Really, I am confused by this. I am a very casual gamer these days, so I pick stuff up from Steam or Amazon when they go on sale in the $5-$10 range (basically, an electronic step up from the bargain bin gaming I used to do). So apparently EA just doesn't want my business at all, because people like me who don't want to pay $60 for a game [and will go without, instead] would just cheapen their IP if they had to put it on sale to make us buy it -- because it'd be like going out of business. Or something. How the hell does this business model even make sense with digital goods?
So, if $1.5 million is the acceptable penalty (as per the current system) for infringing copyright of 24 songs... Then what if 1% of the US Population were do this, and have to pay the penalty?
So, if 100 million people were caught infringing music copyright, that would total 4.5 trillion dollars.
Then throw movie infringement into the mix. Pretty soon, there will be more infringement going on than there is money in the world!
Damn pirates, can't you see you are destroying the world economy!? The top 1% of music infringers are costing us nearly 5 trillion dollars a year! WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?
So am I to understand that Scafidi thinks that Vibram trying to educate its customers on why to buy "the real deal" and how to spot a fake... Is a bad thing? How the hell is protecting your brand and showing what you are paying for a bad thing? Isn't that the whole point of putting out a quality product that you want to stand behind?
The opposite case makes more sense, where you're a counterfeiter and you don't want to point out why your brand sucks ass compared to the real mccoy... And when your brand is actually just a piss poor kindergarden spelling of the actual brand name...
"We know that all of our privacy problems could be solved if only the math and computer folks could figure out how to divide by zero for us. Come on guys, why do you freetards love piracy and hate America so much?"
It's almost as if we think that if we paid the artist directly for doing good work, they'd want to make more music for us to enjoy... Instead of the label saying they were losing them money, and the artist beholden to make an album like the industry wants instead of what they want.
The worst part about the move to all digital distribution channels, is that instead of realizing it as a way to save costs for both the business (no need to build as much physical media) and the consumer (delivery costs are less), they see it as a way to apply more DRM and make it so you cannot re-download your purchase nor use it across multiple devices -- even though technology shows us that this format incompatibility stuff is a bunch of fabricated bullshit in this day and age.
But they'll monetize the idea of making you buy the same shit 3 times over and call it progress... Or at least, they'd call it progress, if it still weren't for all those pesky pirates... But with just a little more DRM and restrictive licensing and policing of the internet...
Here is to hoping that this "experiment" is a complete success and opens peoples eyes to how the pricing structure should work. I have never bought an e-book (nor an e-reader, for that matter) because I can buy the books used for cheaper and if I so desire to get rid of them -- they have resale value.
I have to concur. People need to understand the difference between a "semi-automatic" and an "automatic" weapon. I've heard enough terrible fearmongering speech that preys off of ignorance of terms like this, and the ever present bullshit terminology and classification of so called "assault weapons".
It seems to me like whether the police were carrying semi-automatics or revolvers is irrelevant to the guy being arrested for snapping a photo because he was "being a dick", so to speak. If they had been carrying M-16s, M-14s, AR-15s, MP5s, or something of that nature... Then maybe the firearms references would be more interesting (and possibly relevant). As it stands, is there any reason we SHOULDN'T expect police to be carrying a semi-automatic firearm?
So, the natural progression of this, is that we assume people are always going to do something bad with all things at all times, so we must levy a "bad citizen tax" (call it what you will, honestly) on those items.
Not only has the internet given my band an audience, it has also given us a chance to continue to make new music in spite of the hundreds (or thousands) of miles that may separate us. And it allows us to collaborate with people on other continents, who we may never have met otherwise.
And that we give our songs away for free? I know for me personally, I just enjoy making the music and sharing it with people (who will also hopefully enjoy it). It is my hobby, and I don't need any money for it.
On the post: Techno-Panic Headlines: 'Enhanced Ebooks Are Bad For Children'
I have to thank "The Onion" for this joke:
On the post: EA Believes That Making A Lot Of Money Is Less Important Than Keeping Games Expensive
I'm confused.
On the post: Holder In The Hot Seat, Still Can't Explain Why DOJ Censored Hip Hop Blog
Re: Speaking of infringement...
On the post: Holder In The Hot Seat, Still Can't Explain Why DOJ Censored Hip Hop Blog
Speaking of infringement...
So, if $1.5 million is the acceptable penalty (as per the current system) for infringing copyright of 24 songs... Then what if 1% of the US Population were do this, and have to pay the penalty?
1,500,000
* 3,000,000
==============
4,500,000,000,000
So, if 100 million people were caught infringing music copyright, that would total 4.5 trillion dollars.
Then throw movie infringement into the mix. Pretty soon, there will be more infringement going on than there is money in the world!
Damn pirates, can't you see you are destroying the world economy!? The top 1% of music infringers are costing us nearly 5 trillion dollars a year! WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?
//did I hit all the points?
//major sarc
On the post: Germany Increases 'You Are All Pirates' Tax On Solid State Media By 2000%
Wow.
Collections: "Yeah, to back up and transfer your DIRTY PIRATE data!"
On the post: Vibram Boss: IP Enforcement Is A Waste Of Time; You're Better Off Building A Relationship With Customers
So... Wait?
The opposite case makes more sense, where you're a counterfeiter and you don't want to point out why your brand sucks ass compared to the real mccoy... And when your brand is actually just a piss poor kindergarden spelling of the actual brand name...
On the post: Judge Delivers Thorough And Complete Smackdown Of Oracle's Copyright Claims
Wow.
On the post: How Much Would It Cost To Pre-Screen YouTube Videos? About $37 Billion Per Year...
See!
/sarc
On the post: Apple And Microsoft Behind Patent Troll Armed With Thousands Of Nortel Patents
Re: Re:
On the post: Band Protests As A Copyright Troll Sues Its Fans
What the hell?
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Re: Re: Re:
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Re: Re:
On the post: Hollywood Talent Turns To Kickstarter To Escape 'Institutional Censorship'
Cool beans.
However, let's hope that the MPAA/CARA don't try to sabotage the movie by tagging it with NC-17 or some such nonsense.
On the post: It's Amazing The Lengths 'Music Supporters' Will Go To In Trying To Trash Success Stories
Re:
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
All Digital
But they'll monetize the idea of making you buy the same shit 3 times over and call it progress... Or at least, they'd call it progress, if it still weren't for all those pesky pirates... But with just a little more DRM and restrictive licensing and policing of the internet...
On the post: Paulo Coehlo Convinces His Publisher To Offer (Almost) All Of His Ebooks For $0.99
Excellent.
On the post: Wikileaks Truck Owner Arrested For Photographing Police; Told It Was Because He Was 'A Dick'
Re: Re: Re: Re:
It seems to me like whether the police were carrying semi-automatics or revolvers is irrelevant to the guy being arrested for snapping a photo because he was "being a dick", so to speak. If they had been carrying M-16s, M-14s, AR-15s, MP5s, or something of that nature... Then maybe the firearms references would be more interesting (and possibly relevant). As it stands, is there any reason we SHOULDN'T expect police to be carrying a semi-automatic firearm?
On the post: Insanity: CISPA Just Got Way Worse, And Then Passed On Rushed Vote
Re:
On the post: Canadian University Association Surrenders Completely By Withdrawing From Copyright Hearings
Wow.
On the post: Web Documentary: How The Internet Changed Heavy Metal
Nice.
And that we give our songs away for free? I know for me personally, I just enjoy making the music and sharing it with people (who will also hopefully enjoy it). It is my hobby, and I don't need any money for it.
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