My utilities.
The uncertainty of the future of shows I actually enjoy means I don’t bother paying for any of that crap (I’d probably consider Shudder though). I run an Emby server with a ton of storage. I’m not going to pay a company to actively crater the content I actually want to watch. I did grab a Nebula/Curiosity Stream year-long sub at Christmas because it was heavily discounted. They’re likely to get more money from me, because it’s primarily creator driven and more (I think) of the revenue goes to the people who deserve it.
Moreover, the bulk of the crap isn’t worth spending money on anyway. If I wasn’t getting it for free, I just wouldn’t consume it at all. Hell, half the stuff I download just sits there until I “get around to it.” That list only grows, never shrinks.
Why is it that Billet Labs themselves haven’t spoken publicly about this? At this point, the story is being told second hand. I’m not saying it’s not true, I’m just saying that taking it at face value is a bit iffy considering it’s coming from someone else. Maybe I missed it, and they DID say something, but I literally have to take it at face value that Steve is telling the ENTIRE story, or that he even got the ENTIRE story.
I’m not against accountability, but a lot of this could have been handled privately. Again, not taking sides here, but Steve gets most of his attention from just going after other companies, whether deserved or not. I rarely hear about GN unless there is SOME kind of controversy going on (hardware issues and him having very valid input on it, or basically company drama). I just feel like this is pointlessly dividing a community in to Team LMG vs. Team GN thing, and it’s dumb.
No really, hear me out on this. Steve has said in the past he wants to be treated like he is doing journalism, and intends to hold himself to journalistic standards (he said this during the NewEgg thing). It’s pretty standard when doing a story to get commentary from the party your story is about. Because journalism is, at least supposed to be, about telling the WHOLE story. Both sides. Instead, it’s more of a hatchet job. There are ways to go about “calling out” a company that doesn’t involve telling what is ultimately a one-sided story with the veiled challenge of “prove me wrong.” That’s not journalism. That’s drama for views.