Suffocation...Thoughts on this video...

Fat Freddy wrote:

Soooo... whether we've illegally downloaded, or made/shared mix tapes/CDs, or bought used CDs, it looks like each and every one of us has contributed to the complete and utter destruction of the music industry in some form or another. Awesome. Great job everyone!!!

I can get behind this statement.

Hey OCI

This thread is 4 pages now

Allow me to put on my lawyer hat here.

Illegal downloading is not "stealing" or "theft." The RIAA might say this, and you might use this term but the actual crime is "piracy." Piracy is not theft because theft involves taking ownership of a unique item without the permission of the current owner. Thus, taking the Mona Lisa off the wall and keeping it is theft.

Piracy is duplicating a work and selling it or distributing it without permission. In the case of piracy, the original item remains untouched and still in possession of the creator/owner/artist. See the difference?

The real issue here is not the piracy. Piracy of music has existed as long as there has been recorded music. Bootlegs, tape-trading, private issues, etc... are all piracy. The real issue here is that the RIAA has lost its monopoly on the production and distribution of music. Once the first CD was pressed, the game was over for them. Both the industry and artists have been very slow to realize this and there is only one outcome. That outcome is the end of the RIAA and labels. They are not needed any longer and are as anachronistic as the buggy whip.

Further, US Copyright Law has been completely perverted by major companies, mostly Disney, to make sure they retain control of their properties for perpetuity. That is crazy. Copyright should be much shorter, say 25 years, to allow innovation. No one should be collecting royalties on the Happy Birthday song.

I have no sympathy for artists that show no interest in their work and have essentially abandoned it. For instance, the band Heavy Load has been approached by multiple labels and steadfastly refuses to reissue their material. That is their right, but don't be surprised when it gets bootlegged and downloaded like crazy. If they don't care about receiving profits, why should I feel bad buying a bootleg?

Personally, I don't download music because I like physical product, and I would prefer that the artist get ALL the profits. I forsee a day when that will be the reality, and that day is coming soon.

Lets blame the radio stations back in the early 70's for playing album tracks and not singles, the companies that made blank cassette tapes, and the people who added the "record" button to a cassette deck (that didn't have plug in's for external microphones)

Vexer6 wrote:

Even if someone claims "Fair Use"?

"Fair Use" is a widely misunderstood concept.

A record store playing an album over their house sound system, that is a correct application of fair use. The record store can play that Led Zeppelin album under Fair Use because that item is available for sale at their establishment, the record store sells recordings so the only way they can demonstrate that is to play the recordings in their store. Fair Use benefits both the owner of the establishment and the owner of the copyrighted work when that in-store play causes a patron to purchase the product.

Regardless of that the record store still has to pay both ASCAP and BMI yearly fees to be able to play music in their establishment.

Witchfinder wrote:

Allow me to put on my lawyer hat here.

Illegal downloading is not "stealing" or "theft." The RIAA might say this, and you might use this term but the actual crime is "piracy." Piracy is not theft because theft involves taking ownership of a unique item without the permission of the current owner. Thus, taking the Mona Lisa off the wall and keeping it is theft.

Piracy is duplicating a work and selling it or distributing it without permission. In the case of piracy, the original item remains untouched and still in possession of the creator/owner/artist. See the difference?

The real issue here is not the piracy. Piracy of music has existed as long as there has been recorded music. Bootlegs, tape-trading, private issues, etc... are all piracy. The real issue here is that the RIAA has lost its monopoly on the production and distribution of music. Once the first CD was pressed, the game was over for them. Both the industry and artists have been very slow to realize this and there is only one outcome. That outcome is the end of the RIAA and labels. They are not needed any longer and are as anachronistic as the buggy whip.

Further, US Copyright Law has been completely perverted by major companies, mostly Disney, to make sure they retain control of their properties for perpetuity. That is crazy. Copyright should be much shorter, say 25 years, to allow innovation. No one should be collecting royalties on the Happy Birthday song.

I have no sympathy for artists that show no interest in their work and have essentially abandoned it. For instance, the band Heavy Load has been approached by multiple labels and steadfastly refuses to reissue their material. That is their right, but don't be surprised when it gets bootlegged and downloaded like crazy. If they don't care about receiving profits, why should I feel bad buying a bootleg?

Personally, I don't download music because I like physical product, and I would prefer that the artist get ALL the profits. I forsee a day when that will be the reality, and that day is coming soon.

SpectreFate wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Soooo... whether we've illegally downloaded, or made/shared mix tapes/CDs, or bought used CDs, it looks like each and every one of us has contributed to the complete and utter destruction of the music industry in some form or another. Awesome. Great job everyone!!!

I can get behind this statement.

So can I