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Originally Posted by Derwood
my viewpoint isn't grounded in elitism, it's grounded in legality. as i've said, i think the current system sucks, and i'm all for a rebellion against......by the artists. file sharing is a revolution of the consumers, and if the artists aren't on board (and many have been very vocal about it) then it won't work. once the artists are willing to change it (and it looks like some are ready to lead the way), then the concept of file sharing won't be as big a deal.
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I'm not entirely sure what you're saying here. You state that your viewpoint is grounded in legality and then continue on to make what seems to be an emotionally based argument (artist viewpoint, which has nothing to do with the actual copyright law, since in most cases they don't actually own the rights).
If I take your first statement as fact, then that's perfectly valid. If your issue with piracy is strictly from a legal standpoint, that's your prerogative. In that case, however, the 'won't somebody think of the artists' rhetoric really has no merit on the discussion, as well as not really holding up to scrutiny.
If, on the other hand, your argument is that it's morally wrong to pirate an artist's music without that artist's express consent, then that's a whole different issue. There certainly are some out there in the industry who are against piracy. There are some who are vocally for it and there's a very large silent majority. Remember that most of the artists are heavily in debt to their labels, who hold all the cards. It's difficult to speak out against an entity who basically controls your livelihood and income. Regardless, I'd certainly agree that the current trend seems to indicate that at least some artists are ready for a change; it's actually moving much faster than I'd expected, personally. It wouldn't surprise me at this point if we see a significant percentage of high-profile musicians following the trend, as they fulfill their contract obligations and quietly (or vocally, as the case may be) go their own way.
I do wonder, though. Under this stance, is it thus okay to steal the music of System of a Down or Nine Inch Nails? They've both advocated piracy in the past. Am I still wrong to torrent the new NIN album when it comes out, then? Or what about Weird Al? He hasn't outright condoned piracy as far as I know, but he certainly satirized the issue pretty heavily on his last album (Don't Download This Song, Straight Outta Lynwood). Given what this implies regarding his views, would it be okay for me to pirate his music?
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Originally Posted by Derwood
another problem i have with the whole thing is the concept of the consumers "sticking it to the record companies" by file sharing. this isn't brave. it's easy. most people who file share would not go into a Best Buy and steal CD's. but under the blanket of usernames and internet anonymity, they "crusade" against the establishment. give me a break. most people aren't stealing music because of some idealistic notion about changing the establishment, they're stealing it because they CAN
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This is how change comes about. Regardless of the logic behind it, people are pirating music. The intent of the individual isn't really relevant, because the statement is the same; if these people were willing to pay the arbitrarily high prices to buy the music in store, piracy wouldn't be an issue and there wouldn't be any change. The fact that they're not means that in order for the industry to survive, the whole system of distribution and compensation is going to have to be restructured. And rest assured, the industry
will survive this, although the RIAA may not.
Far be it from me to tell you what to do. If you're content to pay the prices put on these albums, I'm certainly not going to browbeat you for it. Again, though, this is not the argument you started on; the point I was making was simply that piracy does not hurt artists nearly as much as the RIAA or Kirk Hammett would have you believe.
For the record, I paid Radiohead for my copy of In Rainbows and was quite happy to do so. Technically the legal argument doesn't apply to me (Canadian fair use exemptions apply to all copies made for non-commercial use, including those downloaded from the internet; we pay levies on recordable media like blank cd's or mp3 players to make up the difference), but from a moral standpoint I don't have an issue with paying for my music. I do believe an artist deserves compensation for their work. I also happily buy from independent record labels and will buy out of practicality, for certain hard to find or obscure artists. The less logical reason is also that I'm an album junkie and like to have the cover art and all the trappings that go with the album. The one part that does not factor into my decision on whether to obtain music via purchasing or pirating is artist welfare, because I know exactly how much an artist benefits when I buy a cd produced by one of the big four.