Bgood writes, How about making a show regarding Internet-piracy?
Bgood writes: “How about making a show regarding Internet-piracy? What are your opinions about this? This is especially relevant because The Pirate Bay, the largest torrent tracker is being sued, and could be shut down permanently. If they are shut down, what will this mean for the Internet? They estimate they are responsible for 30-40% of total Internet traffic.”
What does this mean? It means 30-40% of the internet is welcome to come steal our show. Heave to and prepare to be boarded. Whatever flibbers your gibbets.
First of all, let’s talk specifically about Napster I mean Torrentspy I mean the Pirate Bay. Illegal download sites come and go because it’s easy for downloaders to find them and its easy for people to set them up. So whether or not they shut down the Pirate bay in the long term won’t change anything except the domain name you go to looking for your illicit bounty.
Bounty, booty, it’s all the same thing. Well, it’s not the same thing. Back to the plunder.
In legal terms Internet piracy is just like stealing anything else. Yes, you can and will justify it but downloading copyrighted music, games, software is still stealing even if it doesn’t feel like stealing. And yes, the law is very clear on that fair use included.
But the economics of it make a few interesting points. First off, there is no direct loss. For example, when you slap on an eye patch and run somebody through for their CD “The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1″ somebody lost money, because somebody had to pay money to make that CD in the first place. And now you are stealing it. Whereas technically downloading a song does not cost anything for the people that made it or sell it. You’re just stealing it. But they didn’t pay anything to make it. That one copy. I mean the marginal unit for all those of you who speak nerd out there.
The best they can claim is that they lost the money you would have spent to get it. Which makes one really big assumption that you would have paid for it in the first place. Depeche Mode. In economics it’s called dead weight loss. And it’s the funny little triangular space underneath where supply and demand meet.
It represents all the potential transactions for that people who would have bought the product if the price were less expensive or in some cases free. So you can’t assume that all those illegal downloads are lost money. Because after all there are people like me who wouldn’t buy it unless it were free. Plunder always be free except for a bit of work stabbing the crew.
So the real problem is one of substitution that people higher up on the demand curve will just download it instead of buying it. And that means the makers of the song or movie really are losing money. People are always finding creative ways not to pay for things. And the recording industry has always tried to recoup it’s perceived losses. Remember cassette tapes and how you would wait by the radio until your favorite song came on so you could record it? No… your an Internet baby. You probably don’t remember that.
The solution to this deviant behavior is that the record labels get a tiny bit of every cassette tape sold. It just doesn’t seem quite fair for the people who use tapes for different things like for their commodore 64 or their Fisher-Price pixel vision video camera. Now the idea is to do the same thing with MP3 players and slap on a little a fee that is given to record labels every time a unit is sold. It’s like a piracy tax. But once again it punishes the people who legally buy their music and it might have a backlash effect making more people feel even more comfortable about illegally downloading digital material.
Hey RIAA guy isn’t that like kind of counter productive against what you were doing earlier. You remember when out of sheer desperation you started suing individual downloaders? Those kind of fear tactics are only scary as long as you can keep them up. And lawyers are expensive. It’s not really very cost effective guys. And then you thought “I know!” “Maybe some guilt-induced advertising will do the trick.” No… They’re Internet babies. They’re immune to guilt.
There are other ways to legally get music that’s still illegal. Sites that sell superstar music at super bargain basement discount prices. How does that work? Well, copyright and intellectual protection laws aren’t the same everywhere so you can buy from a Russian company where that song isn’t protected and then import it back into the US illegally. How do they get away with it? Because it’s really tough to define and control the import and export of intangible goods like digital files across borders. Or enforce it. That is really tough. Without breaking through your door, seizing your computer checking all the files and then telling you “you were naughty” and sending you to jail. Which likely won’t happen. They’ll come after your dad’s guns first. Wait, the RIAA is coming after your dad’s guns? Arr, shot and powder.
And one more thing, I have read posts online that say copying CDs is illegal. And technically that’s inaccurate. I mean, ripping and burning a CD sounds very pirate-y. But it’s not, unless it’s someone else’s CD. Selling or distributing copies of material, that’s illegal but you have the right to make backups of your originals. Honestly, I think piracy is the knee jerk reaction to CDs that have been and continue to be way over-priced. And until the industry finds a way to balance that out people will continue following the treasure maps to their illegal digital swag.
You wouldn’t steal a CD would you? How about a car? How about a taco? How about underpants? How about another man’s woman? How about my backup singers? How about my bling? How about my Grammy? Then you’re a pirate.
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28 Comments
SNES
This is my favorite episode, just so you know.BusRider
How 'bout a Taco? LOLIs MP3 Rocket legal? – Page 2 – Zune Boards
[...] you should illegally download things. I mean, I personally believe in the opinion outlined here: What You Ought To Know : Internet Piracy. They, music producers and such, can only claim the money that they would have gotten had you [...]TheBuzzSaw
(Read my other comment first.) Another issue that comes to light is DRM. Copy-protection is an absolute joke and insult to all customers. DRM has two purposes: fight piracy and kill the secondhand market. BOTH of these purposes absolutely destroy any chance of paying customers having a positive experience. First off, DRM does absolutely nothing to stop piracy. None. It never has. DRM becomes more complex every year (often costing the company lots of money in R&D), and every time, pirates break it in a matter of days. So, while the pirates are enjoying the content hassle-free (and cost-free), the ones ... lots moreTheBuzzSaw
There so many misconceptions about piracy that it is mind-boggling. (Before you read this comment, understand that I do not participate in illegal downloads. So, please do not get that idea as you read my comments.) Piracy brings to light many important issues. First off, content creators are running around like their pants are on fire. It is extremely convenient for content creators to cite piracy as the reason for reduced sales, but new research indicates that piracy has minimal impact for reasons already cited. Pirates generally obtain content that they would not have paid for in the first place; that ... lots moreItzMeRon
This is an awesome video.Drecon [22]
Ah, brings back memories of faking radio shows on cassette tapes. Just talking about nothing and than playing a random song that I didn't even like. Good times. Must have them around here somewhere... And yes, at one point I did steal another guy's woman. Am I a pirate now?graceofbass [22]
They actually did shut off the internet at my apartment complex b/c someone was downloading stuff illegally, or so they said. The FBI actually wanted to get involved. Very, very retarded, especially for a complex with only 8 apartments.Teagan [22]
Ah, yes, the good ol' days that included recording to cassette. Of course, that was only recording the hottest kid show ever! Anyway, I agree. It costs the companies nothing to let us share music with one another. After all, sharing is the better way ;)WEGGLES
@Ghosty1212 I'm sure it's a very low percentage. (I'd hazzard a guess at .01% possibly lower). The RIAA has come out recently stating they're going to stop suing the pirates and just get their internet disconnected. :\ Mind you this only applies for Americans, and only some ISPs are working with ... moreghosty1212
Hey wait, what's the percentage of people that not only get caught by the IRAA, but then have to go to court for pirating things? I haven't pirated anything, but how many people that download music illegally, get caught, and need to go to jail? (I'm thinking some of my ... moreOldGuy41
OK Metalica! I just made a Back-Up copy of your latest CD! There... nee-ner nee-ner!wx5aaa
I'm not sure about what CD's are, but my reel-to-reel and 8track recorder is awesome! I had a VIC-120 with a tape drive, had to upgrade it to a macbook though.....Nospinplease
I WANT YOUR GRAMMIE!!! hahaha. Yes, I'm an internet baby and proud of it. =) I do not download music for free, I pay for it. I'm doing my bit to pay for the things I should while I still can.marc
I stole your Grammie! Anyways, did you guys change lighting fixtures or position? I never really noticed Brett's shadow before this episode... kinda distracting... for me... at least...Jennifer McKenzie
Oh, and maybe someone can explain to me why why why stupid record labels won't allow videos to STAY up on YouTube? I tend to put them up on my blog and then the record company (usually Sony the jerks) comes and takes it down. It's like slapping the face of someone who is promoting you....for FREE. I don't get that. It's happened again and again. I understand copyright infringement and such (I always ask permission of artists if I use a song in a book trailer) but it seems like they're being WAY too pissy about ... lots moreJennifer McKenzie
I used to tape songs off my clock radio. It took me forever to get a good version of "Lonely Boy" off of KFRC. Yeah, I'm old. Whatever. Thanks for reminding me. As an ebook writer, I don't steal. Here's why. I know that there's MUCH more to what goes into that digital file than the quantitative amount on it at Amazon's MP3 section. But I have a weird view of those who do "steal". I've seen my books on piracy sites. Lots of authors get their panties in a wad over ... lots moreMeandering {207}
Always a good show when you bring out the pirate accent! I don't pirate any more ... I don't pirate any less either. Actually I find the whole thing too complicated and haven't downloaded free music for years. That and my home computer is a piece of ... morepkw
I am one of those who wouldn't pay for it, so you shouldn't count my lost revenue. I buy a CD VERY rarely only after I've listened to it a thousand times, and love it beyond belief, and I don't have anything other than the computer to download on to. I'm mostly good with the radio. We have some of our best christmas music from when I was a kid on radio-tapes. Like "I want a hippopotomus for Christmas", and "I'm getting nothing for Christmas", and the "Red-neck 12-Days". Now, those are classics, but I ... lots moreimroycj
I'm no internet baby! I had a TRS-80, tape recorder, cassette tape and all!CrazyDave
vinyl...aw crap...doesn't my name count for anything!!CrazyDave
Ah yes, back in the day of my vinal pirate lab, swashbuckeling my way with bootleg booty...good times, good times...argh!CrazyDave
Yo, ho, yo, ho...www.spiralfrog.com...free downloads...yes, legally free (yes there's DRM, but soundtaxi.info [also legal] can help there...) Illegal is illegal, doesn't really matter if there's cost involved or not...if you don't like the law...change it (or those people who make the laws)WEGGLES
I pirate music, but buy a lot too. I don't want to buy a crappy CD and encourage more like it. I download, listen, then buy. Voting with my wallet the smart way. The only stuff I pirate and don't buy are things I don't like and end up deleting. It'd be no different than me going into a music shop and previewing the CD before buying. I also like having a CD just incase my hard drive crashes. It's much easier to re-rip, than to re-download everything. (Also cheaper since my ISP has a usage limit per month and ... lots morejakesomething
I still wait by the radio with my cassette player!RandomGuy
Also, MP3 players with radio, like SansaDisk, can also record songs similar to the way cassette tape recording works, but much better with the cost ratio over the long term use.RandomGuy
Eh, this show was okay, but I liked the pirate. I already knew about the legal "off-site back-up copies" of CDs and such. I have to wonder though, after watching all these shows, how did you really start out with WYOTK? I mean, what talents did you have that set you up to be so good at this, what led you the style in which you portray vast amounts of useful information in the way you do? Did you just wake up one day and say, "Hey, let's start our own company and make a useful show that will help people!" ... lots moreali-gator [22]
i remember the cassette tape and waiting for my fav song on the radio