MarcAshken wrote:The music industry is much like any other industry, music when it is packaged for sale becomes a product to both the consumer and the seller. Money changes hands and the industry is kept afloat, same as any other industry. If cadburys had regular theft from all of their factories, twenty four hours a day, it would effect their sales, because people would be stealing the product instead of buying it. Its pretty basic stuff and I can see from your replies in this thread that you are intelligent. If i understand you correctly, you're whole argument is based on the fact that there is no evidence that downloading music without paying for it effects sales. What is it about the music industry that makes it different from any other industy experiencing theft? Is it a magical self renewing industry that doesnt need money to continue or is it that a comprehensive study hasnt been done into the effect of downloading?
It's important to discern the difference between tangible product and media.
(by the way, the minute someone figures out how to download food and cadbury chocolate, FUCKING TELL ME! That'd be fucking good!
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You said something interesting at the end. Nobody has done a comprehensive study about the effect downloading / digital piracy has on sales and things. And it would be very difficult to come to some kind of real conclusion. It would take several years and would probably be irrelevant by the time it's concluded.
That is part of it, yes, but that is only part of the conversation about the problem, not the problem. The real issue is that people somehow relate digital piracy to sales and survivablity of artists. Aside from there being no evidence to support a link between the two, it is in fact completely different from the theft of physical product. No, I'm not going to argue about it not being stealing or it being "right" or wrong, that's what I was trying to get away from with one of my last posts. What I mean is that the effects of someone losing physical product has implications that are very different than the digital piracy issue. I think the underlining notion from most who have an anti-piracy standpoint is that when someone downloads something, that a sale is lost. This can be argued from many angles, a couple of which i've mentioned (and the lack of evidence being a good argument unto itself).
Why argue it at all? Not for the sake of arguement, but because I think too many people are getting upset about something that isn't hurting and isn't going to change, and more importantly - because there are much more important things to focus on in order for everyone to come out ahead. I see way too often artists getting upset and focussing on all the wrong things when it comes to things like this. Argueably, digital piracy is one of the most important issues of our generation. At least from the perspective of it being such a strong topic of contention at what seems to be an important crossroads in today's culture, especially with where we are at technologically. Too many are ignorantly pointing the finger at "them evil downloaders"... if they spent the time they spent sueing people and getting angry and going "metallica" looking at trends and adapting to the present and inevitable future, maybe we could get somewhere. And maybe the artists could spend that time recording new things or having fun.
So far, the only response to the phenomenon is people sueing people, people coming up with restrictive DRM schemes and people being pissed off at nobody in particular. Maybe it's about time people actually looked at how to adapt to the trend and develop a new business model, or perhaps the very best thing - learn how to cater to people so they don't have to pirate. It's not enough to say "oh, but you can go buy that thing you stole...". There's obviously much more to piracy than persons choosing to steal. And I wish people could pick up on this.
So bottom line:
People get mad at piracy because they perceive that downloaded albums = lost album sales.
AND some get mad at people because they believe there is something morally wrong with piracy (i'm not argueing against that).
The people with the moral issues - just have to deal with it I guess. or maybe they would be satiated as a side affect of the much needed reform. But in the broader scope of things, and from a sales / business perspective - people need to stop living in the past and learn how to deal with the where things are going. If piracy *is* affecting their business and sales, then they need to learn how to adapt. Or if piracy is hurting them in the sense that it's really just annoying... then they need to deal with it somehow. Or keep quiet about it. But pointing the finger and imposing restrictions, laws and prosecutions does not work. It has about the same effect as policing a large city with a pair of cops and a cruiser...there's just way too much happening way to quickly.
now obviously some of you don't agree with me, but like it or not, I deliver truth here. if you have a legitimate argument to something i've said, maybe you could deliver it in a proper manner. weak insults aren't an arguement and aren't needed, and if you can't read... no need to post the same weak arguements that have already been dismissed. This doesn't have to be a cheap forum kid sh!t flinging contest... I tried to take the high road and have some valid conversation about this stuff.. but all i've been met with is people who think the entire topic can be wrapped up with "stealing is bad" or by throwing a cheap one-liner just to be heard.
