Demonoid Aftermath: An Open Letter to the CRIA
Written by Ernesto on October 04, 2007In the aftermath of the recent demonoid turmoil, “A former music buyer” posted an open letter to the CRIA - an impressive summary of what’s wrong with the music industry and how they alienate their customers. The RIAA and the CRIA have to rethink their business models, closing down p2p sites does not solve the problem.
To Whom It May Concern at the CRIA:
I have been an avid music collector for many years, and have approximately 1000 CD’s in my collection, not counting albums that I have purchased over the internet and own only digital copies of. I purchase approximately 30-40 new CDs per year. However, thanks to your recent decision to block Canadian users from accessing Demonoid, I have decided that I cannot continue to support this backwards, dysfunctional industry with my money any longer, and as such, I do not plan on purchasing music ever again if it means that one penny goes to your organization.
I listen to heavy metal music, a form of music that “the industry” stopped supporting many years ago, so I have a hard time feeling any sympathy. Sites such as Demonoid have done far more to promote the music I love than your organization or the industry in general has ever done. I can find out about new artists and new releases from artists that are never promoted. I can listen to music from artists that have never been played on the radio, will never be shown on MuchMusic or MTV, and never have a review or even mention of their new album written about in the local newspaper. From listening to this music, I can make an informed decision if I wish to purchase the album or not, as I am not going to gamble $15-20 on something that I haven’t heard anything off of before.
25 years ago, I primarily learned about music from friends who dubbed a copy onto a cassette tape, where I could listen to it and make a decision if I wanted to buy the tape for myself. Now, many years removed from school, my “gang” of friends to share music with has shifted from cassette tapes and the school cafeteria to sharing mp3’s online. I listen to some things that I don’t like, and consequently, I don’t buy those albums. What I do like, I buy, or at least I used to, before your decision intended to stop me from hearing new music.
The industry cries that record sales are down, and blames this all on internet downloading. I won’t be so naïve as to say that internet downloading has no impact on the sales. Downloading has certainly stopped me from making the stupid purchases where I heard one single that I liked and bought an entire album only to find out that the rest of the songs are crap, and the CD sits collecting dust on my shelf. But for every CD that I didn’t buy based on those premises, there are 2 or 3 other CDs that I did buy because I heard of them for the first time on a site like Demonoid.
In the meantime, the music industry itself needs to recognize that they are to blame for sagging record sales. For years, they have been marketing recycled crap, and people are getting tired of it. On the odd occasion that something fresh and new accidentally slips through and gets radio play, the music industry immediately signs a seemingly infinite number of clone bands that makes the “new, fresh” sound boring almost instantly. It seems the music industry doesn’t even care about making or promoting good music any more. Instead, they market a young, pretty face that can dance provocatively and lip-synch well, and push this on the radio stations to play while getting the tabloids to print large pictures of their breasts. If bands like AC/DC or Motorhead were to emerge today, they would never be successful; not because of poor record sales due to downloading, but due to the fact that they’re ugly so the record company wouldn’t promote them, if they picked them up at all. In the meantime, they’re falling all over themselves to promote Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, or any teenage tramp that can be airbrushed to look sexy.
The record labels cry about downloading cutting into the profits of the sales of albums. They put out “greatest hits” albums by 20-year olds with 2 or 3 albums under their belts, released with one new track to try and sucker the fans that already have both albums into spending another $20 for one new song, or re-releasing a 3-month old album with a “previously unreleased bonus track”. Then they can’t understand why people aren’t buying them, and cry foul that people are downloading the one new song instead.
I know not only the record companies are crying. Artists that have been around long enough to have enough clout to get a cut of the record sales are concerned about their cut, like Metallica that also clamor that “downloading is evil”, and then go on to sell over 9 million copies of their last album instead of 9.1 million. Boo hoo. Meanwhile, many younger, smaller artists favor downloading, because they know it’s the only way that people will get to hear the music and in turn come out to see their shows, because the record label sure as hell isn’t promoting them. But they can’t say that out loud, can they? If they do, guess which band is going to get dropped by the label?
So tell me, what does the CRIA do to promote metal? Oh, right, you’ve got a link to the top 50 “metal” albums in Canada, which after a quick glance at the top ten this week includes punk acts like Dropkick Murphys, Finger Eleven, and Billy Talent, and rock acts like Nickelback and Queen, but very little that resembles heavy metal. (Perhaps you should ask the Celtic punk band, Dropkick Murphys, what they think of being labeled as “metal”.)
And also tell me, without Demonoid, where would I have found out about bands like Evile or Dublin Death Patrol and made a decision to purchase their album online (because no record store that I have found in Canada carries either one). And god forbid the CRIA would care about the promotion of Canadian talent, such as longtime recording artist Annihilator, which released one of the better albums of 2007. However, I have yet to see their new album sold in any store in Canada, including HMV’s flagship store on Yonge Street in Toronto, and I ultimately had to buy a copy from a UK website. Considering the only place I had heard about this album was having downloaded it from Demonoid, do you really expect anyone to make this kind of effort to buy an album without ever having heard it?
The record labels and CRIA have gone to great lengths to tell us that downloading and sharing music is killing the music industry. Open your eyes and you will see that the music industry dinosaur has already been killing itself for years, and by resisting technology rather than embracing it and using it to their advantage. “Oh, but they have,” you try to insist, pointing to the sites devoted to selling music in mp3 format online. I notice that most of the metal bands I am interested in are still not available through these services. I also notice that buying an entire album ends up costing as much, if not more, than if I went to buy it in the store, even though there are no longer costs of materials or shipping that have to be paid for, and once again, I fail to come up with any sympathy for the music industry. I hope the music industry does die, because I know that music itself will not die so with the corrupt aspects of the industry gone, only then might music once again flourish.
Sincerely,
A former music buyer
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362 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
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root@your.server says that he’s known Deimos for a long time. He also says “he knows exactly how far to go with this.” Is this an indication that this whole stupid, infantile affair is the sole responsibility of a demented Deimos? There was no letter? Root also says “he started to act this way…” Good God Almighty, if there is any veracity to any this, then Deimos is a certifiable nut-bar. Revoke his visa, if he has one, and drop him down a deep, dark hole. We don’t need his type of jackass here. He can go back to Yugoslavia and play his childish games there. But get this headcase out of here. The hospitality is over, Deimos. Go.
root@your.server. Are you an idiot too? Good God, man read what you have written. I’ll do some quotes here. 1)”The reason the dutch law had nothing on him was exactly *because* of his silence where needed. The Dutch have succesfully taken down others…
REPLY:This is Canada. If you did a little basic research, you would know that these activities are perfectly lawful here.
2)”Have you even considered what would happen if he’d be as open as you would have wanted him to be? Try and use what’s left of your brain; It would become mainstream Canadian news, in the end forcing him to get out even earlier than he’d want, and worse: Be sued by even bigger fish.”
REPLY: What the fuck are you on about? Or, what sort of illicit drugs are you using? See my reply above. So, the only idiots around here are you and Deimos and anyone else who doesn’t have the brain power to do a little legal research. So, Fuck you too Jack. If you can’t fit in to the laws and customs of the land, then get the fuck out. And take your petty attempts at insult with you, they don’t even sting a tiny bit.
[quote comment="180822"]to pal. Nice avoidance job, pal. Do the ad hominem attack rather than discussing the issues raised. Go kiss Dumb-asses ring. By the way, you forgot to add ” your mother is an army boot.” Which she was. And tough as nails too. I repeat- CRIA did not shut himdown. He’s shutting himself down. Imploding. Get a brain and you’d see it. Stop being an imp toady.[/quote]
First off sincere regrets for any personal attack.. I was just copying you and your attack on Deinos… Glad you understand that your personal attack on Deinos was shallow and unproductive… so we can continue….
Well my mother may or may not be an army boot…you would not know just ….. Just like you may or may not have privileged information the kind that even Deimos does not have.. However Deimos is not required to inform you or anyone else of the goings on. It’s in his discretion… people can whine all they want but any LaMeR NeWBie pEEp can get on Demonoid…. yes even from Canada… all you got to do is spoof your IP…. can’t get much easier then downloading and installing one more piece of code….geez how easy can it get.?? Hide your IP Platinum works great or if you’re too lazy to install then use one of the many IP spoofing servers…. and bingo you’re in as before…. /But I will repeat Deimos owes nothing to people who use Denonoid for free or donate voluntarily…. He can freak out all he likes…. After all it’s not you head on the line IT’s HiS!!!!!!
root@your.server -> If Deimos wanted to exercise caution, why would he jump to the gun, and ban Canadian users in the first place without checking the source of this letter first before acting on it?
The first thing I would do in a case like this is verify the source. His hosting provider has come out publically and denied any communication with the CRIA or any Law firm representing the CRIA.
“Neither Netelligent nor any of our upstream providers have received any communications from [the] CRIA or any lawyer representing [the] CRIA,” company spokesman Billy Krassakopoulos told p2pnet.
http://www.p2pnet.net/story/13524
Many have contacted the CRIA who have denied any involvement and Deimos has denied any access to the public on these letters.
That’s recognizing caution. He’s in the hot seat right now for jumping the gun. Taking action based on a letter without knowing the source is not smart.
There’s nothing the CRIA can do to him that would invoke his silence on this matter. The silence he’s taken isn’t smart at all, it’s a further statement that he has yet to understand his legal rights here, and is creating a lot of resentment towards him and this site. The smart move would to come out clean on his mistake, and offer up some apology to his Canadian users before this gets way out of hand.
root@your.server wrote: “it’s infantile to behave patriotic regarding some hosting spot. You’re a fool. Not worthy of my or Deimos’ time.”
Guy’s you’re in my country. You set up shop here. You pulled an infantile stunt. You cut off our access to the site. How do you think we should feel, thankful? You are an arrogant son of a bitch, sir. We are not worthy of your or dumbass’ time? Well then, leave. Good riddance. Take your superiority complex and shove it up your ass. But you will have to remove your heads first.
Join the chat at demonoid for more on all this gossip. Deimos was just there, and it’s all true. And for those claiming hey can’t join because they’re in Canada: Cut the crap, irc.p2p-network.net is not closed for .ca IP-space. Look for the channel #Demonoid and stop making up half-assed stories.
root@your.server wrote “Join the chat at demonoid for more on all this gossip. Deimos was just there, and it’s all true.”
What’s all true? All the ‘nice’ things said about him here? Or the fact that the whole thing is an infantile stunt? Or that he royally fucked-up? Why should we join in when he has already gone? Why should we believe anyone on that website who claims to be Dumbass? I could say I’m God, but that wouldn’t make it true. Is he holding a press conference and publically releasing the alleged letter? Go away and root yourself, root.
Thank you mr. poster of post #153. That is like announcing the second coming of Christ after He has ascended into heaven once more. Thank you very much for the heads-up. Got any more good news?
Well, clearly it will be his word against yours then, right? Considering that it’s his website, his idea, his project, and that he does not have any reason to ‘ban’ Canadians from his site, he will have valid reason to do what he does best: Try and keep (inferno.)demonoid up and running.
root@your.server has just stated this: “…he does not have any reason to ‘ban’ Canadians from his site,…”
But he did, didn’t he? And for no reason other than some cockamamie made-up song and dance about some alleged letter. Can you say bullshit? You must, because you’re full of it.
root@your.server -> So let me get this strait, we’re supposed to believe him, over his ISP, and the CRIA who both deny this letter being sent out. On what his word? Where’s the proof?
Deimos just got what he wanted. Notice by the Canadian media. The Globe and Mail (a Canadian national newspaper) posted a short story about this messy little fiasco. It isn’t much of a story but it’s a beginning. The pressure is just starting Deimos. Hold a press conference and produce the alleged letter. It’s for the better that the truth comes out now, not later. Things can only get worse unless you come forth. Your reputaion, such as it is, is on the line.
If i were CRIA, I’d be talking to my lawyers right now. I wonder if Deimos can be sued in civil court under some misrepresntation, defamation, libel/slander sections of the law. Any real lawyers out there who could comment on this? He really is bringing CRIA into disrepute. (wether or not we like or understand CRIA, they appear to be the victim, here)
I think that Deimos has gone over the line on this one and needs to be reeled in.
Hank: CRIA couldn’t care a tinker’s damn about Demonoid. They flick it off like the booger it is. While there may be grounds somewhere, it wouldn’t look good for them. It would be really messy. The big, bad wolf taking on Robbing Hood, as it were. No, I think that they are intelligent enough to just let Deimos self-destruct. Which he is doing quite successfully. I think that we should look towards healing the P2P community from the damage done by this sordid little affair. There is going to be a smoking hole in the web where demonoid used to be.
When are people going to wise up and realize that both the CRIA and the RIAA are more than just watchdogs (or shall I call them attack dogs,) for the record industry. Both organizations have numerous contributors and members that are also heavily involved in politics. It matters not, what country or countries are trying to stop filesharing. The governments are involved more than people are ready to admit, and they have one, and only one, goal in mind: Thought and speech control. Read “1984″ by George Orwell, and you will see, that everything that is going on today as far as the filesharing debate, the crap artists that get promoted over artists that are worth listening to, it’s all to force feed us what they think we need, and not at all what we want.
I an others have been following this with close eyes in the industry, especially over the past few days with that poor old mother who was sued $220,000. I would love to see who those 24 songs she was sharing belonged to, and make sure that those artists agree with suing a single mom to the bones is the right thing to do for their continued success in the industry.
I think there’s a lot of pressure on this situation with Deimos to come up with proof on this situation, not only on the industry side, but end users as well. This is a controversial topic here in Canada, and one that has a further reach then just on Deimos.
I sympathize with the position Deimos may be in right now, but know with the mainstream media keeping a close eye on what happened recently in the US, we will get to the bottom of what happened here.
Good response Alex on 159! Excellent, and very true. Here’s the link to that story.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071005.WBcyberia20071005171642/WBStory/WBcyberia
As we all hold our breath, lets see how this now unfolds. Good luck Deimos, you’re about to get the Canadian Response to Bull.
I wish I could agree, but I don’t pay for jack.
“Contrary to what many think, he’s an old-school scene member, he knows exactly how far to go with this. The reason you can still all enjoy demonoid’s tracker is because of his caution. Be thankful that he only reveals things on a need to know basis. It has saved him jail-time many times over.”
– You don’t know Canadian law, so you’re forgiven. Deimos is not though. I, as many many other Canadians, don’t take very kindly to being lied to. If he doesn’t want to give us access anymore for a particular reason, then he should just say that.
But LYING OUT OF HIS ASS ABOUT A SO CALLED “LEGAL LETTER”, is the worst thing possible. Most of us in Canada know the law, and I immediately smelled bullshit when Demonoid came back online with that message.
This is fucking CANADA. To do ANY action, it has to be sanctioned by the courts. Not like in the USA, where all you have to do is say “Patriot Act” and you have full access to what ever you want.
Deimos has scarred himself and his club of followers for years to come. This is on par with what Loki did, and will forever be remembered. Anyone that I see supporting Deimos right now, they just seem like they are followers. These are the type of people that, when Demonoid went down, ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. And when they were given alternatives, they refused them because “DEMONOID 1S g0|)!!!!”.
Hey jackasses, ever here the expression, don’t put all your eggs in one basket? Or in this instance, a basket-case.
You say that we didn’t pay for services? What the hell do you know?! I was donating every month to that fuck twat, and what do I get for it? I have to proxy my way into his site, because he’s a nut job. That seems right, doesn’t it? Must be missing something in the meta-data.
“If i were CRIA, I’d be talking to my lawyers right now. I wonder if Deimos can be sued in civil court under some misrepresntation, defamation, libel/slander sections of the law.”
– Legally, you need more evidence then just a web page saying “CRIA sent me a letter”.
You’d need the actual ‘letter’, and him on record saying the CRIA sent him it.
As I don’t believe said letter exists, that would be quite difficult to do. But I agree, the CRIA should take some sort of action, because they are getting all sorts of negative attention (RE: the topic of this blog entry) in all sorts of media.
[quote comment="181552"]to:root@your.server
regarding: the reason you can still all enjoy demonoid’s tracker…
What sort of shit are you trying to pull? I’m in Canada and i can’t “enjoy” it. I can’t even proxy access it. Count me in as a supporter of the fuck you Deimos club. If he’s been acting this way for a while as you say he has, then he should drop those “friends” and their paranoia about the “outside world” and see a shrink. Deimos obviously has some deep seated issues that need tending to. Wake up, smell the coffee, get real Mr, root.[/quote]
Are you saying you can’t even setup and spoof your IP ahahahah C’mon… How come everybody else can..? Your not the only Canadian here… You want help all you got to do is ask.. But really, that bit of software pretty much sets itself up…NO JOKE!! Don’t blame the code blame your self..!! In fact don’t blame anyone just get some help……. Spoofing is childs play….. As far as the rant about someone you don’t even know… Do you read the Enquirer I’ll bet you do….lol
[quote comment="18164]
You say that we didn’t pay for services? What the hell do you know?! I was donating every month to that fuck twat, and what do I get for it? I have to proxy my way into his site, because he’s a nut job. That seems right, doesn’t it? Must be missing something in the meta-data.[/quote]
Go ahead blame the Americans But remember our government has brown lips from kissing American ass…. Why do you think we are in Afghanistan..?!!! but I digress… You have no more facts then anybody else so it’s fair to say you just feel sorry for yourself boo hoo…. Donations while nice and helpful to a cause give you privileges not rights..!! Demonoid owes you a big fat zero..!! You act like its so hard to proxy your way into Demonoid… That just is not the case… While it might have been nice if things had been handled differently We really don’t know who is spinning the bull here.. lets remember that the CRIA is not Canadian and they have professional spin doctors plotting their next move from their American boss’s. Also remember that the people of Canada are just as poorly served by their government as our American bro’s are by theirs.. Don’t mistake Canadian ineffectiveness with apathy
because it will jump out and bite you…hehe Calling a person you’ve never met or talked to a bunch of
names is neither factual or valid… Stop feeling sorry for yourself using a proxy is NO big deal…!!!
Anonymous at post 167. You demonoid jerk. I’m not a newbie you fricking moron. It’s something at your end and it’s another asshole. As for the Enquirer, I’ll bet you’re one of the genetically distorted monkeys on the cover who can’t even read.
oh dear. It looks as if the demonoid imps are crawling from their holes again. Get out the bug swatters people. Anonymous, and Pal, get a brain guys. Get an education. Grow up. Get a job. Get a life. Or get laid for shit’s sake. Do something other than showing off to the world that you are to dumb to think for yourselves. Stop kissing Dumb-ass’ rosey red ring.
“You act like its so hard to proxy your way into Demonoid… That just is not the case… While it might have been nice if things had been handled differently We really don’t know who is spinning the bull here.. lets remember that the CRIA is not Canadian”
– You are an idiot, and I’d rather appreciate it if you don’t put words into my mouth. I can speak just fine, thank you. Because you see, I am a product of Canadian schooling, and not USA’s.
I did not say it’s difficult to proxy into the site. Actually, with FireFox, it’s easier then it has ever been.
The fact of the matter is, this community did not expand to the magnitude it is today because people refused access to a group of people! This community thrives on open-ness and honesty amoungest each other. This community requires a certain level of trust. If we cannot trust Deimos to tell the truth in this matter, how can you trust him or his cronies in any other capacity?
Blocking access to a country, the country you’re in no-less, raises more questions then gives answers. He DOES have something to answer for, because he positioned himself in such a way, that he became an important part of the community, as did Loki and the Suprnova team(and if you STILL don’t understand the reference, WIKI it, shit for brains).
The community is in a state where we are getting more publicity, good or bad, and it’s causing things to be put into motion. The MediaDefender debacle is a win for us, yes, but all it takes is one wrong Government decision, and everything goes to hell. We are on the ropes here, as we always were, but we’re closer to the precipice then you realize. WE DO NOT NEED LIES AND SLANDER in the community. It’s time for Deimos to grow the fuck up, admit he lied, and go away, so someone else can take his place.
The CRIA might not be Canadian, BUT THEY ARE LOCATED IN CANADA. This means they FOLLOW CANADIAN LAW. It doesn’t matter if they are lying when they say “Oh, we didn’t send a letter”. The BIGGER PICTURE (something you fucks don’t seem to see) is that HERE, the courts make the decisions. If the CRIA was serious about taking legal action, there is a process, a DOCUMENTED PROCESS, in which they could do so. And then the judges would, quite rightly, THROW THEM OUT ON THEIR FUCKING ASSES.
And as for calling people names, apparently on TorrentFreak, you can say whatever you feel like. So I call ‘em like I see them. If you met me IRL, I would also call it like I see it. If you’re an asshat, I say such. If you’re a liar, then I will never come near you again. And although I never used Demonoid regularily, only for rare torrents, I can find everything I want IN OTHER PLACES. I don’t give two shits on what tracker the files are on, as long as the operator is trusted, and knows what the hell he’s doing. With Demonoid, such is not the case.
Oh and as for our government kissing up to the USA… That’s Harper’s fault. And if I remember, the majority of the country VOTED FOR HARPER. Even though he SAID quite CLEARLY that he would be-friend the USA (which is obviously a bad thing). But people are two self-centred (like yourself) that they didn’t realize what that meant. And look at where that has gotten us now. Yes, our dollar is worth more, right now, but that doesn’t mean dick all at the moment. You quite rightly pointed out Afgahnastan, and who was responsible for that? The conservatives! And there’s a whole list of bullshit Harper has pulled (ie. trying to appeal to Quebec, and almost starting another referendum) So when Oct 10th rolls around, be the follower you are and vote PC. I’d like to see how they can fuck this country more.
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