And it's so funny. I've watched it so many times and it's gone up and down on different streaming services. Right now it's not on anywhere. And I get the prompt from like Apple where it's like, do you want to rent this for $4.99 or do you want to purchase this? And I always debate because I'm like, God, it's one of those that I just love to go back to. But I don't think I could ever purchase it. Is it like in a cloud somewhere? What if you take it down and I purchased it?

Starting point is 00:08:50 it doesn't have that same weight as actually owning a physical piece of media. So I wonder kind of what do you feel about that too? And do you think, Aaron, from like a marketing perspective, there's a way for some studios to kind of capitalize on this nostalgia of like owning something? I think that the physical aspect of saving, putting a shelf in your living room that you walk past all the time, it makes the brand more more alive. or more you connect with it more in your life. I was talking with someone yesterday that said, you know, I love my streaming services, but once I click them off,

Starting point is 00:09:28 I don't think about it again until I'm in front of it again. But if you've got your, you know, your curated beloved DVD collection, and it's got your Disney films or your criteria in collection or whatever you gravitate toward, and you see it every day and it becomes an extension of, you know, who you are, what you showed a guess,

Starting point is 00:09:47 and it's just part of the, part of the furniture, it resonates more, right? It's more of an active presence in your life. So absent of that, I think studios, you know, have some makeup to do to fill that void that people want to, you know, but own something, right? So is it merchandise? Is it the collectibles you buy at AMC, you know, those the pricey popcorn buckets and all those things? Like people will pay a premium to own something.

Starting point is 00:10:17 Yeah. I remember when June came out. And again, it's like, you know, the art of the experience, right? When you go to a, when you actually go to a movie theater, and I remember when Dune came out and, you know, they had their like, you know, collectible popcorn bags that people were, you know, collecting them. And what was interesting is, you know, when you go out on eBay, people were reselling them for quite a pretty penny.

Starting point is 00:10:44 And again, it's that art of like owning something and being a part of this zeitgeist or movement. or time in history where, you know, we all got to see Dune together or, you know, going back from, like, the dark night age or with what was the one Black Panther. That was a whole, you know, people were going to the movie theaters with more of an experience just versus kind of consuming something. They were there to also kind of add their personality into kind of that lived experience. And I think there's a want now for that kind of tangible ownership in some way just because, yeah, the digital media is quite fleeting to be, to be frank. Yeah, you've got the popcorn buckets like we were talking about. I used to work upstairs from Funco and the Funco pops.

Starting point is 00:11:33 If you want to own something and you don't own the movie, you can buy, you know, the little representation of the characters. And there's no shortage of merchandise, especially for big tent pole, you know, productions. I think Wicked maybe set a record for co-merchandising deals. But again, you don't own the movie, right? You don't walk around with it, especially with retailers like Best Buy, I think discontinuing DVDs altogether. It's harder and harder. It doesn't, not saying it doesn't exist, but I think it's down 90% from its heyday of DVD revenue. It's just harder and harder to own that physical piece.

Starting point is 00:12:09 We're like you said, you can plan on watching it, but then it's gone from one streamer, you know, from one day to the next and these collections get, get sold and resold over and over again, it's harder to find even if you've tracked it down or rented it or you feel like you own it digitally for a certain period of time. It's harder to get that feeling of ownership around that core piece of it. Yeah. And I feel like I wonder if there's a way for studios, especially the smaller ones, right? I have a friend who is a huge film buff. Like when you walk into their house. It is lined with all the characters and all the DVDs. And really this friend, Phil, shout out to Phil, has kind of re-engaged my love for theater and movies again because

Starting point is 00:12:58 there's so many things that he has that are frankly not on any streaming services. There's some really cool, curated, like Japanese movie that you can only get for one specific space. And, you know, it's really just, I think, you know, his love for movies and having so many physical copies of different things has allowed me to experience more in terms of theater. And I think there's something missing when we're only just watching Netflix or Disney because it's very curated to these big brands. And so I wonder for those who like theater, want to get into theater or, you know, students of, of the game in a way where they want to learn if you're like an upcoming director. Sometimes everything on Netflix is not like the entire catalog of every movie ever created. And you're also, I feel like you're missing out on some really great entertainment because

Starting point is 00:14:01 you're kind of pigeonholding yourself only to, or digital versus physical, where you can have access to so much more. And I wonder if there's an incentive for studios for those collectors or those that really want to be students of entertainment to kind of bring back physical media. Yeah, it's a good question because there are, there's like Alamo draft house and, you know, theaters and chains, mini chains that have caught on to the fact that people want that different type of theatrical experience or they want to seek out beyond the mainstream. And, you know, they've had their fortunes rise and fall with the theatrical industry as a whole. And people kind of bemoan the loss of watching movies and theaters to the degree that we used to pre-pandemic. Now, you know, with Barbenheimer, it comes back in bursts. But every so often you see, like, I think, piece about the movie industry is dead.

Starting point is 00:15:03 But no, it's not, you know, the in-person theatrical experience. But we kind of forget, too, that these, you know, when you went to rent or we buy physical media, these were communal spaces, right? It brought us together. So, and I think you touched on it, too, about Netflix at home and maybe some of the isolation that comes with that. But if you went to, you know, a retailer or something like a blockbuster or a local video store, your friends were there. And you saw people you knew and you talked about movies with people who love movies and those types of things. And now. Now it's more of a at home. It can be isolating, you know? Yeah. And I feel like you're only, you could only watch the movies that those streaming services provide, where when you would go into those spaces, you'd get a recommendation of, oh, you really like this movie.

Starting point is 00:15:54 Well, have you seen, you know, these three others that are from an indie studio that you might have never heard of or, you know, again, the French and like European movies are always doing something so wild and taking, like, you know, I love gore and horror. And, you know, I went, you know, seven, eight watching saw in the basement of myself. I don't know what that says about me, but, you know, there's something to like an American eyes or like North American theatrical experience versus when you, you know, go, you know, go across a pond and go into Europe, their movie style is so much different, which, again, I would have never known if I didn't have have a friend like Phil who would bring these movies and show me, you know, how other people's

Starting point is 00:16:40 takes on things were. And, you know, we again have a very narrow viewpoint of what entertainment can be because you're only getting what you see on the streaming services. So I do think there's an importance, even from a cinematic history perspective for new directors, but as consumers, Like, you might want to try something different and see what else is out there. You might fall in love with the whole other genre you never realized. And I think that community, that physical media can bring is huge. And I think we're missing that now. That's true.

Starting point is 00:17:17 Yeah, if you go to a local video store, you know, back in the day and you see Donna's favorites and you say, okay, I've never heard of this one. I'll try it. Donna seems to like it. You might really enjoy it, right? And that's very different from what an algorithm might recommend. If you've watched seven action movies in a row, it's going to recommend an action movie and not necessarily something a little out of the box or avant-garde that you might end up,

Starting point is 00:17:41 you know, it could be your favorite movie ever. It just would be off your radar. Yeah. And I wonder, too, you know, like the cult classics or even with CDs and vitals. Because, you know, as much as, you know, you don't have the HMVs of the world, like the big box store physical media. stores anymore. But you'll go to a place like Hot Topic where they have a lot of different characters and, you know, different collectibles. And like in the back corner, there's a subsection of

Starting point is 00:18:12 DVDs that might be rare or vinyl or CDs that you can't pick up. And what I think is interesting for artists or these studios is almost to capitalize on that niche market, like you're super fans who, you know, again, Wicked is a great example where, you know, having physical media is important that if you really do love, if you really love Wicked and you want to watch it, and maybe that's your feel-good movie that you like to put on once a month, you don't have to worry about it being taken off of Netflix or having to, you know, rent it for $499 anymore. And I think kind of leaning into that kind of niche cult culture can. be an opportunity for studios and different artists to, you know, bring it back a little bit more.

Starting point is 00:19:04 Well, and let's go, let's talk about the issue that's happening, right, and the erosion of the DVDs. And because the first DVD came out in the United States, it was Twister. It came out in March, March 25th, 1997. Obviously, there's been a lot of movies released since then. But the erosion period you're talking about is 2006 and 2008. Yeah. So what is the responsibility of Warner Brothers or any other company studio, for that matter, of preserving, you know, someone's collection from all that time ago and saying, because they're taking some measures to do replacements and make you right and those types of things? But what do you think their responsibility should be to preserve physical media that is aging in a digital age?

Starting point is 00:19:52 I think, and it's, you know, we talk about the physical, the actual physical media. the DVDs. So I think for Warner Brothers or any other studio, if someone has a physical DVD, that's, again, that rare niche, you know, subculture cult lover. And you need to, that's your audience. Those are the people who are going to the cinema to watch your new movie. Those are the people that are buying the collectibles. And so you better do right by them and replace that. It's interesting too because DVDs have become a rarity where you have to think about the people that still even have a DVD. It's almost like the elusive VHS, right? I have all these VHSs from when I was a kid.

Starting point is 00:20:39 I don't have a VHS player or a Rewinder or whatever you used to use to watch these things. And I think to preserve that history and to kind of honor those. customers, frankly, of yours, you need to make sure that you're developing and building DVDs in a way that they're not going to disintegrate because, you know, I have CDs that, you know, were much older than the movie Twister. Or maybe I don't actually. When did CDs come out? But, you know, cassette players and VHSs that haven't disintegrated. And so I think there's an onus for these studios to make sure when you are creating and producing this type of physical media, it needs to be top-notch.

Starting point is 00:21:24 And are people willing to pay a premium for that? I would say so, because you don't get to see that often. So I think, yeah, it's on the onus of the studios to do right by their people. But why DVDs specifically? Like if I bought a Star Wars T-shirt and it wore out, Disney's not going to send me a new one if I asked for it. Sure. I think it's because, you know, you wear a T-shirt that's buying, you might get a hole. You might spill on it.

Starting point is 00:21:50 where a DVD is one that it helps kind of share the story, right? I recently started watching Star Wars for the first time last year. Like I didn't really know about it. I thought those were robots, not people in there and the clones. So I had no idea what was going on and sat down and watched it and I was like, wow, this is incredible. Now I understand what people are speaking about. Now I get why there's the collectibles. I actually have a little

Starting point is 00:22:20 Super Wars Collectible up there since watching and becoming a fan myself. You can get a new T-shirt, but that experience of watching something, right? The directors that created something so beautiful that is a classic is important. And if we don't preserve our media, we won't really know it will be a race in history

Starting point is 00:22:41 in 100 years from now. So it's really important for Warner Brothers if they want to kind of continue their legacy is to ensure that they uphold their DVDs. And maybe, I don't know, I don't know what the future physical media is. Maybe it's something else. Maybe it's not a DVD. Maybe it's a USB.

Starting point is 00:23:01 I don't know how it's going to look in the future too, but you can't lose sight of that or else you lose sight of the media and you lose side of the entertainment. I agree, but what's the statute of limitations? So 20 years from now, if someone says, my DVD went bad, is Warner Brothers going to pick up? the check and say here's another one. Yeah. Why not? You're a multi-billion dollar customer and I guarantee if you were to return that. And again, sure, that if all of them disintegrate, and again,

Starting point is 00:23:28 it's the fact that it's only 2006 or 2008, which is quite interesting. What happened to the ones before that? Were they better quality? Did you cheap out when you were making those DVDs and now you have this problem and now you're going to fix it? The reality is the people who might even recognize that they're disintegrated, you know, you might not even open that DVD for a long time. So maybe you put some limitations on it. Maybe if it's more than like 30 years, but I do think, again, to kind of uphold their brand and to build that experience for people who are the fans of this media, yeah, replace it. Like, what's the cost? I know you'll likely have, you know, droves and warehouses of DVDs that were not sold.

Starting point is 00:24:15 So I'm sure there's somewhere in the back where you have one of these. Are they reproducing them? Maybe. Do you have them before? I don't know. I don't really know what the answer is there. But I do think there is some onus. Or maybe then you don't give out a physical thing because, you know, to mail that to everyone would be a lot.

Starting point is 00:24:35 Maybe you say, okay, here's a key card for access to this where you can digitally own it. Well, I think there is something. Yeah, I think there's something to know what you're saying about, you know, your core. your super users, I guess, your super loyalists is keeping them happy. I mean, we heard stories about Disneyland accepting passes that didn't have an expiration date, maybe from as early as the park's opening, you know, the 80s and things like that. And if they turn people away, especially in the age of social media, that could be a firestorm of controversy, right?

Starting point is 00:25:08 So, and that's a core loyalist that has a Disney pass unredeemed from, you know, 1991. and now they're going to use it today at the park. And that's, you know, if they talk about how Disneyland honored it and let them in and they had the best day of their lives, that's a great, you know, reflects great on Disney. If they said I was turned away at the gate

Starting point is 00:25:27 and there was no expiration on my past, they could go rogue, right, and start talking about how horrible it was. So there is something to what you're saying about these are our core loyalists. They've held onto their DVD collection all this time. They went to play, it and there was a manufacturing defect or disintegration of quality from a specific time period,

Starting point is 00:25:50 we're going to step up and we're going to honor and uphold our product. But you don't see that that often from companies that we'll come back and say, thank you for preserving something and keeping it alive, whether or not it's relevant to us anymore. It means something to you, but you don't see that many companies stepping up like that. Yeah, and what I'll say too with this Disney example, I guarantee that person was at that, you know, theme park buying a lot of other things. So I think in the grand scheme of it, you know, it's not cheap to go to Disney World anymore. You know, the only thing that they missed out on is like the cheaper food and rides and less, you know, smaller lines and things like that where you almost need to buy a fast pass, but that's kind of the norm. And those aren't cheap. And so, When you look at that audience, that core kind of cult classic who are your number one fans, sure, it might cost you a little bit up front to reproduce these things.

Starting point is 00:26:54 But is that fan going to then buy the T-shirt the next time they see it? Are they going to feel a new allegiance, an alliance to Warner Brothers? Absolutely. Will they come back and say, listen, you know, you made a mistake before, you didn't realize it, but you fixed it, which is going to convince. to make me be a loyal customer to you, yes, I think it will come back tenfold to Warner Brothers and other studios. And I think, you know, sure, you don't have to. And you might say, okay, it's dead. Who cares? Somebody cares. And that core audience that does care is your core

Starting point is 00:27:30 client. That's your core customer. So making them happy is what's keeping you afloat in an age where you have streaming services, where you have big box movies that are going right into the streaming services. No one's going to the theaters anymore where, again, I live in Canada, as we all know, and our Cineplex was offering like free popcorn to entice people to come back or free refills again. You know, so in an age where physical experiences, media is dying, and that is actually a really great moneymaker because, again, the DVD is what? $19, $20, $24, sometimes $30 if it's Blu-ray, that's like the cost of three months of Netflix right there.

Starting point is 00:28:14 And likely that person is also still watching Netflix and still doing other streaming services. So when you look at it from a business angle, pissing them off was just not a good idea. Yeah, I agree. But I also do think there should be an expiration date. I think there's a way to capitalize on a moment from, you know, from a brand or marketing perspective and say and turn it into a thing, turn it into an event. We talked about the death of Duolingo and how that became, you know, an own moment from Duolingo as a brand. This could be a moment in time where you put out a social campaign and you have a Tasmanian devil, you know, wrecking havoc

Starting point is 00:28:52 on a bunch of DVDs and then you show what they look like and say if yours looks like this, you have until, you know, September 5th to cash them in type of thing. But I do, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I questioned the idea that forever and ever, any consumer that made a purchase that didn't stand the test of time because they weren't meant to last, especially now that we've, as a society, decided that DVDs are pretty much in the rearview. I don't know that the company forever and ever has to step up and say, we'll honor that product. I want to know what you think about that. No, I love that idea, too. And I agree with you there, too. I think there needs to be something.

Starting point is 00:29:30 Should there be a time limit there? I do you agree. I love that campaign idea of like, let's, you know, jump in on this moment, make it a viral moment, even to get people to re-look at the DVD collection that might be sitting in the back of their closet that they don't know of. And yeah, because again, it's also interesting that it's between a very short time period. It's a specific, specifically dated DVDs that are impacted. So, you know, how many movies did you create? I don't know.

Starting point is 00:30:03 I don't know the number of that. But I think if you create a campaign around that, great. People, there's going to be, I would say probably more than 90% of the people who had those DVDs probably forgot about them. So it's not those people, but it's the people who would kind of take you up on that offer are your loyal customers that I do think it would be beautiful to see. And I think it'll give Warner Brothers kind of that boost in terms of brand awareness for their people. Because you don't necessarily have studio loyalty as a movie watcher. You have movie loyalty, right? But it's a way for Warner Brothers to step forward with their library and remind you which titles belong to them.

Starting point is 00:30:47 And you might say, oh, I love that movie. I have that on VHS or DVD, and I don't even have a DVD player anymore. And that could even bring people on to digital media and to rent and purchase and consume and all those things that Warner might want. It could create some momentum there. Exactly. So all in all, I do think, you know, this was always going to happen. I don't know. I am curious as to what the default was or the defect to have these DVDs disintegrate because it's not everyone.

Starting point is 00:31:19 but I think if they can find a way to fix it in a short time and kind of create a campaign or some buzz around that would be huge for that. What about laser disks? Should they honor laser discs? I don't know what a laser disc is. That was the pre-dvdivD format. It's about three, four times bigger than a DVD.

Starting point is 00:31:37 It's like a size of a record, and it's got the shiny underside, but it came before DVDs. And it was around until much later than you'd expect. It was around until, I think the early 90s or something like that. I'll tell you. But do we go back and say,

Starting point is 00:31:55 okay, we're going to honor DVDs. We're going to honor laser disc. We'll honor eight tracks. We'll honor cassette tapes. Where does it end? You know what I would say that ends? I think that'll end there because I have no idea. I'm the first of I ever hearing this in my entire existence,

Starting point is 00:32:10 which is quite interesting. Where I would say is I think a DVD is more tangible. More people probably have that. If your laser disc breaks down, maybe we say sorry because that is such an antique, or maybe vintage is maybe a better word, physical media, where I don't even, I've literally never heard of a laser disc until today, where DVDs, you can still play them on like your PS5s

Starting point is 00:32:37 and like, you know, people still have DVD players around. They're not as common as we've had a sweep of streaming services in the last. You know, again, it's been a recent, like 10-year thing. So this is where I would say, let's maybe cut it off, you know, from that time. Just because there are still more people with DVDs, myself included. Yeah. I have a DVD player or I know I can access one easily where, you know, again, I love, I love that that was there.

Starting point is 00:33:07 But I have no, I never even knew. But at least it's still right now. Yeah, they were certainly, they certainly didn't stand the test of time as much. But they were launched by MCA and Phillips in 1978. They were initially called DiscoVision, which is very 1978. Pioneer rebranded them as laser disks, but they stuck around all the way until 2001. Oh, so I'm just out of the know, and that's a me thing. I can't even blame the Laserdist for that.

Starting point is 00:33:34 That's me. And sell as well, especially when, you know, the smaller, more compact version became available, who wants to carry around record-sized movies. Fair. And, Aaron, I wonder too, because obviously we're obviously focusing a lot on DVDs because of Warner Brothers. But is there a difference with music, right? Like, you know, vinals are still in.

Starting point is 00:33:58 Like, if I were to apply that same logic, well, laser dust, no one really talks about them, so let them go. We still use DVDs and apply that to music where people still collect vinyl. Like, that is a thing. I know a lot of friends where huge music lovers, but, you know, the caveat that,

Starting point is 00:34:16 but they have vinals that they've collected. They'll go around the world collecting them. If they're, you know, DJs and producers, like, we still use that. So is there an argument or like how far back do we go on the music side? Yeah, vinyl's still in. Record store day became a manufacturing event, but a good one, right, to pay, be a patronize your local record store and create a boost in sales there with limited edition releases. But to your point, you know, I've been. into shows where bands will sell merch and they'll sell CDs or even going back to cassette tapes

Starting point is 00:34:51 to an audience that, again, wants to own something physical. They may never have seen a cassette player in their life. They may not own one, but they want something to take home. So, yeah, it's that interesting dynamic of bringing something with you that you can put on a shelf where, have an extension of yourself and show others. This is what I stand for. This is what I'm into. which you can't do if it's just part of a Spotify playlist.

Starting point is 00:35:20 Yeah, I totally agree because I remember, again, less so me but my parents, right? Like, your music taste or your DVD collection was a part of your home. Like, my dad had this really cool lamp that had all, like, the like CD thing. So it's like it would be, and you could like whip them around and you can kind of display all your CDs. And when people would come over, it was a big thing. And yeah, cassette tapes where there was like a brief. case of cassette tapes that I found like in my basement the other day

Starting point is 00:35:49 and it's just, it's so interesting because it was a part of your identity and I think people crave especially when it comes to any media, whether that is kind of movie and theater or if that's TV or TV as well, but music.

Starting point is 00:36:06 What you consume becomes part of your identity in some way and I think there is a resurgence for that kind of want to have some sort of identity and be out of the Spotify crowd where people might not know who you like because it's again it's you're almost listening to Spotify in like a cold dark room you know like it's you and your your headphones and that's really it maybe you're at a party you might put a playlist on of your own most people that's intimidating you're just kind of putting

Starting point is 00:36:38 on whatever algorithm so that you don't have to be DJ so I think there's something for those who really have an affinity to whatever that media is, is to own it in some way. Yeah. What do you think? Yeah. And I like, we could all create a Spotify mix in two seconds, right? But there is, and I'm not saying you can't be intentional about that, but when you, when you make a mixtape or a mixed CD, and especially if you do it for someone else,

Starting point is 00:37:06 or you give it to someone, you're, you're explaining who you are in a sequenced, you know, a sequenced version where everything's intentional. Everything means something from one to the next. And it's like, here's me in 12, 12 tracks, right? That's very different from here's, you know, here's a playlist I threw together this morning. Or like, here's a playlist that like was curated for me. And I didn't take the time to think of each, you know, song.

Starting point is 00:37:33 And I think that's so important. Again, it goes back to that experience, that curation, that identity. to whatever you're consuming. And I just think, yeah, that's beautiful. Because I can tell a funny antidote of one time I sent a song to somebody. And they didn't respond back to it. And I'm like, I was so personally hurt. So I'm like, I, you know, I thought of you.

Starting point is 00:37:58 I sent you the song and you didn't even listen to it. Like, you know, it meant something to me. And it was just like, ooh, right? But I remember back in the day, creating mixed CDs and like people would pass that around or, you know, sorry Warner Brothers. but like I remember it was like dark night was coming out and my friend there was a in high school you can get a bunch of DVDs for him for 10 bucks so he would go and he'd hand out these discs but he would like be the like DVD man and like the center of media

Starting point is 00:38:28 and you know I still have some of them to this day sorry and having that physical media was awesome so that when I had people over it's like okay let's throw on a movie if we're having to sleepover or something else. We can put something on me. We're not beholden to a streaming service or what was on cable telling you what's happening plus all the commercials. No one wanted that. It's a much different feeling of someone hands you something, especially something they have their fingerprint on. And they say, here, I think you would love this. You know, I know you, I know your taste. I took the time to think about this and put this together for you here and they hand you something. It's very different.

Starting point is 00:39:09 He treat it differently. It becomes iconic. It becomes representative of how you feel about that person. Versus, you know, I watch this movie. You watch it. It's on Netflix. Exactly. They're like, oh, it was everyone's talking about it.

Starting point is 00:39:24 It's all on the Reddits. And so let's all talk about love is blind, which cool, wasn't that good of a season. But, you know, it just feels like, it's what everybody is doing. And I, you know, I think my friend Phil, again, because he does that. He'll go and say, okay, you're, you know, what's your mood that you're feeling? What's, you know, and we'll curate and, like, we'll bring, like, three or four DVDs when he comes over. And we'll have, like, watch parties.

Starting point is 00:39:51 And, again, has blown my mind away with some of the things I've watched from him. And it's just, again, it doesn't all have to be this, like, pop AI algorithmically curated thing. I think that's something when somebody's giving it to you or saying, hey, I've watched this. This is a part of my personal collection. Here you go. It means so much more. And I think, I don't know, I hope we never lose true physical media because there might be a time that we all just also say Netflix and Disney altogether is really expensive. I'd much rather buy three or four DVDs every year and actually.

Starting point is 00:40:36 to my collection and, you know, rewatch things and enjoy that way. So did we make a case for physical media to stay around, no matter how good the digital technology keeps getting? Yes. Yes, we did. I do think we, you know, I don't think we fix the challenges that Warner Brothers is facing in terms of what they should do with this, what is it, what is that disintegrating? Yeah, right. DVDs. I had a brain blank. But I do think we've given them some options in terms of how to, you know, maybe have a viral moment and help kind of bring band awareness, which is interesting. Do I think that we, I don't think physical media will die just because there are always going to be lovers. There's always going to be classics.

Starting point is 00:41:22 There's always going to be that audience who crave more, who crave something different. It's kind of like, you know, the rebellion or the punk band, like, you know, the like indie stream of things, quote unquote, right? I don't think that'll be. ever go away, which makes me happy. And as someone who recently was discussing with my partner, I don't know if I want to keep doing the streams. Like, I actually do, like, now I have all these VHSs and DVDs again. Maybe we go back to this for like a few months and see how that turns out. Because, yeah, you get stuck just sitting at home and watching your TV at the end of the day. And it's, it's not that exciting anymore. But what do you think, Aaron? I do think so. I think, you know, that we

Starting point is 00:42:05 made a case for breaking the algorithms, at least every so often, and forcing yourself to sit in front of a limited selection of choices, being very intentional about what you watch and when you watch. And sometimes that takes you back to physical media. And for those who love it and won't put it in a bin, won't put it in a garage sale, we just keep holding onto it for some reason. I think we talked about, or maybe created a compelling argument for keeping those loyalists happy and satisfied, at least for a limited period of time, or maybe you create an event or a calendar day because of it and get some traction that way and draw attention to your film library. But yeah, you don't never want to let your loyalists down. So you follow them where they want to go

Starting point is 00:42:52 and where they take you. And if that's DVDs, then they're going to have a moment, at least for a little while. Exactly. And I'll say one more thing as to why people should have DVDs. Like of Lila, Stitch. There was one scene where I think Stitch went into the dryer, which was a problem because a lot of kids went into the dryer. It's not safe. But when you watch it now on Disney Plus, that's gone. But if you still have the DVD, that's there. The same with certain albums and things like that where sometimes you get to catch things that sometimes just disappears. So hold on to your DVDs, hold on to your physical media, keep watching them and remind people, What it used to be like.

Starting point is 00:43:35 And the original Star Wars to bring us full circle. Yes. Well, that does it for We Fix It, you're welcome. I feel good about our fix. I think we found the right balance there. If you like what you hear, be sure to visit our archives and subscribe at we Fixitpod.com. And if you have a fix you want to throw at us, our fax is in storage with a DVD player. But you can contact our show on the website too.

Starting point is 00:43:56 That's We Fixed ItPod.com. Thank you so much, Chino, and we will see you next time. This podcast is produced by Straightforward Media Group, all rights reserved. If you'd like to learn more about how a podcast can help your company establish authority and generate leads, please email us at Eric at straightforwardmg.com or go to straightforwardmg.com for more information.

We Fixed It, You're Welcome - Disintegrating DVDs: Warner Bros. Digital Dilemma

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.