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mstclair87

Listed below are comments made by mstclair87 between Friday, 17th April 2009 and Friday, 25th September 2009.

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Lily unites musicians against file-sharing 3:22pm on 25 Sep 2009 Record companies could exploit creative work when they owned the means of production, i.e. the machinery to make CDs, which used to be the only effective means of distributing music. Technology has removed that monopoly in that now anyone can copy and distribute a work without it costing anyone anything. That's a bit tough on performers, perhaps, just like it was a bit tough on scribes when people learned to read and write for themselves. Only a few score of people will be dismayed that they can't easily make fortunes from selling millions of copies of records, whereas millions of people are delighted that they can easily play anything they want any time. A good performer can always perform on a street corner and will likely find that many people are generous enough to provide enough coins for them to obtain enough calories to write or rehearse their next song. I think it's a good idea for performers actually to work for a living rather than live off the extortion enacted by copyright law. Long live the Pirate Party!
Pirate Bay beached but not sunk 11:03am on 20 Apr 2009 Re comment 155. If the majority of your "customers" don't believe they should pay for your product AND they can easily get if for free anyway, why do you carry on making it? Doesn't seem like a sound business proposition to me. Yes your product IS worthless if you can't get people to pay for it, just like in any other business. Ways the film industry is responding to piracy include producing 3D films, which can't yet be copied using a camcorder. Musicians have realised that they can get paid for performing live. The need to possess downloaded content in any event is reduced by outfits like YouTube, which let you hear almost any artist (for free) WITHOUT needing to use up your own disk space with downloaded files.

What's "unfair" is that owners of the means of re-reproducing content using an old technology (CDs) feel they have a right to continue to charge as though they were distributing using that technology. This 'right' is what the millions and millions of people who enjoy free content are questioning.

In history I believe there was a similar contest between scribes, who made their living from their ability to read and write, vs publishers and educators, who put the scholars out of business by encouraging and teaching people to read and write for themselves. Do we prosecute literate people now on the basis that they are putting the scribes out of work?
Pirate Bay beached but not sunk 11:21am on 17 Apr 2009 I reckon the guys who've been sent to prison are now folk heroes like the guy who threw his shoe at President Bush. As perceived victims of the system, their incarceration will only encourage more anti-establishment feeling and the publicity will ensure that file sharing becomes even more popular.

Why don't the music industry enforcers try take back some of the excessive wealth accumulated by successful pop stars and redistribute it to talented musicians, etc. who need the cash. then the rest of us could enjoy the music which doesn't cost them a penny for us to listen to?
Pirate Bay beached but not sunk 11:12am on 17 Apr 2009 I just had this idea of copying music on to bits of plastic and selling them in local stores and by mail order. Does anyone think it might catch on?

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