If You Steal Music You Aren’t A Real Music Fan

[john]

Hey gang

 

I caught this article fluttering by:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54245479?fbclid=IwAR1qOwnkfic7Au3tK491bG5rpQ0feFweXqSXY90APoBKXaia9kAWAsyEisE

 

What do you think?

 

Cheers

 

John

 

[john]

It’s an interesting and important debate. Instead of songs, imagine it was cars as songs and car parts as samples, music libraries, effects etc.

 

The guys that steal cars and car parts, the free-givers, makes the cars and car parts freely available. Some of the free-givers make money from advertisements the visitors to their site pass by, others simply enhance their reputation and get favours.

 

So pretty quickly a large debt is made in the profit of car makers, large and small, and the profits of car part makers.

 

Pretty soon small car makers and small car part makers are desperately trying to get people come in through the door. Many try discounts of one kind or another. Some small makers close up shop. Larger ones start laying people off. All are getting more desperate.

 

The free-givers continue building their reputation, getting side income. Why should they care? They all work outside the car industry. They work in construction, bakeries, teachers, doctors, lawyers etc. No one is even talking about giving their products away for free.

 

Meanwhile some small hobby car makers are enjoying getting free parts and tools. They give away their cars for free, built for the love of car building, start growing a following of people who want free cars. Of course they don’t work in the car trade either. They too work in construction, bakers, teachers, doctors etc. This is just a hobby to them. They shout out justifying their actions “Art should be given away for free!”

 

Desperate to make a living more manufacturers start giving away freebies and discounts. This is true of car makers and component and tool makers. Now everyone in the chain is reliant on reduced prices after all the market has shrunk to almost nothing. Virtually nobody can survive on the available money.

 

End users now expect free cars.

 

There are more lay offs. Less and less artists making money.

 

The construction workers get paid as normal.

The bakers get paid as normal.

The Teachers get paid as normal.

The Doctors get paid as normal.

 

The small time car makers now make cheap cars, they can’t afford better. When you enter or leave their garage there’s a cap with a donations sign. That’s as good as it gets.

 

Its been going so long, many small car makers almost believe they have no right to expect anything in return. They have become hobbyists.

 

Not that there is anything wrong with being a hobbyist... unless you were a professional, you relied on that to feed you, to keep a roof over your head, and someone took that away from you.

 

And it didn’t start with hobbyists giving away their own cars. It started with a select few who felt entitled to give away the cars made by others, without permission.

 

No?

 

Maybe it hasn’t happened to you.

 

Imagine your primary income skill. You’ve spent years building your skills. Imagine there are few to no employers. You decide to start your own business. Then one night, someone breaks in, steals all your products, then gives them away for free. Not only that, but they do that to all other people with your skills, flooding the market with products like yours.

 

Overnight your business is gone. Sure you have skills but no one is buying.

 

The guy that stole from you? He still has his job. He eats. He stays warm.

The guy that ended up with your products? He still has his job. He eats. He stats warm.

 

Do you really care about the odd big company? Ok they might lay off people like you, some might even close.

 

And here we are debating if the guy who stole the songs and gave them away for what seemed a lot like personal benefit, was in fact a music fan.

[john]

15 minutes ago, Patchez said:

The Music Industry, screwed itself.

 

Agreed, and musicians were right there, actively involved

 

Oh and it wasn't directed at you, more just I thought it was a good analogy and explained it pretty well. A few recent members made comments that showed they didn't know how this situation came around. Having lived through this massive change for music I had kinda overlooked that to some this was all new

[Cody]

I think a year locked up was wayyyyyy too steep for that, probably ruined his life, did he ruin anyone elses?  he didn't steal a years life from anyone, say what you will about their time/effort/etc........ were they going to make that recording anyway? it was most definitely just a warning to others, but coming at this from the almost always false angle that people are inherently good that perceived loss of income is something I've always had a problem with, what about this guys "perceived" loss of income? he may of invented the next billion dollar app had he not been in the pokey, one never knows  

 

Were people really going to buy all this stuff the guy was sharing anyway? in most cases no, and how many took a sample and found an artist they loved and then went out and did purchase something/saw them the next time they were in town when otherwise would of had no clue? etc.....

 

I'm in no way on the side of theft of any kind,  and yeah I do see it as theft......... but the times have changed and while my heart goes out to the people behind the scenes in the recorded music industry that have lost jobs/income(I have definitely known my share of them) you either adapt or die.  Can't stop the spring and all that   and the corporations allowing theft of stuff are the ones to be held accountable, but that will never happen because they have the army of lawyers this guy obviously didn't.  If I leave $100 laying on the sidewalk I'm not crying foul when someone walks off with it.  I'm the only one to blame in that situation.   

 

 

 

   

 

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by Cody