Please Sign Anti-RIAA Petition! Protect Your Rights!

[SphinxMontreal]

Music fans, protect your constitutional rights.

Please visit the link below to find out why you need to sign this petition

http://www.sphinxmontreal.com/audio_files/underground.html

Thanks for getting the word out.
Alternative Music Kulture

 

[CrushingBore]

Piracy is theft

Hey people, help us undermine copyright- the crumbling cornerstone of all artistic endeavour! Help enshrine our rights to thieve other people's intellectual property, do artists out of deserved royalties, and generally make it that much harder for the music industry to function. Thereby narrowing the diversity of acts promoted and destroying any degree of investment in riskier activities such as supporting new artistsor giving record deals to aging coiffured 80's mope-rockers
.
There is no constitutional right to ignore copyright, and there's even less of a moral right.

So, yeah go on, sign the petition (for all the good it will do anyone), but you have no right to complainu about the sorry state of modern music once you've done so.

 

[jeane]

Re: Piracy is theft

> Hey people, help us undermine copyright- the crumbling cornerstone of all
> artistic endeavour! Help enshrine our rights to thieve other people's
> intellectual property, do artists out of deserved royalties, and generally
> make it that much harder for the music industry to function. Thereby
> narrowing the diversity of acts promoted and destroying any degree of
> investment in riskier activities such as supporting new artistsor giving
> record deals to aging coiffured 80's mope-rockers
> .

> There is no constitutional right to ignore copyright, and there's even
> less of a moral right.

> So, yeah go on, sign the petition (for all the good it will do anyone),
> but you have no right to complainu about the sorry state of modern music
> once you've done so.

So what you are saying is that since the evolution of CD burning and software such as SoulSeek and Kazaa, we've seen the decline in the music industry? I think it's sweet to think that given greater profits the industry would then turn to catering for the non-listener of commercial radio. The commercial corporation would take a chance on an outfits that would more than likely be not profitable or at the very least marginally so.

Could it be that the focus on the big green buck is what is narrowing music choice? That if it doesn't appeal to the 13 year old with shit for brains but a substantial amount of disposable pocket money to spend on Smash Hits and the Top 40, it's not going to be given a chance? And really who could blame them? They're there to make money not to altruistically make the world a better place.

Let's look at another form of entertainment - film. Are we not subjected to the same formulaic Julia Roberts/Richard Gere or Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks romantic comedies every few years? Or what about the countless sequels, whether it be American Pie, Terminator or Legally Blonde? Why are those like David Lynch, Woody Allen (arguably his films are not what they used to be), Roman Polanski and Abel Ferrera are forced to appeal to a less conventional French industry to produce their films?

The same could be said for television (particularly American product). The output of dating shows and reality TV (in the 80's it was the rise of the talk show) is phenomenal. It's not because of lagging profits due to piracy but more a point of staying with a safe bet. Of course until the next fad and then we'll be bombarded with that.

Besides, some stats show that those who download music are more than likely to then purchase the music that they have downloaded. And that if they hadn't downloaded the songs then they probably wouldn't have bought the CD. Depending on the research you believe, software such as Kazaa and the like, could be seen to support an increasingly mediocre industry.

 

[chill]

Re: Piracy is theft

Very good points. Additionally, I think the advent of downloading was more of a response to the shitty state of music than the cause of it. I mean, if people actually put out albums that were less than 90% filler, maybe people would want to buy them instead of just downloading the one or two good songs.

Now this is just a hunch, but I think there are far more people downloading songs like "Who Let The Dogs Out?" and "Dirrty" than are downloading entire albums by The Flaming Lips and The White Stripes. Yeah, I may download "Seven Nation Army," but when I get my next paycheck, I'm getting Elephant. Most people who actually like good music actually buy the albums eventually. The stuff that gets downloaded and never replaced by real, bought-and-paid-for records is largely one hit wonders, flavors of the month and generally shit pop artists who already have more money than God anyway.

As for the copyright thing and the constitutional thing, it's all a matter of whose rights you value more. One could argue that hacking into people's computers protects an elite and wealthy few while sacrificing the rights of the many. I think illegal search and seizure is a bigger problem than some already rich people losing a bit of money (and it's arguable as to whether or not this is actually happening) and whether or not that means the music industry will keep putting out shit (notice they've been putting out shit since before the internet was invented and they will keep doing it until the end of time). The reason I think it's a bigger problem is because of all its implications. It sets a bad precedent. I mean, what's next? Shutting down libraries and making people buy every book they want to read or need for a school project?