“…You see it’s not your work that you get paid for, it’s selling your music.
Getting paid for your work would be, for example, when performing live or something like that. Or funded beforehand (pledging system, for instance). Not selling endless ‘copies’.”

Good point and well said.

talking about industry vs artists, must read

“I think going out of business for bad business practices is exactly what is needed for these industries.”

Sort of like what happened with the auto and housing and the other corporate greed monsters recently.

The music and record industry is next.

This isn’t a case of a physical product either. In all cases it is a product with a set production cost being mass-marketed infinitely with no caps or boundaries whatsoever as to the amount of potential profit. This inspires the outrageous level of greed we are seeing now. Since it *should* be hugely profitable, they start seeing red when it isn’t. Maybe it’s because no one wants what they just wasted millions to produce? Tough luck. Get to know your audience a little better before you gamble on what they are willing to pay for.

Movies and music productions have flopped and ended up costing producers money rather than making it for them long before the first PC was even invented. It’s supposed to be a gamble for the bloodsuckers, not a guaranteed revenue stream, even when the product is lackluster. I have yet to see a movie in the last year that I felt was worth the cost of a movie ticket. Furthermore, the RIAA cooked and ate the golden egg-laying goose when they began suing individuals. I will never buy anything to support them again. Ever. If an artist wants my money, they’d damn well better sell direct and be willing to come put on a concert near me rather than from behind some thieving, litigious labels and industry shills.

The entertainment industries have flooded the market with garbage. Instead of 3-4 major blockbusters a year, we see double or triple that, and the overall quality has suffered dramatically. People are still spending the same amount(proportionately) on entertainment as in the heyday of the ’80s, so approximately 2/3 of all movies and music are seeking a paying audience from people who have no budget for *that much* entertainment. Something has to flop when you make so much crap in such high volume.

“The poor artists” means nothing when the artists should be paid up front or upon completion and be leaving the marketing gamble for the studios and labels to absorb when something flops and profit from when they find a winner. That’s why the labels are even allowed to exist, but have skirted their own responsibility to take a loss because that aspect of their own business is not profitable. Win some lose some. Sadly, they think they can be the house and always have the odds in their favor. You know, the companies who don’t actually contribute anything but are right there with hands outstretched when there’s any profit to be made from “The poor artists” they are fucking over en masse in the name of profit.

I think going out of business for bad business practices is exactly what is needed for these industries. The artists will thrive, and the end users will rejoice for the reduced costs of their entertainment in virtually unlimited quantities once we can finally see the real culprits behind the dilemma put to the gallows.

“Artists do what they do for a living and deserve to get paid. I’m one of those creators and I kind of need to put food on the table and keep the lights on.”

Based on what I understand from your post, I presume that you agree that your ostensible self-prescribed deservedness stops at the door of using draconian measures against others to ensure that you get what you think you deserve, right?

Continue file-sharing if you think it is right, and give a 1-finger salute (and more if you think you have to) to those who mean to trample on your rights.