For yours truly, China is an audiophile's paradise and a heaven for DVDs, the place literally being awash with super music CDs and virtually any movie, music and cultural DVD under the sun both foreign and local can be had for the price of a phone call.

Being connected only to the local Chinese TV stations, I miss out on my Discovery Channel, National Geographic and BBC programmes so I have to stock up on the canned variety by means of a Discovery DVD and who minds that.

Pirated DVDs can be had in Shanghai at a fairly uniform price of 8 yuan a pop but in Beijing they are 12.5 per cent cheaper, about 7 yuan, which, in real money, translates to about 0.8 euros.

The choice is really immense. I picked up a full set of Bachs' St Matthews' Passion conducted by Willem Mengelberg around 1938 for 21 yuan. Super DVDs by Pier Passolini, classic French and Italian movies and all cheaper than the price of a cinema ticket.

Oops, sorry. I should not wax on so lyrically. After all, we all have been taught by our fathers and mothers, the press and the president and all those who are righteous, that buying pirated CD's and DVDs is morally very wrong. Got it: VERY WRONG.

We should show some concern for the music and performing art industry who made all this possible, bless their souls. They have mouths to feed too, they too have to send their children through the educational establishment so that, eventually, they can be supporters of the art.

Yessir!!!

Come to think of it, there must be something awfully wrong with the marketing strategies of the recording and entertainment industry. If a not inconsiderable number of people in the pirated marketing chain can make an acceptable living on an end user price of seven yuan, the recording industry must have their balls tied in a knot if they feel justified charging US$25 or 200 yuan and more per DVD.

Sure, we have all heard their rationale of cost divided by volume and there, methinks, lies the crux: the sales volume remains artificially low and is not at all commensurate with market demand simply because the price remains unaffordable by the masses. And that includes moi.

Let's have a look at the "life" recording costs of an opera, ballet performance or concert. A world wide distribution of their performances could be considered a form of free advertising, but let's be generous and pay the performers a reasonable royalty. A camera crew for one performance cannot cost the earth and neither can the editing.

Therefore, for not a great capital outlay we have a master recording ready to be distributed by the hundreds of millions if the price is right. Most buyers and yours truly will not mind contributing 2 yuan royalty per DVD and pay 10 yuan. On a pressing of 10 million, a conservative number for world distribution, that will translate into 20 million yuan or 2.1 million euros.

Consider that against a DVD bought in a fancy shop or mail order outfit for 25 euros with gross profits of 30 per cent then deduct the distributors profit and shipping at 15 per cent and we arrive at something like a basic cost of 15 euros of which maybe less than two euros royalties can be paid. On a pressing of 50,000 (yes, that low and frequently less for many performances) that translates into a paltry 100,000 euros in royalties.

And, sadly, these super performances will not be available to a less wealthy public that is denied the enjoyment thereof. I am sure someone can manipulate my numbers to prove me wrong but the basic premise remains.

Cinematographic performances are a little trickier to do the above sums with, of course, but the philosophy behind it remains much the same: After the initial mega box-office earnings, the commercial residual value of most movies is little and, again the above formula also very much applies.

I would therefore urge the performance and DVD industries to get together and improve their act.

I have in my collection probably 500 or more superb DVD performances. If I had had to buy them in Europe, I and many other aficionados might have only 20 - and an empty wallet.

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