Not too long ago we had a semi-loss for The Pirate Bay in The Netherlands, which was convicted 'by default' because the defendants did not show up in court to plea their case. Today, The Netherlands once again saw a ruling in a high-profile piracy case, and again, there's a loss for the defendants. Update: Oh, and by the way - thought about putting some lyrics you like on your website or blog? Think again. We live in a crazy world, people.
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Member since:2005-07-08
If media companies are in the business just for the money and greed, not even trying to serve any higher purposes (like the true interests of artists and customers), what moral right would they actually have to claim that downloading their stuff for free would be wrong? After all, wouldn't the downloader of pirated content and the big greedy media company both be following the exact same credo, being greedy and not caring for the interests of anybody else...
In a democracy, if we want to have balanced and respected copyright and other laws respecting all interest groups, we cannot just follow the greedy whims of those who happen to be strongest in some situation, be they greedy corporations or greedy piracy supporters. The main goal of all law making is to restrict the greed of people (and so companies and business) so that civilized living together is possible.
Member since:2009-08-26
Portraying companies as selfish and greedy isn't a good excuse for ignoring copyright laws. Businesses by nature are self-serving. They exist to make money, but at the same time they have to provide a service to artists if they want the artist to sign. They also have to provide something of value to consumers or else they will replaced by a competitor. Serving others for selfish reasons. It's capitalism and it works better than the alternatives.
Most artists dream of getting a deal with a record company. It's a business relationship they dream of since it allows them make music for a living. The record company makes the majority of the profit but they also are the ones making the investment. The artist is always free to self-produce and distribute, especially in our internet age. However most artists want to sign with a company because they know that by partnering with a record company they can expect greater return than if they go it alone.
The same goes for authors. Authors know that the book publisher makes the majority of the profits but they still dream of getting a book deal. They know that without the publisher they wouldn't be able to produce, market and distribute their book at the same level. Furthermore, they don't want to. Artists want to create, they don't want to spend time studying ideal distribution points. That job belongs to someone else. It's called economic specialization.
If you don't like the business relationship that artists and record companies have then you are free to not purchase the music. Breaking the law because you don't like the relationship that artists willingly take part is a lousy excuse. You are free to find artists that are unsigned and self-distribute.
Member since:
2005-07-08
Yes. And why have people let it happen, especially in the USA? Because of people being fooled into blindly believing in the almighty power of greedy capitalism as a solution to all problems in a society.
I disagree and fail to see how there would be nothing wrong with media companies or other businesses serving their own greedy interests only, and not caring for their customers, artists, culture, environment and other such values. Like in any other field of life there are both good and bad ways to make business. Plain selfish business greed has simply never served the interest of customers best, usually quite on the contrary.
It is only a natural result of the religious belief in the almighty power of laissez-faire capitalism if the laws or big companies don't serve the interests of people anymore. Actually, people could only blame themselves if they let big greedy corporations rule their lives instead of taking power into their own hands by the means of democratic and balanced law making where you have to discuss with and listen to all parties and interest groups.
And, by the way, the same ultra capitalistic ideology based on greed is the reason for the current financial crisis in the USA too, or for the ever growing income gap between the small ultra rich minority and the ordinary American citizens, or for there not being much government supported social security for ordinary US citizens (unlike in most European countries, for example), etc.etc...
Edited 2009-08-27 04:17 UTC