Illegal downloading!

[The Full English]

I don’t care if the music industry or films industry or any industry thinks I’m stealing from them because I can’t see how what I’m doing is so wrong.

Thinking about it, most of the illegal content I have downloaded is stuff I would have never have spent money on in the first place. Saying that, I’ve never really been a big downloader of legal or illegal digital content, apart from content on PSN and XBL. So things like music, films, TV programmes, computer programs and other such stuff I have mostly bought legally and normally a hard copy, with no downloads involved. The last time I download anything like that was over a year ago.

The way I see it is if I went into a shop and stole a CD, I’m taking a CD, which that shop has already bought, so they will not make money selling it on. But me downloading a song that I had no intention of buying in the first place, how does that stop anyone who was going to buy it from that shop.

I did ICT at college but I needed Microsoft office, which I didn’t realize until after I started the course, I thought any generic office program would be fine. I couldn’t afford the £100+ Microsoft wanted for it, so I go it illegally. Apart from the work I did on the course, I never use Microsoft office. It would have been a waste of my money to buy it.

Basically I want to rant.
Thanks for reading.  

[Tillisnut]

The Full English

I don’t care if the music industry or films industry or any industry thinks I’m stealing from them because I can’t see how what I’m doing is so wrong.

Thinking about it, most of the illegal content I have downloaded is stuff I would have never have spent money on in the first place. Saying that, I’ve never really been a big downloader of legal or illegal digital content, apart from content on PSN and XBL. So things like music, films, TV programmes, computer programs and other such stuff I have mostly bought legally and normally a hard copy, with no downloads involved. The last time I download anything like that was over a year ago.

The way I see it is if I went into a shop and stole a CD, I’m taking a CD, which that shop has already bought, so they will not make money selling it on. But me downloading a song that I had no intention of buying in the first place, how does that stop anyone who was going to buy it from that shop.

I did ICT at college but I needed Microsoft office, which I didn’t realize until after I started the course, I thought any generic office program would be fine. I couldn’t afford the £100+ Microsoft wanted for it, so I go it illegally. Apart from the work I did on the course, I never use Microsoft office. It would have been a waste of my money to buy it.

Basically I want to rant.
Thanks for reading.

Downlaoding without paying is theft.
Copyright laws are pretty clear to me.
You have no right to distribute the works of others without permission in the form of license. By downloaing from illegal distributors you are indeed breaking the law.

Quote:

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a United States copyright law which implements two 1996 WIPO treaties. It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services that are used to circumvent measures that control access to copyrighted works (commonly known as DRM) and criminalizes the act of circumventing an access control, whether or not there is actual infringement of copyright itself. It also heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet. Passed on October 12, 1998 by a unanimous vote in the United States Senate and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on October 28, 1998, the DMCA amended title 17 of the U.S. Code to extend the reach of copyright, while limiting the liability of Online Providers from copyright infringement by their users.

see more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act

Related:
NET act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NET_Act


Don't take it personal, but these are the facts.  

[IEditYourWorld]

Here's an interesting interview with Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creaters of South Park, that talks a little bit about their stance on downloading. You might find it intersting:

http://www.reason.com/news/show/116787.html

I love these guys!
IEditYourWorld  

[The Full English]

Tillisnut

The Full English

I don’t care if the music industry or films industry or any industry thinks I’m stealing from them because I can’t see how what I’m doing is so wrong.

Thinking about it, most of the illegal content I have downloaded is stuff I would have never have spent money on in the first place. Saying that, I’ve never really been a big downloader of legal or illegal digital content, apart from content on PSN and XBL. So things like music, films, TV programmes, computer programs and other such stuff I have mostly bought legally and normally a hard copy, with no downloads involved. The last time I download anything like that was over a year ago.

The way I see it is if I went into a shop and stole a CD, I’m taking a CD, which that shop has already bought, so they will not make money selling it on. But me downloading a song that I had no intention of buying in the first place, how does that stop anyone who was going to buy it from that shop.

I did ICT at college but I needed Microsoft office, which I didn’t realize until after I started the course, I thought any generic office program would be fine. I couldn’t afford the £100+ Microsoft wanted for it, so I go it illegally. Apart from the work I did on the course, I never use Microsoft office. It would have been a waste of my money to buy it.

Basically I want to rant.
Thanks for reading.

Downlaoding without paying is theft.
Copyright laws are pretty clear to me.
You have no right to distribute the works of others without permission in the form of license. By downloaing from illegal distributors you are indeed breaking the law.

Quote:

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a United States copyright law which implements two 1996 WIPO treaties. It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services that are used to circumvent measures that control access to copyrighted works (commonly known as DRM) and criminalizes the act of circumventing an access control, whether or not there is actual infringement of copyright itself. It also heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet. Passed on October 12, 1998 by a unanimous vote in the United States Senate and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on October 28, 1998, the DMCA amended title 17 of the U.S. Code to extend the reach of copyright, while limiting the liability of Online Providers from copyright infringement by their users.

see more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act

Related:
NET act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NET_Act


Don't take it personal, but these are the facts.

I'm not making anyone lose money or making money for myself, so i see nothing wrong with what i do  

[AntoniaMerEnfant]

My opinion on this is as such:

Songs used to play for free on the radio. And if you're an old school geek like me you have taped songs off of the radio before, and not had to listen to the commercials. TIVO and such for television are the same, you skip the commercials. Commercials, are the funding source for radio and tv-- and in theory they paid their share of production costs so you can find our how awesome Coca Cola tastes or how your life is revolutionized by Fixadent.

So why is downloading so much a bigger deal than taping?

Now, I can see your point (Tillisnut) in the respects that people have entire media libraries of movies they bummed online and such.

However, I am notoriously someone who doesn't like maybe more than one or two songs from an artist. To me downloading music programs are great. I can find out if other songs by an artist are as appealing as the one I heard. I would have never purchased cds by Hoobastank, Evanescence, Poets of the Fall, etc if I hadn't been for limewire and kazaa. By having those programs for me I was introduced to a better pallet of their music, and purchased products.

Also, it is not fair to be unable to listen to your favorite songs or watch your favorite shows because they are not offered in your country. Poets of the fall, for example, are a band you have to import their cds (thus it took a few downloads to convince me I wanted to pay the ungodly shipping fees). It's not a matter of not buying it, but for many between the countries products, it's about staying current. Waiting doesn't seem like a big deal until your friend overseas blabs who got killed off on LOST. But for many people they'll still purchase the episode down the road. Also, I have an issue having American copy right laws shoved down my throat when I want to download music from Korea or Spain.

I understand the rights of artists, and I applaud that. However, the pirates of music and media were really quite innovative in reshaping how we buy music. Many legitimate pay-per-song websites were molded by the illegal ones. I also think this harms big name companies more than it harms the little guys. Artists like Matt Caplan and other "Small timers" can get their music out there to a larger audience. They may not make money initially on these downloads, but it creates a fan base which is a solid investment in future records.

Finally, artists have other lucrative ways besides the selling of cds. Concerts will always be near and dear to the heart- and streaming a concert on You Tube won't suffice.  

[Headhunter]

I for one am a big downloader of music and proud of it.

I like a lot of Underground/Independant hip hop and most of the artists I listen too aren't readily avaialable at Best Buy, the only place around here that has a half way decent selection of music. I do end up buying most of the albums I download if I like it enough, and I don't particularly care for the prospect of buying a CD, listening to it and discovering I don't really like it. Even the best of artists misstep every now and then and releases a dud.

Except Fear Factory. They're perfect in every way.

I've also discovered countless new artists through this method that I honestly wouldn't have given a thought too had I not been able to listen to their albums for free first. I've also been able to find a ridiculous number of rare and out-of-print albums that I'd have no chance of getting unless I wanted to pay through the nose. So yeah, go downloading!

As far as movies go, I'm honestly not much of a movie watcher so I don't even think about downloading movies most of the time unless its something I really, really want to see. I do download television shows when I miss episodes, though  

[kekadu]

I agree with you on the taping idea, Antonia. I think it's still a little different because it's a lot easier to download whole CDs and stuff on the internet...and the quality is just as good sometimes as if you had bought the CD itself. When things were taped from the radio, they weren't as good of quality, it would take a lot of time ,and you probably wouldn't get the whole album. You might find a song you really liked or something and maybe be spurred to buy the tape at the store. I don't see that as how people are using p2p software nowadays.


It is frustrating in general, though, because digital things are so intangible. Who would've imagined 200 years ago that this would be a problem? I don't know if Beethoven would've predicted the internet...  

[Levina-jade]

I'm gonna let my bf (FaultandFracture) take on this one, as he works in the recording industry. *hands over lappy*

ok, so take it from a man who knows, and doesn't care. the music industry is almost all about making money on people who can look good while playing music they don't write. well atleast thats what pop and rap music is. you know how much an artist gets per cd??? 9 cents per song if they are good and have a good contract. the band makes their $$$$ on shows and merch. the producer, writer, aranger, and record company pocket the rest.

Illegal downloading is great for the music industry if you ask me. its a great way to hear about new music. its great for the indie band from bo foo oregon who can get their music to people by putting it on a torrent site so the whole country can get to it.

i do understand that record companies are what drive and support the music of today but then they turn down bands who are amazing because there isn't enough "gaurentee" that they will make enough money. Im hoping that mabye if were are lucky that mabye this might help rid the music industry of "performers" and bring back the real artist.
 

[Super Buick]

*sets two cents on the table*

ok, i have a music library of over 3000 songs, most of which come from download sites. thing is, i have a couple different songs from each album of different artists. i copy those tracks onto a cd and distribute it to friends that might be interested in that type of music. myself, and many of my friends, have bought cds we never would have considered buying because of those illegal downloads. we've also went to concerts we never would have gone to because of them. so, in reality, the people making the money end up benefiting from my illegal downloads.  

[[[[ bunny ]]]]

Levina-jade

I'm gonna let my bf (FaultandFracture) take on this one, as he works in the recording industry. *hands over lappy*

ok, so take it from a man who knows, and doesn't care. the music industry is almost all about making money on people who can look good while playing music they don't write. well atleast thats what pop and rap music is. you know how much an artist gets per cd??? 9 cents per song if they are good and have a good contract. the band makes their $$$$ on shows and merch. the producer, writer, aranger, and record company pocket the rest.

Illegal downloading is great for the music industry if you ask me. its a great way to hear about new music. its great for the indie band from bo foo oregon who can get their music to people by putting it on a torrent site so the whole country can get to it.

i do understand that record companies are what drive and support the music of today but then they turn down bands who are amazing because there isn't enough "gaurentee" that they will make enough money. Im hoping that mabye if were are lucky that mabye this might help rid the music industry of "performers" and bring back the real artist.

*APPLAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE*

precisely what i was gonna state.

additionallyyyyyyy

i've found out about way too many artists i now love that i never would have heard of through music sharing, and gone to even more concerts thanks to it. frankly, i'm into music for the ARTISTS, not for the record company. and any arist with any sense of how much they make on cds will applaud the p2p process.  

[chibihotachan]

Not exactly the same thing but here is an interesting take on downloading particulaly fansubs from a Japanes artist.

http://www.activeanime.com/html/content/view/1967/2/  

[AntoniaMerEnfant]

chibihotachan

Not exactly the same thing but here is an interesting take on downloading particulaly fansubs from a Japanes artist.

http://www.activeanime.com/html/content/view/1967/2/

The downloading anime thing is a little weird to me, only because it seems like true fans are compelled to support the franchise.

When it comes to movies and such when I can afford it, I'm not afraid to pay money to have a copy with the nice case, the neat graphics on the DVD itself, and all that stuff. Though I do admit I bought a bootleg once, I wondered why it was so cheap. So I'm still hunting down "Knight Hunters" bilingual/Weiss Kreuz with proper subtitles. I refuse to show Yonsan my copy because the translators on the subtitles were Chinese- mid way through the series they switched the names from the Japanese (Oka, Yohji, etc) to Chinese versions (Xianghua, Yanger, etc). Totally confusing.  

[AQuAxXxScORP_62704]

Those free downloads are the best. Especially just for the hit songs; I don't see nothing wrong with downloading things for free, it just becomes wrong for rich people who lose money and find ways to say the things you are doing is "Bad therefore you should go to jail, and now this is illegal!". If a friend wants to copy (burn) a whole cd that I just bought because they love the cd and the songs on it and they don't have money etc, I don't see nothing wrong with it, he/she didn't go to the store and stole a cd; that friend was just being smart about it and ask a friend for the songs instead. Besides not profiting from it, but the benefit of sharing from friends and their friends, and their friend's friends, etc. lol  

[Ybrik]

I see nothing wrong with downloading music. This really all became an issue after Metallica and Lars had to get all whiny about Napster. I download particular songs occasionally to help me know if I would be interested in the band....In many cases, it has led to me becoming a fan and spending much money on merchandise like shirts and such i never would have before. As for Anime, I learned of the show Deathnote, through downloading and became a huge fan! I've boughten several things from the franchise now including a deathnote of my own, which I never would have even thought about otherwise. i guess, I just don't believe it hurts people like they'd have you believe. I see it as certain already wealthy people, pinching pennies to make themselves richer at an unfair advantage to the rest of us.  

[Shelithra]

[throws in her 2 cents worth also]

In the days before you were able to buy individual songs from the net, I saw nothing wrong with recording or downloading music. Why should anyone have to spend over $20 to buy a cd or tape that contained maybe 2 or 3 songs worth listening to? I felt that the record industries were the ones ripping people off.

Now that individual songs can be bought, I believe if you like the song, and it can be found on a reputable site you should buy it. However, as some people have stated already some artist are not available because they are new and/or not popular enough, or refuse to give people the option to download. In those cases I see nothing wrong with downloading the music from whatever means. No one should be forced to pay for an entire album full of songs they will never listen to. If the artist/record company doesn't give something other than that option, it's there loss.