Piracy Re-Visited
(today’s post: 172 word)
Here’s a quick thought for the day, regarding piracy.
The best observation I’ve heard about gray areas with the piracy discussion is the “used” market. That is, if I buy a used CD or a used DVD I’m not directly supporting anyone but some local shop; the store’s only investment is originally buying that product from some other person not involved in the creation process.
But then a thought popped into my head last night. More phones are online more often for less cost and with better batteries. Isn’t it at least as morally gray to use your phone to stream an album or your favorite song over and over whenever you want and wherever you want?
I’m not advocating for piracy; I believe in supporting creators. But I am observing a moral gray area and wondering why the authorities come down so hard on the BitTorrent users but not those who take advantage of the used market or those who have, or will have, the technology to take the internet everywhere.
(The topic is “re-visited” because there was an original discussion here.)
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The used market thing is a bad argument because it deals with physical media.
Teenage punk with stolen money buys CD at retailer.
Teenage punk has a sudden mood change and needs a dollar for a soda pop, so he sells that CD to second hand music store.
“Prudent” music fan finds CD at second hand shop and buys it.
True, in the two transactions, the record company only makes one sale. But if punk ass teenager regrets trading his CD for a soda pop, he’ll have to buy it again, and because they ain’t no more copies at the used record store, he’ll have to buy it new. So cha-ching, another retail sale.
IMO, and EMO, I think streaming solutions are a pretty good balance for a solution. Streaming requires an active connection, so you can’t rely on it. If you want to have the music reliably and listen to it when you aren’t connected (say, on an iPod), then you’ll need to download it. Or steal it. But if people are assholes, then people are assholes.
EMO?
I don’t think it matters, for the sake of the original post, whether we’re talking about physical media or digital media or net/gross loss of profit. What I’m getting at is the blurring of lines between legal boundaries on entertainment.
Sites like YouTube allow you to stream that media without regard for money or even an account. And bands/publishers are often the ones posting the content on these sites.
But what happens when projects like Google Gears allow people to take more online-content offline? Or when iPhones and BlackBerries becomes so ubiquitous and even more advanced so that everyone is online everywhere with no down time?
The industry is changing. I wonder if, with music for example, the market shifts so that bands tour more or sell more merchandise - experiences that don’t convert to digital - and look at albums as a “tease” to get people hooked. Or maybe we see more ideas like WoW where you need a subscription.
Because otherwise I don’t see any way for the authorities to police the process.
Well, the good news about music is that it’s a natural human thing to do, so it’s not like us lazy consumers will ever kill the industry. Guys will always need to get laid and women will always fall for the stupid guitar thing, so we will always have music.
I can’t believe women are so gullible sometimes. 90% of anything a guy does is to get laid. Believe nothing.
Ah….so there’s an explanation for this cocky shtick of yours after all.
Speaking from a woman’s point of view, I think you might wanna invest in some guitar lessons instead
Or, in Bob’s case, Guitar Hero lessons.
And “schtick”? I wuz born cocky.
Nah, all Bob has to do is be Bob.