Good point. Also, in Germany you must already pay additional fees for CD/DVD Burners and recordable media to cover the fact that the media companies 'know' you are going to use them to copy their material. AFAIK the music and movie firms are lobbying for this to be standard everywhere .
BUT: Even though the Germans are paying probably tens/hundreds of millions of Euro a year for their pre-convicted 'piracy', it's STILL illegal to actually make copies of anything.
Plus, the companies insist on applying all manner of ludicrous copy protection schemes on their CDs and DVDs which can impact your ability to play them back on your gear, or render them more susceptible to scratches causing distored playback.
It's quite ridiculous. For a while I was reduced to downloading rips of CDs that I already had in order to listen to them on my mp3 devices. Luckily I found that my new DVD burner quite happily rips all of the 'copy protected' stuff that I've ended up with.
My dedicated DVD reader doesn't read or play those CDs and the main reason I got a seperate reader and burner was so that I didn't have to use the burner for reading duties.
What I have always wondered is why the initiators of the files put them up for downloading in the first place? Without them, there would be no illegal downloading. Do they do it out of some twisted feeling of community service or to "big up" themselves in some cyber-clique-thingo?
I can understand copying a CD and passing it on to friends, but ripping MP3's to upload to anonymous strangers does seem a little odd to me.
I do agree with what you say, still its illegal, no matter what reasons you have, even if you are right.
Some while ago I started looking where can I pay per downloaded songs, I checked out the big ones like Napster and iTunes, and honestly their business model sucks, Napster is completly ridicolous by charging a monthly fee that as soon as you stop paying you cannot listen anymore to what you have downloaded, plus iPods are not supported, iTunes is also another Joke. I dont mind paying for music, but for Gods sake, I dont want to pay the price of a complete CD when actually its one song that I am interested in.
Sometimes you just need to download, as in my case my mother tongue is spanish, where the hell am I going to find media in spanish (bed time stories, videos) for my 10 month old son???????? Buying through the internet from Spain is absolutely crazy, shipping fees of > 20 € for one CD is completly nuts. Oh well, life sucks
I admit that this might be hard for people to understand - why would someone go to personal effort/risk simply to benefit others. Because someone has to do it. Why do people write open source software and put in countless hours of their own time for no personal gain to themselves? Aren't we glad that they are there?
Thankfully there are people around who believe in giving back, they are outnumbered by the many more who just like to take, but that doesn't matter.
My mate likes to continue sharing stuff he's just got on P2P, because he knows that this helps others to get what he just received. Without that spirit, there would be no P2P.
Some people feel like there is a war - the record companies versus the people/artists. My mate is glad to do anything he can to help
Quite a few of the old p2p programmes would limit your ability to download based on the amount you had available to upload - so you had to at least share something.
Programs like eMule automatically share anything that you are in the process of downloading. I think many of the modern ones are like this.
But I also think that many people who use p2p like to at least allow others the chance to get for free, what they themselves have got for free. Fairplay and all that.
Plus of course for some the desire is to boost their ego by being known as having lots of files to share or a genuine belief that the software should be free and that they are doing their bit to 'liberate' it.
Actually when stuff hits the P2P networks it's already at the lower end of the food chain. There's no fame or glory to be had here - no reputation among peers or anything else. The fame and glory stuff goes on elsewhere, but not on P2P. My comments refer to latest software releases / films etc. Music isn't very interesting for the various "players" that bring us the other stuff. These guys are motivated often by competition and their reputation within a very closed circle - the people who spread the stuff on the 2nd tier (P2P) have nothing to do with the first group of people. Anyway, that's what my mate told me.
It's all very well to say the big labels are ripping us off, but they distribute, nurture and market musicians who we otherwise wouldn't hear about. I'm no big fan of how the labels do their business but I do think the amateur garage bands and one man shows have a tiny chance of furthering their career without the A&R representatives trawling the bars and clubs where most people start their careers.
Their protectionism is a natural business reaction. They don't work for free and the business is very hit or miss, even with the savvy they hold. For every band such as Artic Monkeys there are many who don't get the breaks peer-to-peer marketing potentially promises.
Ask yourself: how likely are you to listen to a band you've never heard of, have not been informed about and who are only available on an obscure myspace.com page? And are you really going to cough up and support the artists?
If we approached all artwork in the same vein then - for example - there'd be no museums or galleries.
There's a sense of entitlement which I feel is misguided with regard to P2P downloading. I know bottles of Veuve Clicquot cost about a third in a cash and carry than they do in a supermarket: that doesn't mean I would never buy it from a supermarket because I know it's wholesale price. Nor would I share bottles being handed around 'off the back of a lorry'. (However, It's not my round...so don't come knockin' )
And I still think download quality sucks. Although I'm not sure why that would be...
I stand by it. Most people still get their info from the music press, radio shows etc. and frankly WANT to be informed. The 'Industry' does need to open up, but I take it people don't download music they've never heard before: they download the stuff they know. And how do you get to know?
All very well having cool archives to cherrypick, but it's not sustainable for future bands without the help of organised Labels. There are just not enough new-media literate types willing to join Friendster, myspace etc and thresh wheat from chaff...just yet. Who's going to manage these rising stars if there's no experience behind them?
Plus the quality sucks ...can anyone clarify if the download quality is impaired? And it's still freeloading. Go on, admit it
my mate says some of the stuff he has downloaded is DVD quality. But there are also CAM rips of movies, good ol' oldstyle stuff with peoples heads an' all.
But also I know of some artists who have gained exposure through being free on the internet who have actually gone on to success and revenue.
Imagine direct selling for those bands who don't get a record deal - the other side of the coin. No overheads for your agent and label and perhaps you are allowed to make your music, not the music someone else wants you to?
I think the shitty attempts at DRM, the AAC format and so-on are nasty. Fundamentally, the way you get music to (and not from) your iPod is nasty.
iTunes, however, is great. More great for those who just want to rip their CD collection - especially if you have no iPod.
I used my WM5 phone to listen to music; 1Gb onboard. And almost all of my music is my own, I still like to own the CD.
I think the next killer "app" will be delivery of movies via BB connections and then you have a timebombed movie. Watch 10 times in 3 days for $2.99, for instance.
The question to ask is - does Hollywood want a global audience, are they restricted by local markets - or will they try to stick with the pretty-much-failed region coding?
And whatever exists, there will be people hacking it. Why oh why do you think Dreambox and DragonCAM exists, for instance
I would say everything is illegal on the internet.. For eg., take this site... the Admin spends hours on the site to manage it... Are we paying for that? No... I know its a lame example, but if u think hard enuf its true...
And as David pointed out, the distributors of a movie or a tv serial are just crying fowl, instead of finding new ways to market their stuff... Instead of fighting a huge system like the internet, get into it and try to find ways and means to make money out of it... People who want to see a movie in a theater will definitely go and see it in a theater... even if they had seen it on an illegal site...
For those who say its legal...
All I can say is you are doing it on ur own risk...
As for as my personal preference...
I tend to download tv serials which are not televised anymore wherever you are... seinfield / friends etc..
I also download stuff which is not easily gettable like old comics etc...
Movies... yes sometimes.. but usually the ones I missed in the theatres and not viewed anymore...
How dare you sir! These moderators are all fine, upstanding, decent people, who run this site out of pride and dedication to the community. No way would they ever be selfish enough to ask for money.
I suggest that you, nor anybody else, raise this subject again.
The reason for the resistance from the entertainment industry to P2P is that it cuts out their distribution arm, and this distribution arm is their biggest value proposition to the artists and the producers they sign. It's also their rationale for why the artist only gets <.05 cents for every dollar. Furthermore, the personalities that operate distribution have historically had names like Guido, Tony and Luigi (no not the pizza guys). Brave guys such as these have had to work very hard at making sure radio program directors are comfortable enough to put their artists on the air. Afterall, these program directors have voracious apetites for all kinds of things.
I recall reading about a loophole in copyright laws that require the art to be reasonably available through legal channels within a locale, before an individual can be prosecuted for infringing on it for personal use. The EFF might have an article on that. Whatever you might feel about it, this is intellectual property. And if you are taking it without permission, that is the definition of theft.
Incidentally, where are people P2Peeing these days? The last time I studied this, it was through Kazaa. It also installed a lot of nasty bugs and viruses on my Wintel. Any tips would be appreciated. I would like to examine this sociological pattern a little more in depth.
My 'mate' reckons it's the best, especially if you are after really large files (into the gigabytes). Results are not immediate, it can take quite a while to download a specific file but it's terrific for large downloads and multiple large downloads don't take any longer than a single one.