Fitzwilly 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (58) comment rss

  • On the post: RIAA Accounting: How To Sell 1 Million Albums And Still Owe $500,000

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 21 Dec, 2013 @ 01:43am

    Re: The Results

    ..and that cause is commercial radio, by dint of now always needing to make a ton of profit all of the time, and always signing up pop 'musicians' and 'singers' that will make back their profits for them by singing about nothing but the moon and June (just like Marvin Gaye used to do before personal problems and the way the world at the time made him write and compose What's Going On-too bad a similar catharsis can happen to any of the pop artists we have now.)

    Best thing to do? Just avoid radio (if you're doing that already, keep on doing it) and download/use Spotifiy, etc. as much as possible.

  • On the post: NSA Gave RSA $10 Million To Promote Crypto It Had Purposely Weakened

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 21 Dec, 2013 @ 12:50am

    I hate to break it to everybody about Snowden, but

    ....he's a far-right wing libertarian nutjob/hypocrite who was pissed off for some reason and didn't like his job, so he bailed out of it to Hong Kong & Russia with information the NSA has a right to have.

    The sad, sorry tale can be found here:

    In 2009, Ed Snowden said leakers ?should be shot.? Then he became one

    As well as here (and this applies to anybody who believed this servile dunce):

    How the Professional Left's Blind Obama Hatred Got them Played by a Far-Right Nutjob

    Whistleblower My Ass: Snowden's Russia Connection Confirmed by Putin

    Making a hero out of a whiny crybaby lunatic far-right wing libertarian nut job that stole data that compromised the safety of the United States-and who then fled to the arms of a authoritarian leader isn't helping the cause that Techdirt agitates about.

  • On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 18 Oct, 2012 @ 10:34am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    I don't particularly give a fling fuck about your hatred of the majors, or of pop; if it doesn't float your boat, as Mr. Spock once said, 'there are always alternatives'. And, you've not answered my question; what would happen if nobody cared for white people alternative rock/punk/country/whatever? The whole wishing for WMG, EMI, Sony, and UMG to die is (to be frank) you hating urban, pop, and dance because they're the top dog as far as what people like to listen to in music is concerned. Is your need to be entertained worth the loss of these companies, the jobs that people have with them, and the legacies that they represent?

    Also, how sure are you that any of the independent companies won't get and develop middlemen of their own? What makes you so sure of human nature that what happens now won't happen again? Just because a company's independent doesn't mean it's perfect; things can change.

  • On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 17 Oct, 2012 @ 11:16pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    What is this 'next phase', and how will anybody else (besides you and all of the other commenters) benefit from it? It seems to me that the only reason you want the industry to collapse is for the same reasons as seen at Disco Demolition Night back in the '70's, except only with pop and the current dance music instead of disco.

    Again, I'll remind you that not everybody cares for what would come out of these independent record companies that everybody here hope would take over after the collapse of the four big companies. What would happen if nobody cared for white people alternative rock/punk/country/whatever? And what if said companies fill the gap for those of us (which is most of the population) that cares for and likes pop and dance? Do you or anybody else here have a plan to cater to that section of the world's population? Or do you want them to just dive off of a cliff since you don't give a shit about them?

  • On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 17 Oct, 2012 @ 10:33pm

    Re: Re: Re: Music must be pretty much immortal by now...

    As I said before to somebody else, any unemployed people are bad for a nation, and any company that goes out of business (especially companies with a prestigious history like EMI and the record companies that make up Warner Music Group, or Kodak) is bad for any nation and the world. You may not give a shit, but EMI has had a prestigious history of recording music, as have the other three companies-those are not legacies to just be dismissed and thrown away like so much used paper, but to be preserved (in EMI's case, it's the cultural legacy of England itself.) This means a lot even if these companies have gone astray.

  • On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 17 Oct, 2012 @ 11:34am

    Re: Re: Re:

    That assumes that everybody on Earth-young and old, black and white, brown, red, and yellow-want to listen to what indie companies would be putting out after said collapse of the major labels. It also assumes that said indies could even meet the demand for said artists, and if demand for said artists from said indie labels exists.

  • On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 17 Oct, 2012 @ 11:25am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Hopefully the indies will take note of the errors the majors are making and will learn from them becoming enablers that will help spread the word and connect the artists to the fans. They will not monetize on mere sales of plastic discs or digital files but rather in providing a service to the artists and to the fans.


    They also have to survive first, and be able to sign artists that will have wider appeal beyond just what you (and everybody else here who's commented) love to listen to-last time I checked, grunge/alternative/college-people rawk wasn't lighting up the world or making the world's people sit up and take notice. Also, in case you haven't heard or have been taking notice, most of the world's population is/are non-whites who haven't been raised on what you consider to be 'good' music to begin with-they love dance and most of the pop with a dance beat.

  • On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 17 Oct, 2012 @ 10:59am

    Re: Re: Re:

    I'm sorry, but I don't like <>i>anybody being unemployed-not even employees of the big record companies. If people think that Warner Music Group and EMI should change, then, that's fine, but wanting the companies to go out of business and the employees to be unemployed is just completely wack. How would you like it if I said that all of the independent record companies that you and everybody else here love so much should go out of work, and the employees of those companies be unemployed?

  • On the post: Amanda Palmer And Steve Albini On 'Piracy': It Only Helps Musicians

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2012 @ 11:17pm

    Re: Re: Mike's interpretation of these comments is really conservative

    I guess that you want to stay poor, then.

  • On the post: History Repeats Itself: How The RIAA Is Like 17th Century French Button-Makers

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2012 @ 10:38pm

    Re: Reply to David #31

    According to you. But if your kids and you weren't such lazy asses, you'd find new and vital artists to support instead of just regurgitating old music from the past.

    Here are some pointers:

    Exclaim (www.exclaim.ca)

    The Wedge (http://www.muchmusic.com/music/thewedge/)

  • On the post: History Repeats Itself: How The RIAA Is Like 17th Century French Button-Makers

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2012 @ 10:11pm

    If that were true

    ...then the CPC's economic mandarins wouldn't be trying to get co-productions between Hollywood studios and Chinese movie companies (in mainland China) started, would they?

    Also, I don't know that the movies made after the handover were any different than the movies made before the handover. Is it possible that David's right about this one?

  • On the post: History Repeats Itself: How The RIAA Is Like 17th Century French Button-Makers

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2012 @ 09:28pm

    Re: Extremes on both sides

    My daughter just moved to the UK, and is having a problem being able to play DVDs she bought legally. Bunk.


    The reason for that is because of difference between PAL and NTSC rather than anything else, as she and you should know by now. As for playing her Region 1 DVD's in the UK, she should also know enough about DVD's to have already invested in a region-free DVD player. It's all in the planning, and she didn't plan properly enough, so she's gotten burned.

    Of course, if I'm wrong in her case, respond and let me know.

  • On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2012 @ 08:18pm

    Re: Music must be pretty much immortal by now...

    That which kills an entire industry might have bad effects on the rest of the economy.

  • On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2012 @ 08:16pm

    Re: Re: NOT recording KILLS MUSIC !!!

    And have you heard some of the stuff coming out these days? The recording industry is definitely how you kill music.


    Let me guess, Skrillex, deadmau5, Adele, etc. are all killing music? And music is only great when it's white people rock and not anything else?

  • On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2012 @ 08:08pm

    Re:

    And when said happy event happens, be prepared for a downturn that might end up having an adverse effect on the world economy, just because you hate what's coming out of EMI or Warner Music Group. Real nice, wishing for people to be unemployed.


    Better thing to do (especially if you're an American?) Legislate for the radio industry (the real culprit in all of this, IMHO) to be regulated like it used to be, which might have an effect on what stations become popular enough; if said stations are the kind that emphasize artists like Bon Iver or Arcade Fire, and they become popular in their market because of what they do, then things might get 'better' (no pop music overwhelming everything) instead of 'worse'.

  • On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2012 @ 07:19pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:What Is A 'Regional' Act?

    A regional act is any act that's a local band (town, city, etc) that hasn't yet made it big nationally or internationally. Even today, there are still regional acts/artists that aren't big.

  • On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2012 @ 07:12pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    The Rhiannas, Biebers and Gagas aren't making the music industry any worse than the previous generations of pop music from the mid to late 20th century. And destroying the music industry would only likely cause ripple that would result in a recession anyway. Wishing for a version of Disco Demolition Night won't work either.

    What should be done is the encouragement of radio stations like this one about to open in Toronto: Indie 88.1

  • On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

    Fitzwilly ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2012 @ 06:56pm

    Re: Re:

    The reason that radio changed wasn't because of the labels as it was because of Clinton signing a bill into law that got rid of the restriction banning any company from owning more than a set number of stations in any American city. When that law was passed allowing it back in 1995, then radio became the shit hole we now know it as. Labels (and I'm not defending them, mind you) had little to do with it other than to do what they usually do.