Arrrrgh...Movie Piracy: A Big Deal? (1 Viewer)

[Damin J Toell]

Really? Radio stations pay nothing to copyright holders? You may want to tell that to all of the radio stations that pay good money for ASCAP radio licenses. I'm sure they'd all like a refund.

The discs might be free, but the broadcasting of them isn't.

DJ

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

My bad. I didn't know about the licensing.

Still, I don't think this changes the underlying argument. By the time the money from this license fee dillutes down from ASCAP to individual record labels to individual artists, it starts looking quite a bit smaller, particularly compared to lucrative CD sales (50 cent piece of plastic for a $15 disk compared to the 1% they get from radio). I still think most record labels and artists view music radio as a form of advertising first and direct revenue source second.

Speaking of the famous 50 cents comment, the music industry has been living very high on the hog since the advent of the CD. Now the gravy train has hit the end of the line and they're looking to get back on. So they're picking one minor contributor to their current "troubles" and trying to blow it out of proportion in the hopes that this will bring the gravy train back.

I still say that the marjoity of downloaders aren't the great boogey man the industry thinks they are. I think that for most, MP3s are no different from recording songs off the radio with your cassette recorder. Hey, even crack dealers give you your first hit free, you know?

 

[Damin J Toell]

Where are you getting this 1% figure from? Unless I'm misreading something, the ASCAP royalty payment system appears to be much more complicated than that.

DJ

 

[Lew Crippen]

Your argument assumes that you can only claim that illegal actions can be condemned by those who have committed no illegal actions of any kind. And to this you have added a list of items that are in fact not illegal.

Leaving the logical position that no one can call for a halt to any illegal activity, clearly an argument that fails a pretty big test in that no progress can be made against any illegal activity, as there will be no one in a position to criticize that activity.

It makes no difference if I (or anyone) have ever gone over the speed limit. Or not paid attention to commercials.

The fact is that acquiring movies outside the copyright laws, where those who own the copyrights are not duly compensated is illegal. Not sort of illegal, but illegal.

That it is easy to do, or that many do it does not change the nature of the act by any individual. In fact the more who take such actions, means that it is even more important for copyright holders to take action, otherwise they will likely wind up with no recourse.

And finally, it makes no difference as to the act being illegal, wheatear the person downloading ever intended to pay for a legal copy or not. I would take the position that the more who would not pay for a legal copy, the more reason to take action. After all, why should they get a free ride for something the rest of us have paid for?

 

[Glenn Overholt]

I'll go past saying your points are correct, as just saying you have valid points is stupid. You have stated the facts.

But I'd don't like to compare music to movies because...

You can tape a radio broadcast. Crying out that it is not digital so it doesn't count is moot, because our ears are not digital, and a properly made analog recording can sound just as good, if not better, than the illegal MP3's.

If (insert artist name) comes out with a new song, I can turn to the right station and hear it a couple of dozen times a day.

Movies, however, I can't get for free. Why isn't there a station that plays all of the new movies that have just come out?

Having said that, I think the MPAA has jumped the gun on this. True, it is easier to obtain a copy of a new movie today than it was 50 years ago, but after the arrest of an actor, I have to wonder if it is the public's fault at all. What would happen if they catch a dozen more actors, and suddenly no more new movies show up on the internet? How many shades of red can they turn without apologizing to us?

Glenn

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

For those radio stations which primarily play music, the indicated rates were 1.something percent of gross or 1% of adjusted gross. For those that don't primarily rely on music to pull in listeners, there is pay-per-use pricing available.

Sorry, but I don't have the link handy, but I did get it from that same site you linked.

Even if it were higher than that, it can't possibly approach the profit margins they're getting out of CDs, which is the real point. Quibbling over the exact percent of adjusted gross the radio stations pay hardly affects the argument I'm trying to make here.

 

[Damin J Toell]

ASCAP licenses may not be the revenue stream for individuals that CD sales are, but that doesn't somehow prove that unauthorized file trading is beneficial. While radio may be used to promote hard copy sales, the revenue stream it does provide is a cushion that makes copyright holders willing to use it. The uncontrolled and uncushioned environment of unauthorized file trading fails to provide such a safety net. And, of course, the paradigm of individuals listening to the radio and making analog cassette tape dubs of the songs is completely unlike mass digital distribution, making the lack of a cushion exponentially more problematic.

DJ

 

[Vickie_M]

I just read an interesting article that appeared in Newsweek. They interviewed Peter Jackson, Anthony Minghella, Sofia Coppola, Gary Ross and Clint Eastwood before the Oscar nominations were announced.
Here's a link to the whole thing:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4113619/

The section that pertains to this thread:


That's funny, but pity the poor moviegoer who has to watch a dubbed version of ROTK! Especially when the voice "actor" has no idea of what's going on in the scene!

 

[Ricardo C]

As someone who had the misfortune of watching TTT dubbed into Spanish: It IS as bad as you might imagine, folks. And that's with Latin American Spanish. The European Spanish version (with the Castillian accent) was even worse.