Beware..the RIAA is getting into the hacking business... (1 Viewer)

[John_Berger]

The only reason that people are stealing music is because of the RIAA's INSANE prices on obsolete CD technology.

{wishing that we had an applause animation}

And the fact that the artists get practically nothing out of those outrageous prices is even more infuriating.

 

[John_Berger]

Shall the law-abiding citizens give up their Liberties where this area is concerned, so that others may be "temporarily safe"?

I am paraphrasing a quote from Benjamin Franklin:
Those who would give up some of their liberties for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

 

[Mark_vdH]

John, you're responding to David Lambert's post with a quote from David's post!?!

 

[DeathStar1]

>>That's simply incorrect. I know that I personally would buy more CDs if they were cheaper, and I know many others that would do likewise. As it is, I'm lucky to buy one CD a month. >>

Same here. But before I go on with this note, please note that I ALWAYS buy official merchandise, wether it be software, books, CD's, and especially DVD's. I beileve people should not be cheated out of their money..

But on the cost factor, I beleive that may be what is hurting them the most.

Case in piont, I'm a Dragonball Z Fan. Over the past months, I've been double purchasing the official Tapes, and DVD's, the latter coming out a month later. I must have spent $200's on double purchasing because I couldn't wait a month for the DVD to find out what happend next. Luckilly, I made most of that back by selling the tapes on ebay after viewing.

however, this time around, I was short on funds, and didn't feel like spending $21's on a VHS tape that contained 3 episodes each, so I just found the new eps on Kazza, and deleted 'em after 24 hours, curiosity satisfied. Something I never thought I would do. But, Now I'll be able to wait and buy the official DVD eps a month down the line.

If tape, and CD sales where cheaper, say $12's for CD, and 9.99 for every new tape, I wouldn't mind double purchasing as much. In this day and age of DVD, 20$'s for a new VHS tape is blech. The price is basically what is hurting these industries more than anything.

 

[John_Berger]

John, you're responding to David Lambert's post with a quote from David's post!?!

I have a habit of not reading through everything and picking up pieces here and there. Oh, well.

 

[Todd H]

Do what I do...call your elected officials and voice your displeasure. Better yet, run for office yourself. If we could get more everyday people serving in public office instead of career politicians, the country would be in much better shape. I can't tell you how many times I've contemplated running for office myself. This may be the incentive I need to finally get off my rear and run.

 

[Antonio Silva]

I just don't get it. The feeling i get is that "they" don't want you accessing their products!!! Oh i know, "they" want to feed you their trash at all costs.
Let's see, i'm against people downloading commercial available cds, movies, tv shows, whatever and then not buying the originals.
On the other hand, i'm all in favour of massive downloading of such things in order to evaluate their quality.
If it wasn't for file-sharing programs, ftp and mirc, i would have never discovered and bought (yes BOUGHT, are you listening back there!!!) cds by artists like Knut, The Third And The Mortal, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Superjoint Ritual, Electric Wizard, The Mars Volta, Sparta, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead, December, Old Man Gloom, Isis, The Icarus Line, Drowningman, Converge and many others. If it wasn't for them, i would be completly oblivious to shows such as Malcom In The Middle, Oz, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Sex & The City, South Park, etc.
And comedians: My introduction to the late Bill Hicks was done by downloading his cds on Audiogalaxy. And what did i do? Went and bought his entire collection. Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, Dennis Leary, Jerry Seinfeld, the list is endless.
My point being that if it wasn't for the file-sharing programs my buying habits would go downhill very fast. If before the Napster phenomenon i was buying 2-3 cds a month, i am now buying 9-10 a month. And that goes for dvds, books, etc.
Please don't flame for this idea, but if "they" are so worried about people burning their own cds and not buying the originals (which i'm totally against), why not allow the file-sharing programs to function but implement the following: have someone (a radio dj, for example) announce over the start of the song, the name of the band, song name and, say, record company?!!! That way, people could still sample what they want and the others wouldn't have much of a kick having someone talking at the start of their songs. Unless someone finds a way to erase the voice overs. I don't know...
The only thing i do know is that file sharing is essential to my buiyng habits. No more "mono" stuff in my collection.
Sorry for the somewhat disorganized rant, but that's my modest opinion.
Now i'm going to watch the first episode of Mr. Show (which i never saw) to see if it's worth buying.
Regards everyone...
Ps. Just think about it: Monty Python's prohibited in America because they're from England. South Park the other way around because they're American. Shame... :frowning:

 

[BrianB]

Ps. Just think about it: Monty Python's prohibited in America because they're from England. South Park the other way around because they're American. Shame...

Eh?

 

[Antonio Silva]

Eh?

Er...Regional Coding and stuff...

 

[MikeDeVincenzo]

Antonio
The sad truth is the record industry doesn't care if file sharing leads to you or anyone else purchasing CDs. Revenue is only a secondary consideration for them. The primary consideration is CONTROL. The RIAA wants complete and total control over how the world consumes the music they publish. They are a cartel, pure and simple, establishing the market price for CDs, no matter how unreasonable the consumer may think it is. Oh, what's that, Mr. Consumer? You don't like us colluding to set the market price for a CD? Well, too damn bad. That is their agenda. Consumer rights? The consumer has absolutely no rights at all. If the RIAA stipulates that you can only play certain artists at 3 am on every other Wednesday night, then you better toe the line. Or they'll hack your computer. Or have a dog pee on your front lawn. Or something. But you will pay for your trangression, rest assured.
If anyone doubts that utter and total CONTROL is the true goal of the RIAA, I ask you to consider the case of Webcasting. The RIAA has recently won the passage of ridiculously high per listener royalty charges for Webcasters that will make it impossible to profitably Webcast. How can forcing webcasters to go under through pure greed help them pad their revenues? Obviously, it won't. But having total control over any future webcasting ventures is worth it to them.
I fully support the artist's right to make a living on their creations. But will I support the fascist RIAA and their cartel gouging and total disrespect of their customers? NO!
We have put men on the moon. Surely, if we put our minds to it, we can come up with a better model to distribute music and serve the interests of both consumers and artists much better than the current RIAA-run nightmare.
End of Rant.

 

[BrianB]

Er...Regional Coding and stuff...

I still don't get your examples.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Monty Python is huge in the US, South Park is huge in England, don't get your reference and vice-versa

 

[BrianB]

And Monty Python is widely available on DVD in the US, and South Park equally so in teh UK. I don't get your point, António - I know it's to do with region coding, but I don't know what you're getting at

 

[Antonio Silva]

Ok BrianB,
What i was trying to say is if we let organizations like RIAA and others akin take control, soon enough you won't be able to hear, see and read what you want. Maybe my example was poorly chosen, but i'm like a kid in a candy store when it gets to the things i like. There are more articulate people here on this board who can put it better than me, but read this:

Quote:

Couldn't agree more.
Like i've said earlier, i want to taste it before i buy it. If you don't do that, you may end up with something tasting nasty in your mouth.
I should know that. Anyone wants to buy 260 cds that i thought were good, but the good part only lasted for about 2 songs?!!!
Once again, rant's over and it's just my opinion. I could be wrong...

 

[Jean-Michel]

Personnaly, i couldn't really care about the price of cds, although i know i'm being ripped off. The thing that gets my blood boiling is that these organizations are trying to manipulate what we hear, see or read. And that's called censorship.

Not to get off on a tangent here, but manipulation != censorship. If it did then a record label deciding not to publish a certain CD would be censorship. My hatred for the record industry (or the publishing industry or the movie industry) is not so strong yet that I believe this to be true.

 

[Antonio Silva]

For several years i wrote for fanzines, then music newspapers until was asked to write for the biggest metal magazine in my country. My enthusiasm for the project lasted about 4 months.

Not to get off on a tangent here, but manipulation != censorship. If it did then a record label deciding not to publish a certain CD would be censorship. My hatred for the record industry (or the publishing industry or the movie industry) is not so strong yet that I believe this to be true.

Jean-Michel, believe me, it happens. I was always true in my reviews, trying to give an honest and accurate review of the music, allowing the fan to choose, based on what he read and the reference points i gave him. The problems started when certain big label people started to object to some of my least favourable reviews. And the moment my reviews were being censored and replaced by "happy-goes-label" reviews i quit. Because if you didn't gave a major label "X" release a very good review the process was like this:
no good review = no more advance copies = no more publicity = no more concert passes = no more interviews. And there was also a radio-show included so that meant no music to play on it.
Organizations like RIAA are afraid that people start to choose and discover music for themselves. There's nothing wrong in liking a certain flavour-of-the-month band. Just as long as it isn't imposed on you. Be free to choose. That's why certain bands are in your face 24 hours a day and others don't have a chance.
Still i respect your opinion.
Anyway, i don't want to start a feud here, like i said above, i could be wrong.
Peace everyone

 

[Dan Hitchman]

The Hollings Bill for digital media and this new RIAA crap are sick and wrong. And I'm one to use these downloads to try out new stuff to see if I want to purchase them legitimately.

Yes, the prices are outrageous for what you get and for what the talent ultimately ends up getting as recompense.

The futurist writers like Orwell and Huxley were practically right on the money.

All it takes is one little push and this country will be a Singapore or a China where the government is big brother to the extreme not necessarily by purposeful machinations of some politicians (who some feel are right in their convictions in supporting these draconian measures, but are ultimately misguided), but big business with their intentional sneaky schemes to poke around in your private business to make a buck.

Ben Franklin, observing the quote used here, was also very astute. Not to sound like an extremist nut, but it's happening now my friends as it has happened to countries throughout history.

Piracy, anti-terrorism, national security, are pretty much smoke screens that are used to whittle away our freedoms because everything is done on such a "knee jerk" level without rational thought to the long term consequences for freedom and liberty.

Very scary indeed.

Dan

P.S. If you have any inclination be sure to read Michael Moore's political satire "Stupid White Men," and the media expose "Through the Buzzsaw." As two interesting examples of government and big business run amok, they pretty much lay it all on the line, although in a blunt way.

 

[Roberto Carlo]

http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/07/30/file_trading/index.html
Salon covers the issue today in detail. Pretty interesting.

 

[David Lambert]

Great article. I love this quote:

 

[Jan Strnad]

Dan Hitchman wrote:

Piracy, anti-terrorism, national security, are pretty much smoke screens that are used to whittle away our freedoms because everything is done on such a "knee jerk" level without rational thought to the long term consequences for freedom and liberty.

Dan, you're absolutely right.
A friend's college-age daughter recently engaged in some peaceful protest at a World Bank meeting. No biggee, some signs, some chanting. Pretty typical protest stuff. She was locked up for 52 hours, without charges being filed, as a "suspected terrorist." She could still be in jail with no charges filed, no lawyer, as a "suspected terrorist."
Tomorrow, anybody on this forum could be locked up and held without charges for an indefinite period of time and denied contact with an attorney as a "suspected terrorist."
These are spooky times.
It terrifies me how quickly people will throw away their hard-earned, hard-fought civil rights with the wave of a flag.
Has everyone forgotten how the United States government rounded up U.S. citizens of Asian descent during WWII, forced them to abandon their property and herded them into "relocation" camps in the interest of national security?
This is not ancient history, friends. The people who did this were the so-called "greatest generation," your parents (in most cases).
W. tells us to be vigilant over terrorists. Okay, but be vigilant over those who will steal your civil rights, too. Both groups are out to destroy freedom.
Jan