Piracy, Morals and The Need for Change
Written by Ernesto on December 23, 2007Morals are often defined by what the general public sees as right or wrong. Most people don’t feel that they’re doing wrong when they download an MP3 or share a movie, but in most countries they are actually breaking laws, laws which do not reflect what the general public considers to be legal, fair use, or even moral.
Law and morals are clearly out of sync when it concerns sharing copyrighted works on the Internet. To give an example, David Pogue, technology writer for the New York Times often questions his public during talks to find out where the line between wrong and right lies in this case. He starts of with a simple statement such as:
“I own a certain CD, but it got scratched. So I borrow the same CD from the library and rip it to my computer.”
He then asks the public whether they think it’s wrong or not. Normally the more extreme the examples are, the more hands are raised, but when he spoke to an audience of 500 college students, something different happened.
Finally, with mock exasperation, I said, “O.K., let’s try one that’s a little less complicated: You want a movie or an album. You don’t want to pay for it. So you download it.” There it was: the bald-faced, worst-case example, without any nuance or mitigating factors whatsoever. “Who thinks that might be wrong?” Two hands out of 500.
Pogue was blown away by this response, and he realized that there is a clear generation gap when it comes to copyright morals. Indeed there is, but what else do you expect from a generation grew up with iPods, CD-burners and the biggest copying machine ever invented (the Internet) at their fingertips. There’s a whole industry built around filesharing, take the 160GB iPod for example, any idea how much it costs to fill that with legally purchased songs?
Computers and the Internet made it easier than ever to reproduce and share files, and it is virtually impossible to stop people from sharing and copying music and videos online. I’m not talking about copying movies for profit here, just for personal use. Besides, sharing files is not as bad as most anti-piracy lobbies want people to believe.
A recent study has shown that people don’t buy less CDs when they download songs, instead, they discover music they otherwise wouldn’t have listened to, and buy more CDs than people who don’t download. On top of this, research continues to show less popular artists actually profit from piracy simply because it allows people to try new music.
From people who missed an episode of their favorite TV-show I often get the question whether it is legal for them to download these off BitTorrent. For them, the only way to see that show is to download it, again, they don’t make any money off it, they just want to see an episode they missed. Is that immoral?
Personally I think it is all about alternatives. Movie, TV and music companies should put their content online and make it available in high quality for a reasonable price without restrictions such as DRM. At the moment there are often no products online that can compete with their pirated counterparts in quality. Sure, there are ways to download (some) music and movies online, but apart from the ridiculous prices, these products are often offered in a low quality format and restricted through DRM.
The thing is, the entertainment industry should learn how to embrace technology and compete with piracy, instead of fighting its customers. The rise of illegal downloading is a signal that customers want something that is not available through other channels, it’s more about availability than the fact that it’s free, as illustrated by the missed TV-show example.
Honestly, the real problem isn’t so much about protecting the rights of the artist, but about protecting the revenue stream for the big media companies. The people who actually create the movies and music want their content to be shared, only the large corporations behind it are too afraid to move on. Lobby groups such as the MPAA and the RIAA represent the distributors of movies and music, NOT the creators. They even pay politicians to support their cause by voting for or against laws so that legislation is made with their interests in mind. Is that moral?
The main reason why these corporations are hesitant to go online is because they are trying to make most of their money of something that can easily done by the public - distribution. They are striving to preserve outdated business models because that’s how they make their money. I’m not proposing that everyone should just pirate everything, but I suggest that the movie and movie industry make their content available online for a reasonable price.
The Internet and filesharing technologies make it possible to make production (of the copies) and distribution costs disappear, yet the prices still don’t change. Why? Because they cling onto their old business models.
So should sharing copyrighted material be legalized? Not per se, but the entertainment industry should focus on monetizing filesharing networks instead of bringing them down. Sharing is a good thing and there are tons of possibilities to profit from it.
What do you think?
Previously: MediaDefender Stock Plunges Due to Leaked Emails
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201 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
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Those 2 who raised their hands are “M PA A” spies…
Hey Mr. Record Man,
The joke’s on you,
Runnin’ your label like it was 1992,
Hey Mr Record Man,
Your system can’t compete,
It’s the new artists model,
FILE TRANSFER COMPLETE!!!
I see this as something much bigger than simply trying to restrain Capitalism by need of a new moral Copyright system. (Or the eradication thereof)
I think this is one of the first of many truths we are seeing from the rise of the internet. A kind of resonating humane/socialist truth, that speaks louder than a love of money.
It is one of many, where people will unite around ways for us all to enjoy better lives. It could mean change of government, or it could simply mean recognizing new methods of allowing fairness and equality to prosper; where greed once infested.
I think this idea of a free means for everyone to communicate and learn equally is neat. I can’t wait to see it propagated by the people rather than ISP’s; in a free, p2p-based, wifi/wimax accessible network. It will happen; look at how technology is allowing us to mod or screw with Corporations now.
Fuck money. Man I hate the holidays…
I might have raised my hand as well. I have downloaded a few movies to see how they are. The ones I liked and wanted I went out and bought. To me just keeping a downloaded copy of a movie I liked and wanted is immoral. If I enjoyed it. I belive they deserve compensation.
how often do you have to quote that old crap that sharing music via internet actually gets them more money?
we already got it, but i bet someone will quote it in the next article as well
Maybe if the music industry knew the difference between noise and music these days and wasn’t so busy trying to find the next sexy pop star (PussyCat Dolls, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, etc), instead of people with great talent we’d buy their records instead of stealing them. I don’t download illegally, but I rarely buy new cds either, there is too much used stuff to choose from. Used selections of cds are far greater than what you’ll ever find in stores that sell new cds
And interestingly enough, I don’t see Simon and Schuster trying to sue me cause I want to read one of their new books at Barnes and Noble without paying for it. The music industry needs to get a life and get with the 21st century
Half of the problem in getting people to accept filesharing is a matter of word association. The media companies call it piracy, and that has a lot of bad connotations. It really should be referred to as filesharing, because that’s exactly what it is. Despite what a lot of people refer to it as, it is not stealing. It is copying, it is sharing. I’ll put it to an analogy to help illustrate my point.
Stealing: Somebody breaks into a house owned by Mr. MPAA or RIAA and takes several music CDs, a DVD or two, and maybe even a few software CDs. In this instance, something is actually taken, and the person suffers a real loss, not a prospective loss based on assumed sales figures.
Filesharing: Somebody comes to your house to borrow your photocopier, and they’ve brought their own paper, ink, and hell, maybe even their own power source to put things in to perspective. They then proceed to make a copy or two of something in your possession, a picture perhaps, or a page from a book. In this instance, you suffer no real loss, nor are your resources consumed. The only result is that now there is a copy of something out there.
I fully support filesharing, as long as the people downloading the files aren’t redistributing them for profit. Filesharing puts the power in the hands of the people, and allows them to figure out what really is good or not rather than going with what the media moguls tell them is good. It works, too, because if there’s something I like that I’ve downloaded, I’ll usually go out and purchase the actual CD or DVD, as I like to have a hard copy, something that’s tangible. It’s also a means of discovery. I’ve heard so much more music through filesharing than I would even have found on my own.
[quote comment="246203"]Those 2 who raised their hands are “M PA A” spies…[/quote]
lol, scary stuff!
The more i SHARE what i copied, the cleaner my conscience.
Why ?
I got the stuff for free, so everyone else gets it for the same price from me.
Why should i ask anyone else to pay
for something that came for nothing ?
Now, THAT would be immoral.
I’m of the opinion if you enjoyed it you should buy it. Most of the movies I download get deleted after one viewing. The few I enjoyed I own the dvd.
AMEN!
i completely agree with this article 3000%.
the industry needs to adapt and embrace current technology, instead of punishing its customers for going elsewhere to get what the cant get from them.
nice article, do not stop saying it, keep repeating the message
one aspect unexplored by the article is the free market capital efficiency perspective, the economic view says “that which can be copied at no cost has no value”
we all know it is not stealing, we all live in capitalist economies and hear the sirens wailing the capitalist credo. we understand what good economics is and what value is
then, because the MAFIAA is paying politicians to make laws and extorting citizens thru the US court system. and the global media cartels are pumping out the message “you are criminals! filesharing is illegal!”. there is created a dicontinuity
that discontinuity is exactly what has been highlighted in the article and why this is such a good blog. that discontinuity between message and reality is gonna grow, it will eventually break, it is the suicide pact of the media cartels, they MUST stop sharing technology or ultimately lose their abnormally high profits
Basically, the Entertainment Industry is scared to death about not earning enough profit$$$ to continue their expen$ive life$tyle. Therefore, they don’t want to embrace the new technology of the internet: p2p filesharing. That’s already the reality of the Web 2.0, and the coming of the Web 3.0. The truth of the matter, is that the internet and the technology behind it is here to stay. It’s not going backwards. It’s moving forward.
The MPAA and the RIAA is living the yearning of the past. They still are living the model of the mid-20th century, instead of the beginning of the 21st century.
One thing I love about libraries is that they are catching up with the current times of the internet. Yes. I am a heavy public library user. I can borrow DVDs, VHSs, and CDs from their brick-and-mortar library. But I also love their DIGITAL loan books. You can actually sign-in to their website, check the available download DIGITAL books, download them to your computer, and then upload them into your MP3 device. And, you have a “borrowed” book to listen to, along with an expiration date. Now, why can’t the Entertainment Industry embrace something similar to what the public libraries are doing? Yes. The profit margins for the companies will decrease, but at least they won’t have to “battle” the users, the p2p filesharers, etc. There is more I can say…but I will never finish saying it in this forum.
Suffice it to say that positive “morality” needs to begin with the MPAA and RIAA. If not, the battle between the MPAA / RIAA and p2p filesharers will never end. We’ll continue playing the game, and eventually the MPAA / RIAA will have to give in. The Internet, and the technology behind it is too creative and interesting to be stopped by that little empire of senile CEOs and managers.
The MPAA / RIAA are in denial, and don’t want to face the fact that the internet is another level of the human evolution of awareness. Yes. Read that again. One day something in the near future, that same phrase will be widely used.
How is this related to the internet, p2p filesharing, and entertainment? All you have to do is look at the history of mankind. You can even start looking since Homer’s and Shakespeare’s time. Human beings have a knack for entertainment. Except, in our times, it is all digital. And, the process of technological evolution continues…and we can either embrace it, and move along with it, or we can just passively watch how it’s going to evolve in the next stage…and like frustrated little kids…just stand there dumbfounded.
i am on a rant :-)
is it any surprise to you that 80% of all content shared has originated from the big media cartels? 100% of the content available in a shop is from the cartels! naturally, most of everything shared has some copyright legacy attached when almost everything in the world is out of the big 4
it is only now the free internet has the distribution technologies to enable truly independent self-publishing that we are gonna see an emergence of open-source software and privately created movies and music. it will take time for the adoption of the new technologies and for the distribution structures to settle into economic systems serving artist/creators and their public
it is happening and it is only a matter of time. thankfully God and time are on our side
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Self interest corpoRats are the problem everywhere not just the music or movie industry. We need to bring to heal these over sized fat cat abusers of the human will and even eliminate those that refuse to change so as to serve the people.
As the population of this planet increases to hard to manage levels. We either bring the greedy self interest individuals in line with popular thinking or they will be swallowed and consumed by violent revolution as history shows us… Do it now or the people will do it later, but it will get done…..
The blood of the workers lubricates the wheels of capitalism.
Filesharing is freedom, brothers & sisters…
Merry Christmas. =]
all these antipiracy companies want to do is make money on sueing inocent people who just want to watch tv/movies or listen to some music who harm no one and make no profit, they just make themselves happier and not as bored. What’s wrong with this? Noone I know has a problem with this and most actualy like the advatnagrs to downloading, also its not I’m never going to spend money on CDs/DVDs ever again! The general public loves bit torrent, its going nowhere soon!
oh btw I don’t think it should be called piracy anymore, I love pirates and all, but ninjas uckin own! So from now on its called ninjacy!
Excellent article, Ernesto.
And some excellent and equally intelligent comments too.
You know, I’d gladly use a program that allowed you to listen to songs for free (medium quality)and with a small ad every 5-10 songs, as long as the ad wasn’t at full volume or the most annoying thing you’ve ever heard of.
It not really a matter of it being an outdated business model.. it just that they don’t get to SELL us crap anymore at an outrageous profit, one person gets it for free, tells everyone how shit it is and then nobody buys it… THAT’S what the suits do like.
Me.. I torrent a shit load of stuff every month and only buy the highest quality of the stuff I like… no more random buying.. I’m not deluding myself as to what I’m doing, I’m perfectly aware that according to the laws I am commiting crime, but fuck it… I’ve had thirty years on this earth as “a good little consumer” (I’m not even a person to these bastards, just a wallet) buying shit after shit, simply because I have been forced to BUY BLIND!
No FUCKING more, I’ll buy what I do like.. but I’ll try everything to find out what that is!
why are there so many mpaa reading/commenting this forum? I think its becuase they have nothing better to do, they can’t stop us so they tell us its wrong, stealing, immoral, and you all should be ashamed. Well fuck you and get off this website, most people know that what we’re doing is right and is absolute freedom. I love it and will neverstop downloading! Btw if we had mpaa do something diferent then protect copyright laws(completly pointless, people still do, and other people/big companies still make money) maybe like figure ways to fix bigger problems like world hunger, global warming, and other shit maybe our world would be a better place. Oh yeah legalize marijuana as well as file sharing!! Great well written article ernesto!
It’s true that legally filling an iPod at current prices would break most people. But even big media finally woke up and started selling songs at 5c each and albums at 1$ each, which I feel would be reasonable, I still wouldn’t buy anything because I hate them so much. These companies have spent so many years doing things that piss me off more and more now I wont ever give them money out of spite. In this world of capitalism, I am going to let my money talk. And it’s not going to talk to them.
You know I agree, sort of. I think copyright is completely messed and needs a complete rework for the internet age. COPYRIGHT IS NOT A GUARANTEE FOR PROFIT. It is actually not even copyright that is abused though, it’s exclusive rights. Exclusive rights screw over the artist, creator, and original copyright holder. Those “rights” permit companies such as EMI, Universal, BMG, and Warner to own a song (that they had nothing to do with) alter it, promote it, and profit from it anyway they deem acceptable. Those guys are my enemy. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE MUSIC, and I really really want to support my favorite artists but I find it far too hard to buy a CD knowing that the artist will only see less than a dollar, maybe two if your Madonna. Then the loving record labels make the artists pay back everything they have done in the studio. Artists are forced to pay back recording costs (which is pure profit for the record labels) and music videos, otherwise their album will not get promoted on the radio, MTV, etc. Those costs soar in to the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars. This, in my account, is completely unacceptable, and therefore I will never buy another CD until something changes. I know that there are “Independent labels” but most are a scam, either owned (indirectly) by one of the big four, or only a matter of time until they get too popular and become mainstream and become bought out. Personally I don’t care if the whole industry dies, this is a harsh statement but it’s something that I believe in. The record labels are nothing but scum, look at what they do to people sharing music. If only they would open their eyes and see that people have been sharing music for decades. Sharing has been taking place through cassette tape recordings, inviting friends over to listen to a LP, etc. It is only now that those songs are stored on a hard drive and replicated in seconds that the industry feels they are being screwed over. They don’t see that they have screwed over everyone to the point where they are one of the most hated industries worldwide. Hell I’d rather live in a box under a bridge than work for those scum bags. The power for change is within everyone, if no one buys music, then maybe we can kill this monster and restore music to what it is; sharing human emotions, thoughts, and experiences.
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