[RUEZ]

Mr_Canada Mr_Canada:

I protest and despise it all my friend, you are preaching to the choir.

You're best protest would be to boycott them all together if you don't like their practices. When you take what they've got you're showing you want it but you don't want to pay for it. I was a teenager in the years when you had to pay $20 bucks for a CD with two or three good songs on it. This is no longer the case. We all know you can go to itunes and pick any song you want and buy it. Some artists are even offering their music for free or cheaply directly from their own websites. You could take advantage of that to show the industry what you think of it.

[Public_Domain]

[RUEZ]

Mr_Canada Mr_Canada:

But I see no issue in downloading. It's just sharing in my opinion.

And you don't have the legal right to share. You can call it whatever you want, you still don't have the rights to reproduce, or share those files.

Mr_Canada Mr_Canada:

Art is for the People. If you don't want people to hear your digitalized
recordings of yourself, keep them in a blank CD case by your computer.

Let me guess, you go to work and volunteer your time? Certainly you don't expect to get paid for what you do right?

[DrCaleb]

RUEZ RUEZ:

It's funny the argument you guys put forward. How the business model is outdated or record companies are screwing artists so you're really not hurting anyone at all. Imagine if you started stealing gas because it's far more expensive than it should be, and after all the oil companies rake in billions and gas stations make next to nothing. That's right your excuse wouldn't work there either. You can try to justify it any way you want, but in the end you are stealing and absolutely nothing you say makes it right.

You take something for free that the rights owner is trying to sell and you are stealing. If the artists are being screwed over then they aren't that smart. For a second let's take the music industry out of the equation. Consider writers, we all know it's easy to download full books. Or how about software, and movies. Face it you guys are trying to justify your cheapness.

You seem to be of the opinion that the tactics of the recording industry only target those intent on not paying for things.

Their grip goes far deeper than that, like trying to rewrite "Universal vs Sony". Like the ubiquitous VCR. Now, you have to buy a PVR or DVR to record content (for personal, time shifting use) on many cable and satellite systems, and you must use it on the cable-co's terms (not the creator!). Circumventing the digital 'locks' on equipment YOU OWN is illegal, because it might interfere with someones revenue stream.

You want to play a song in your car, and on your iPod? You better have purchased 2 CDs for that, bub!

Let's not even mention how the numbers in studies like these all point to the fact that studies on Piracy are funded but the media labels, and subsequent studies point to the same flawed data that the media companied generate to justify draconian laws to protect their flawed business models.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20002304-261.html

Now, before you decide to label me, as a 'pirate', I own every CD or Record for which I have an MP3 on my computer. But I'll be damned if I'm paying for it twice. I have a very active iTunes account. Not once have I downloaded a movie. But like Proculation, "The Pirate Bay" is my VCR.

Here's some light reading on an industry that has managed to legislate themselves a business model through spreading what can only be called 'lies'.

http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-423

^^ That study by the GAO basically says, they made up numbers on piracy rates tat favour themselves, then all 'studies' after it rely on the forged numbers.

http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/04/16/ri ... g-content/

http://www.hsx.com/
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-c ... 8853.story

http://www.eff.org/takedowns

I love these two:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/ITFacts/?p=10975
http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=8325

"I pulled this number out of my ass"

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nat ... 741790.ece

This, despite the fact that Canada has lived up to all it's WTO obligations with respect to intellectual property rights.

We just aren't as draconian as bigger brother wants, so we must be 'chastised'.

[Yogi]

Without stating 'which side of the fence I am on', I have a couple of questions for those who are against 'free'-downloading.

Have you ever borrowed a cd or video or dvd etc. from a friend, watched or recorded it and then returned it to the person from whom you borrowed it rather than going to the store and purchasing it for yourself?

What, in your mind, the difference between that and 'illegal' downloading?

[Scape]

I don't disagree with the record industry trying to make a buck off of a closed market system. However, if the market model is flawed why should the people who do not want to purchase only that version of the medium, pay the price? CD, 8-tracks and VCR's are dated. Direct, digital to download cloud based sourcing is where it is all going. Charging 20$ for something that costs pennies to stream is obscene and you would be foolish to pay it. If I buy a blue-ray today for 20$ I want to be able to download it via itunes to my Ipod or to my PC and use it on what ever format I want, however I want for my own consumption. I payed for it I should be able to use it how I see fit not how the record company deems acceptable to their business model. Since they are not willing to meet even halfway here the only option is to use Itunes or pirate bay. Since itunes only covers so much, torrents have to fill in the gap.

[Public_Domain]

[Proculation]

Mr_Canada Mr_Canada:

An odd thing in my humble opinion is how it is continuously repeated that we are thieves.

Even though in order for something to be theft, it means I am removing the product from your possession. But in the world of digital media as in the world of cooking, we just copy. We share.

Didn't your momma teach you to share?

I find it depressing that random 0's and 1's in our society can be hoarded and declared private. Utterly ridiculous, and we are now seeing culture massively move to Anti-Copyright. The age of open source and copyleft, it's fantastic.

Vote with your wallet.

For those that seek profit and only profit, not to get word out, to spread a message, or to truly provide something for the people... I could care less about the profits that they lose.

Charging $14.99 doesn't mean you aren't worthless. I'd prefer that they didn't waste our time.

Some analogies:
- Someone "copies" industrial secrets. Is it theft ?
- Your company develops a new drug for arthritis after 10 years of research. Then, the company next door decides to use your method. Is it theft ?
- Someone intercepts some 0's and 1's and decrypts the password on your computer and downloads some porn pictures of your girlfriend. Is it theft ?

I'm personally totally FOR open source. I've released 1 application in open source and it helped me a lot because it gave me credibility. You always do it for something. For a profit. In my case, my profit was credibility and experience.

When bands release their songs on MySpace freely, they also look for that. Prestige and popularity. But in the end, it's for money. It's just another way to be famous instead of going the "Beatles-way" or singing 5 years in bar. I know Metallica is fiercely against piracy of THEIR albums. One reason is that they no longer have to become popular: they are already. But they also said that it's the modern way to be recognized for the new bands.

[Bacardi4206]

While I am sure a lot of illegal sites are hosted on Canadian soil. That there would be a lot of Canadians who would illegally downloaded and some who hosted it for others to download. However they act like we are the only ones who do. Majority of the illegal downloaders (gamers) I have met online have infact been American, either because Americans represent a majority of gamers or that I just got lucky and never met more Canadian illegal downloaders than Americans.

To put in short, we host them. Everybody else downloads them, including us. Because music sales in Canada have been decreasing, they automaticly assume everybody is illegally downloading? I have illegally downloaded quite a few things, mostly Anti-Virus software and some games and mostly movies. I haven't illegally downloaded any music files to date. Fuck the IFPI, they can point fingers at a single country if they wish but everybody has piracy problems. Not juust Canada, I imagine this is some guilt trip or bs something to try and get Canada to get it's copyright laws in order?

[Public_Domain]

[PublicAnimalNo9]

RUEZ RUEZ:

You can try to justify it any way you want, but in the end you are stealing and absolutely nothing you say makes it right.

Well, until the gov't of Canada decides to rule that d/ling music is theft, I'm not willing to subject myself to the laws of another country.

$1:

In 2004, the Canadian Recording Industry Association(CRIA) was dealt a blow in its bid to take action against 29 internet users with extensive file sharing activities. The CRIA filed suit to have the ISPs reveal the identities of the 29 file sharers. In the ruling, both the Federal Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal judged that the CRIA's case was not strong enough to support interfering with the defendants right to privacy and questioned whether the CRIA had a copyright case at all based on its evidence. Because the ISPs were not required to reveal the identities of their clients, the CRIA could not go on to sue the file sharers in a manner mimicking the RIAA's legal proceedings in the U.S.A. The court further found that both downloading music and putting it in a shared folder available to other people online were legal in Canada. This decision dealt a major blow to attempts by the CRIA to crack down on file sharers.

Nope, it's not considered to be theft in Canada. So I will continue to d/l whatever music I want, and do so LEGALLY until that changes

[Public_Domain]

[Proculation]

Mr_Canada Mr_Canada:

From my view I don't care as long as it's done right. Medicine is no place for profitable interruptions. If by some insane miracle that I discovered the cure to anything, I wouldn't hesitate to provide the information on how to create the medicine to the public.

In this literal case it is theft but it is not similar to Music Downloading. Such a theft would actively require a purposeful attempt to obtain something that you have no access to at all.

Patents are public. For a good reason: if you invent something, you have to search through patents before applying for one to be sure nobody invented it before you and has the rights.

About MySpace, it was an example. A lot of artists become mainstream now through the Web 2.0. Not a lot but it's a good way to become popular.

[bootlegga]

RUEZ RUEZ:

Guess what? iTunes, or other online sellers will allow you to buy one song from an album. I guess you will be relieved now to know you can buy a single song and not freeload.

iTunes? Please.

Why would I pay for a song that I can only use where Apple lets me? That's ridiculous. If I buy a song, I should be able to listen to it when and how I want, not be locked into using one company's products only, and then only being able to use it on one piece of hardware at a time.

Taking your gas analogy, how would you like it if Ford cars only worked with Esso gas, and could only be driven on even numbered roads? Otherwise, your product stops working. Because that's the shit that Apple pulls with their iTunes crap. It's the biggest reason I haven't bought an iPod or iPhone (and likely never will).

In the old days, if you bought a cassette, you could make a copy and listen in your car or on your Walkman. That's not always possible with iTunes.

[bootlegga]

RUEZ RUEZ:

It's funny the argument you guys put forward. How the business model is outdated or record companies are screwing artists so you're really not hurting anyone at all. Imagine if you started stealing gas because it's far more expensive than it should be, and after all the oil companies rake in billions and gas stations make next to nothing. That's right your excuse wouldn't work there either. You can try to justify it any way you want, but in the end you are stealing and absolutely nothing you say makes it right.

You take something for free that the rights owner is trying to sell and you are stealing. If the artists are being screwed over then they aren't that smart. For a second let's take the music industry out of the equation. Consider writers, we all know it's easy to download full books. Or how about software, and movies. Face it you guys are trying to justify your cheapness.

As a writer, I give away a lot of what I write for free (posted on my website or on other websites - like all those movie reviews I wrote for CKA). Why? Because it brings exposure and helps me make more money than I would otherwise. And you know what, I'm not the only one. Some people have put whole novels/albums/artwork on line for free. In some cases, it has brought them more money then they ever would have had they stuck to the traditional forms of distribution.

Whether or not the music industry, the movie industry or the publishing industry likes it, digital is here to stay. Either adapt or perish. It's as much the way of the business world as it is of the animal world. Are you willing to support the Coal Stokers union? Or the Horse and buggy association? Or how about the Corona Typewriter company? Where's your pity that typewriters were replaced by PCs?

You can argue it's theft, but when I'm forced to buy copy after copy of a song (because my hard drive crashed after a virus or the CD died, or because I'm not allowed to transfer it between mediums), then the industry is ripping me off, pure and simple.