This is all just self justification for being crooks and liking it, cause its fun and its free! Well, this will all play out and in the end at one extreme all access to free music and film will end (except from rogue sites in foreign countries) and many will be fined and or go to prison. My sympathy goes to the artist every time, even it you may think they are rich and don't need to get paid. Grow up. Pay the piper and shut up.
Your statements about the RIAA not turning over royalties to artists is simply not true. They are obligated by contracts with the artists and with the union protecting the most of the artists, AFTRA, Amercan Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Er...perhaps you have heard of Estates? One of the biggest earners is Elvis and he be dead. So whomever runs the estate of said musicians is legally allowed to sign that musicians name to an add, if he/she feels it is justified and will help the estate.
Well, it seems I'm about a year behind in this discussion so I'm not sure anyone will see this comment, but it makes me feel better anyway. The explanation about copywrite infringement not being comparable to stealing, is correct. You are not stealing the copywrite, but you are taking the product that is being offered for sale, so it is, imho, stealing. You deny the artist(s) their pennies they are entitled to for the sale of the merchandise. As to whether the record companies give monies to their artists, well, most current contracts include digital, and yes, some don't, not because the companies are screwing the talent, (although they do screw them when the talent is too innocent or uninformed to check with the union to find out their rights before they sign a contract, but digital is a new-ish concept (I know, not to you geeks) so some of the older recording contracts do not include that language.
I am a board member of Amercian Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFTRA, and we represent recording artists. They are being paid by the RIAA and we make sure that they do. We agressively pursue them if they don't pay the artiusts. But if you all have your way, the business will dry up. A new business model is definetly being talked about. We recently negotiated a deal with the Ad Agencies that give AFTRA and SAG union coverage over all media forms, invented and not yet invented, for all commercials made in the future. Thsi will be sought for all other media that performers are involved in, Films, Television, Recordings, etc. This is just the beginning and those of you who want to pretend that your cause is just because you can get away with it are just kidding yourselves. What you do is not just hurting the RIAA, but artists around the world, most of them unknown. The few who are famous will do fine. The many who are not famous may have one or two CD's or DVD's to count on to make a buck.
You distance yourselves by saying RIAA or MPAA, but try some guy down the block who just got his first break and has a new CD coming out from say, Atlantic Records. Go to his house and ask him if it is alright for you to borrow his CD so you can make a copy, give it to all your friends, maybe put it online for others to "try out" and give it back to him in a couple of days. See what he says, but make sure he's not armed.
Think about what you do. You are defined by your acts and your standards of behavior. Life is no joke. Help us define a new business model , as Mike has stated. These artists are people just like you, so lay off the tough talk and get real.
Well, you certainly state your aggressiveness clearly and you do sound a bit like a bank robber. Let us get one thing straight...I am not bald! (whew, that felt good.) And I am not from the MPAA, but I am an actor and writer and union activist. I am not thinking of the MPAA or any of those guys, but who do you think we get paid from when we do a film or TV show or make a record? The producing company. If you are ripping off those companies by copying everthing for free, we do not get paid, nor do any of the other creatives, so stop pretending that you are innocent children getting back at the large conglomerates. They have many streams of income besides this....we do not. If we're lucky we sometimes get residual payments based on sales. We count on these modest checks to keep us alive and professional. I don't know what you all do for a living, (do tell) but I'll bet you like to be paid for your work, when you work. So stop excusing your habitual bad behavior like you are some entitled geek who always has gotten things free and now must...must...must continue or what? You might have to pay .99 cents? Or a DVD for $15 bucks. Come on, try a little morality for size. You might like it.
Mike: You seem so anxious to justify any stealing of copywritten material, be it music, film or whatever. I think you should ask yourself why? What stake do you have in it? What prejudice are you protecting? Are you just trying to seem young and hip and with the current practice of swiping material for free? I wonder, do you shoplift? Some do and can get away with it? Do you? My feeling is the moral code we live by defines who we are, at least partially. And these codes make civilization more beneficent, I think. I think we asll should occasionally challenge our own beliefs from time to time, to make sure we really are open to changing our minds, when we deeply explore our inner thoughts. Try it. You might find some of your own words do not really express what you truly believe.
OK Mike, so how can the industry make a foolproof method of preventing copywritten artistic material from being copied? You say if it is digital it cannot be protected, so what business model can achieve fairness to the creators, who are both trying to get popular and still make a living, and corporations who want to make some dough marketing their work, so what is your solution, or are you just in a "give it to me for free" mode?
I think the point of the industry take on this problem is the act of illegally swiping someone's creative produce without paying for it. The fact that some of them may later want to buy the DVD is interesting, but begs the question, does that make it alright to record and steal this product? If a bank robber later opens a checking account at the branch he held up last month make his crime disapear? If you write a fantastic computer program you spent a year or two to create and much of your money, only to have it stolen from you, would that be ok if the crook pays for your next one?
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by artists friend.
Re: Re: Burn before you buy
This is all just self justification for being crooks and liking it, cause its fun and its free! Well, this will all play out and in the end at one extreme all access to free music and film will end (except from rogue sites in foreign countries) and many will be fined and or go to prison. My sympathy goes to the artist every time, even it you may think they are rich and don't need to get paid. Grow up. Pay the piper and shut up.
Re: Re: Already bought?
In a word, No...you are not pirating because you are copying stuff you already paid for and you are not, I assume, selling it to others.
Re: Re: Burn before you buy
Your statements about the RIAA not turning over royalties to artists is simply not true. They are obligated by contracts with the artists and with the union protecting the most of the artists, AFTRA, Amercan Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Dead Musicians signing on
Er...perhaps you have heard of Estates? One of the biggest earners is Elvis and he be dead. So whomever runs the estate of said musicians is legally allowed to sign that musicians name to an add, if he/she feels it is justified and will help the estate.
Re: Copyright infringement does NOT equal theft
Well, it seems I'm about a year behind in this discussion so I'm not sure anyone will see this comment, but it makes me feel better anyway. The explanation about copywrite infringement not being comparable to stealing, is correct. You are not stealing the copywrite, but you are taking the product that is being offered for sale, so it is, imho, stealing. You deny the artist(s) their pennies they are entitled to for the sale of the merchandise. As to whether the record companies give monies to their artists, well, most current contracts include digital, and yes, some don't, not because the companies are screwing the talent, (although they do screw them when the talent is too innocent or uninformed to check with the union to find out their rights before they sign a contract, but digital is a new-ish concept (I know, not to you geeks) so some of the older recording contracts do not include that language.
I am a board member of Amercian Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFTRA, and we represent recording artists. They are being paid by the RIAA and we make sure that they do. We agressively pursue them if they don't pay the artiusts. But if you all have your way, the business will dry up. A new business model is definetly being talked about. We recently negotiated a deal with the Ad Agencies that give AFTRA and SAG union coverage over all media forms, invented and not yet invented, for all commercials made in the future. Thsi will be sought for all other media that performers are involved in, Films, Television, Recordings, etc. This is just the beginning and those of you who want to pretend that your cause is just because you can get away with it are just kidding yourselves. What you do is not just hurting the RIAA, but artists around the world, most of them unknown. The few who are famous will do fine. The many who are not famous may have one or two CD's or DVD's to count on to make a buck.
You distance yourselves by saying RIAA or MPAA, but try some guy down the block who just got his first break and has a new CD coming out from say, Atlantic Records. Go to his house and ask him if it is alright for you to borrow his CD so you can make a copy, give it to all your friends, maybe put it online for others to "try out" and give it back to him in a couple of days. See what he says, but make sure he's not armed.
Think about what you do. You are defined by your acts and your standards of behavior. Life is no joke. Help us define a new business model , as Mike has stated. These artists are people just like you, so lay off the tough talk and get real.
Re: Re: Buy a DVD of one already recorded?
Well, you certainly state your aggressiveness clearly and you do sound a bit like a bank robber. Let us get one thing straight...I am not bald! (whew, that felt good.) And I am not from the MPAA, but I am an actor and writer and union activist. I am not thinking of the MPAA or any of those guys, but who do you think we get paid from when we do a film or TV show or make a record? The producing company. If you are ripping off those companies by copying everthing for free, we do not get paid, nor do any of the other creatives, so stop pretending that you are innocent children getting back at the large conglomerates. They have many streams of income besides this....we do not. If we're lucky we sometimes get residual payments based on sales. We count on these modest checks to keep us alive and professional. I don't know what you all do for a living, (do tell) but I'll bet you like to be paid for your work, when you work. So stop excusing your habitual bad behavior like you are some entitled geek who always has gotten things free and now must...must...must continue or what? You might have to pay .99 cents? Or a DVD for $15 bucks. Come on, try a little morality for size. You might like it.
Potter film theft
Mike: You seem so anxious to justify any stealing of copywritten material, be it music, film or whatever. I think you should ask yourself why? What stake do you have in it? What prejudice are you protecting? Are you just trying to seem young and hip and with the current practice of swiping material for free? I wonder, do you shoplift? Some do and can get away with it? Do you? My feeling is the moral code we live by defines who we are, at least partially. And these codes make civilization more beneficent, I think. I think we asll should occasionally challenge our own beliefs from time to time, to make sure we really are open to changing our minds, when we deeply explore our inner thoughts. Try it. You might find some of your own words do not really express what you truly believe.
Re: if technologists can do everything...
OK Mike, so how can the industry make a foolproof method of preventing copywritten artistic material from being copied? You say if it is digital it cannot be protected, so what business model can achieve fairness to the creators, who are both trying to get popular and still make a living, and corporations who want to make some dough marketing their work, so what is your solution, or are you just in a "give it to me for free" mode?
Buy a DVD of one already recorded?
I think the point of the industry take on this problem is the act of illegally swiping someone's creative produce without paying for it. The fact that some of them may later want to buy the DVD is interesting, but begs the question, does that make it alright to record and steal this product? If a bank robber later opens a checking account at the branch he held up last month make his crime disapear? If you write a fantastic computer program you spent a year or two to create and much of your money, only to have it stolen from you, would that be ok if the crook pays for your next one?