‘They had a monopoly and they blew it’
p2pnet news view | P2P:- When Vivendi Universal (France), Sony BMG (Japan and Germany), EMI (Britain), and Warner Music (US) sic their inappropriately named RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) on P2P file sharers, although their Standard Operating Procedure is to first make the lives of parents hell, ultimately, they’re after the kids.
They are, after all, the consumers of the future and if they can make enough of them believe they’re in danger from Big 4 lawsuits, well …….
The RIAA is but one of the many alphabet organisations strategically sited around the world to enable the major labels to use local legal systems to cow people into becoming good little consumers.
In the US, the impression given is that thousands of people have been successfully sued for the crime of file sharing. But in the States, only one person, a Minnesota mother, has actually appeared in a civil court. And even that case is swinging in the wind.
In fact, only 40,000 people have received subpoenas, which are nothing but bits of paper. They are NOT lawsuits. And sharing copyrighted music isn’t a crime, it’s a purely civil matter —- an infringement, something your average person hadn’t even heard of before the labels launched their bizarre sue ‘em all marketing scheme in 2003.
When the campaign started everyone, including little children, was targetted. But last year the RIAA switched its emphasis to students.
In February, some 5,500 students across America were on the RIAA extortion list, said a p2pnet post. This allowed the RIAA to foster the totally false impression that every US student was under dire threat of receiving a subpoena.
p2pnet went on:
“The US Census Bureau Back to School: 2006-2007 was projecting 7,600,000 [our emphasis] students would be enrolled in American colleges and universities by that fall.
“Hmmm —- 5,500 from 7,600,000. Let’s see, now, that leaves … So by the year 3,000 …
“In other words, it’s game over. Long over.”
‘I download stuff instead of buying for these simple reasons’
It’s a done deal in the US.
The labels have the US legislation firmly under control but in Canada, it’s still OK for people to download music for their own use, although Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG are lobbying frantically to change that with a US-style Canadian DMCA called Bill C-61, fronted last month by industry minister Jim Prentice and heritage minister Josée Verner, looming.
So why do young people download?
A Canadian site, QuebecTorrent, has been forced offline.
In a p2pnet story on the shut-down, “I download stuff instead of buying for these simple reasons,” said Mike, who’s 14, in a Reader’s Write.
He goes on >>>
-It costs nothing, so I don’t need a credit card (I’m too young to be given one anyway) or worry about identity theft or scam artists stealing my shit with online transactions.
-It is fast – I can download what I want in a matter of minutes or hours (better than going to a store or ordering a CD through mail)
-It has an amazing selection and is incredibly convenient – I can get literally anything I can think of (even if it isn’t available for purchase) while sitting at my desk at home at any hour of the night.
If downloading is a big problem to big media, then it’s because the big media are shitty businessmen.
It’s their own fault if their business isn’t as cost-effective, secure, fast, nor convenient as downloading.
They had a monopoly and they blew it.
Even if their business became competitive with downloading, their selection would still be far more limited (you couldn’t even get Beatles or Metallica on iTunes until recently – good job, guys!).
Sorry big media, but I get infinitely better service through unauthorized means than through your old “traditional” services.
If you don’t like that, then improve your service or fuck off.
Prentice and Verner are acting in the best interests of Big Music instead of the people who elected them, and not too long ago, they’d have gotten away with it.
But nowadays, they have to contend with a Net. So the shouting is far from over.
Meanwhile, “It’s actually far easier to get free pirated shit than to buy your legitimate media,.” says Mike.
“And that isn’t my fault.”
.
.Stumble It!
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July 15th, 2008 at 6:42 am
You know what I really love? Downloading something that is free, or practically so. You know what I love even more? Being so blown away by a free product, whether it be music, video, or software, that I’m compelled to donate money. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside knowing I’ve helped a deserving cause. I even set up Paypal to submit donations monthly on occasion. I suspect most folks would agree and likely do the same quite regularly. Apparently the concept of making a truly good product and selling it for a reasonable sum is far too difficult for the recording industry to grasp. I’d swear they actually want people to pirate their stuff. That way they can make $9000 per song instead of $1 per song. Greedy corrupt bastards.
Hey RIAA/MPAA… wake up already! Those pirates you keep bemoaning and trying to sue? They be yer customers, all of which would happily pay for what ye be peddling if only you’d all get yer heads out of yer asses, arrr!
But seriously, how hard can it be? All the steps you, the entertainment industry, needs to take in order to get back on track and make everyone on both sides of the fence happy again are right in front of you, clear as day. The internet is still young and evolving, and as much as you would like it to, it just simply isn’t going to go away. Ever. The longer it takes for you to realize all the different areas you’ve gone wrong, the less likely it becomes that you will have a future. New technologies will always bring about change to the world, especially those that better our lives. You have to stop resisting that change every time something new comes along and learn to embrace it, or one day something new will come along and be the death of you for good. History will always be the ultimate teacher. Just have a look and you will know I speak the truth. Too bad it is so often ignored and easily forgotten, to the utter dismay of those who fail to learn from it. So let me give you one simple universal truth that should be inarguable and abundantly clear; adapt or die! This truth is as old as the Earth itself.
July 15th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Readers Write-
You make a good point. Look at what Radiohead. I haven’t seen any official numbers but I can promise you they didn’t lose money on their In Rainbows online release. I paid $15.00 for the mp3. Is that a little silly? I don’t think so. It’s a band that has done way more for me than a measly $15.00. I felt that was a fair price for what ended up being a fantastic album. I’m all for giving money to the people who deserve it.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
To date, I have bought about 10 albums and about 30 individual tracks from a couple of legal sites. I do it with music that I listen to so much that I feel the artist deserves my money.
But I also download a lot of music, mainly from newsgroups, but also occasionally from torrents. If this is a problem for the music industry, as Mike says, they can either change their business practices to start embracing and making shitloads of money from digital distribution, or they can crawl back underneath their rock. They are the only industry I’ve seen that refuses to change with the times and then wonders why everyone hates them.