> -----Original Message-----
> From: John D. Giorgis [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Friday, June 08, 2001 4:34 AM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: Copy protected CDs
>
>
> At 12:14 PM 6/5/01 -0700 Kristin A. Ruhle wrote:
> >Please pass this on. When copy protected discs hit the
> stores DON'T BUY
> >THEM. Tell the record companies this whole thing absolutely
> sucks and we
> >want our fair use back! As for piracy: yeah, it's a long
> term thing but
> >the only way to stop piracy is to teach better ethics in
> schools. Most
> >people who download so called pirate MP3s do not consider it
> stealing -
> >this tells me we need to change the way we educate our young.
>
> Actually, I do cosider it stealing - and do it anyway.*
Let me add something here - and this goes for computer game piracy as well.
I believe that most thefts of intellectual property does not impact the
profits of these companies, in fact I would argue that these thefts actually
increase profits long term.
Most mp3's or games stolen(pirates, ripped, shared, whatever) are items that
the perp (That's you John ;-) ) would have most likely not purchased anyway.
Why buy a $16 album for the one or two songs you want. Much of the music
being downloaded on Napster are either top 40 stuff, or rather obscure
music. I myself found many songs on Napster that could not have been bought
in stores.
However, I can say that I have purchased 200% more music since Napster came
online - and can directly related it to songs I downloaded from Napster. I
now own much of what I have downloaded. The rest is stuff that is either out
of print, or music I listen to very rarely, if at all.
SO how does this translate to greater profits for these companies? It is
simple, in my mind. If 14 year olds are trading music, not paying for it,
they are still buying into the music industry. 10 years later, they are
making a living, and can now afford the rich tastes they have aquired
through free music - and they do buy the music. For instance, many bands
have been around for over a generation (Take Aerosmith - 28 years of touring
and still going strong). Strengh in branding works just as well whether the
music is free or paid for. I have purchased about 200$ worth of old New Wave
hits from the eighties in the last year. This is because of Napster. They
are making money on crappy music released 20 years ago. Why did I buy so
much? It is because of the tastes in music I developed as a teenager. As a
teenager, I "stole" music from the record companies; making cassette copies
of music on the radio, then listening to those tapes on a portable tape
player. What has really changed since the early 80's? It is easier to get
stolen music, and some artists even encourage it!
The issue of gaining branding strength from free music is that it is free!
They will get our dollars sooner or later. In fact, the record companies
should PAY us to download free music! They can consider it buying futures in
music.
I think that the record industry's real hidden agenda is that they are not
mad about "losing" revenue, they are upset that they do not control the
paths to building branding in impressionable minds. Each record company is
equal in Napster's eyes. They do not like "Equality". They want you to
download their music over others. They know individuals only have a limited
budget of money to spend on music, and they want it to be spent on them. It
is a battle over Memenship (I just made that word up hehehe...).
Nerd From Hell
BTW - The CD copy protection technology is extremely buggy, and will almost
immediatly be rejected by consumers. Not for its anti-piracy attempts, but
for the simple fact that as much as 25% of all CD/CD-ROM players will not be
able to play the music. Can you imagine the outrage if commercial CD's do
not work in every CD player?
>
> The sound recording industry acts as a monopoly, and as such, has been
> using their monopoly powers to reduce the overall level of
> utility in the
> economy. According to free-market economics, however,
> monopoly abuses
> will create a black market that will effectively reduce the
> average price.
> In this case, I am responding to the monopoly power of the
> music industry
> by engaging in the black market. If the music time would
> like to sell me
> my MP3's, however, I will happily pay up. Until then, I
> have absolutely
> no sympathy for their attempts to keep prices high by
> bundling music in
> combinations that I do not want, and only selling them with expensive
> packaging that I also do not want.
>
> JDG
>
> * - Please do not pass this message onto your friends, or
> other mailing
> lists until 1 August 2001. Thank you.
> __________________________________________________________
> John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] -
> ICQ #3527685
> "Compassionate conservatism is the way to reconcile the two most vital
> conservative intellectual traditions: libertarianism & Catholic social
> thought."
> -Michael Gerson, advisor to George W. Bush
>
