
Correct, whereas in the early days of the scene, it only took some time and dedication to put releases out – by the early to mid 90’s that had changed significantly. Competition had pushed the levels of efficiency to a point where “management” and money were required.
A statement often voiced by people that left the scene was “…it is all about business…” or “…all about the money…”. There is no point denying it – money was needed to run a group in those days:
– Money to buy calling cards (if you did not have hackers or a source yourself)
– Money to buy originals (certain distributors required you to buy a certain minimum amount!)
– Money to buy hardware (modems for suppliers / crackers or hardware to copy/warp the originals)
– Money to pay people (some people took part-time jobs or remained unemployed just to supply/crack/organize)
Initially, money was needed to keep up with the competition and that was why certain commercial activities started. Obviously some saw the potential and went completely overboard 🙂 In the end, I believe most of them got busted for one reason or the other
Popular ways of collecting money:
– Selling calling cards (for the happy few that a good source)
– Selling copiers (SNES/SEGA/etc…)
– Selling software
– Leech-accounts on top boards
– Paying members (yes some were willing to pay just to be “in” XYZ)
– Distribution Boards
The latter was an interesting one as all you needed to do was (a) put the bbs name/number in your intro + upload your releases there or (b) upload all you could to that board. Generally, the more “exotic” the location where the BBS was situated, the more you could charge. Everyone will probably remember seeing boards in the middle east (Paradox had one / Quartex had one and … Global OverDose had one!). These must have been the sons of some Sheik running (usually) a single-noded BBS to get access to software they would normally never get in their country. These would pay _substantial_ amounts of money. The one we had paid us $1000 a month just to upload amiga/pc games to him. Remember, this was 1993 and $1000 was a shitload of money… GOD was making close to $1500 a month combining all activities but still that was not enough to propel us into the “major league” ; we simply could not get a proper original supplier and hence the group always stuck with doing loads of trainers / one-files / hd-versions and the occasional half-decent release (some French-version games / CD32 conversions and the odd ugly game that the other groups had overlooked or skipped).
I think all in all, GOD lasted a good 3 years and I have very fond memories of those times. There is not a single MBA-program that can prep you for corporate life as being a group organizer for a little while:
– You need to attract the right talent/skills and retain them
– You need to coordinate all activities and drive for results
– You need to compete in an ultra-competitive environment
– You need operating income to cover expenses
– You need a distribution model and need to overcome logistical challenges
– You need branding/marketing/image/PR
– You need quality assurance
Obviously, down the line I also made some mistakes (and got busted for it) but I’d do it all over again (in a heartbeat!) since today I am applying the same skills in a business environment (and loving every little bit of it!)