There are thousands of bands that would kill to get in Rock Band and go into millions of homes. If you think that musicians have any leverage at all, you're crazy.
No. People are saying piracy is not "stealing", because stealing removes the original item. It is true that media creators will not make the same amount of money as before. But I think the previous system was corrupt and a monopoly and the revenue they will now be getting is fairer.
Have you ever seen a really crappy movie or bought an album that was garbage, except for the single? What is your response? "Oh well, guess I'll learn next time"? That business model is dead, as the consumer is sick of being duped to purchase crappy mass-produced media. I have bought the movie Terminator 2 at least four times (including seeing it in the theatre). That crap is going to end whether people like it or not.
If you read the article, the committee made a reasonable compromise:
"Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official."
We can't have business where everything is "common sense". You have to have rules about appropriate clothing, safety rules, etc. For example, the people who die most in on-the-job accidents are new, young employees. Common sense is mostly earned through stupid mistakes. Are you seriously advocating that the transit get rid of all rules and just have a Darwinian "common sense" free-for-all? You can take that train, and I'll take the train run by the company that has clear training and safety rules.
I gamble online. Actually, I play poker, which is a game of skill with a chance element (like backgammon, for example).
I'm Canadian so our government hasn't made it illegal. I gamble at a site that has a good reputation (prompt payments, good protection against cheating, etc). There is little incentive for a site to cheat its customers because online casinos are insanely profitable. However, there have been cases when *employees* for sites have been caught cheated customers.
The free market will sort it out. You are right that if no one is paying musicians (either through buying CDs, concert tickets, t-shirts, etc), then the only music left will be the ones that work for free.
But to classify that as "bedroom recorded crap" is harsh. Did you ever think that people would take many hours out of their day, research subjects and write about them, FOR FREE? Welcome to most blogs. Welcome to Wikipedia.
The problem is record labels (and other media corporations) had a monopoly which drove the price up. Now that it is relatively easy to create and distribute music, news, videos, etc, the market is adjusting. If you cut out the record labels, there is more than enough money to go around to each artist. Unfortunately, there will be some grey suits on the street; boo-hoo.
You don't know what police corruption is. Watch "Tropa de Elite" (Elite Squad). Or move to Mexico, where if you get in a car accident, you don't wait for the police, you get the hell out of there.
What the hell is this? Now movies should make *more* money because we're in a recession?
If you compare it to X3, Hulk, and Fantastic Four (all similar PG-13 movies), it Box Office seems reasonable. There is no way you can compare it to Iron Man, which is a vastly superior movie.
Comparing B.O. is difficult because there is little correlation between ratings and B.O. There is probably a correlation between advertising budget and B.O. but those numbers are common knowledge.
As an engineer, I have actually bought technical books I found first using Google Books. So I think these book-sellers should be paying Google for all the free work Google did for them.
To me, calling the downloading of top 40 songs "piracy" and "theft" is idiotic. Hey, remember the radio? How many of us (the older ones) made mix tapes from the radio?
Buiter better calm down, pour himself a Sanka, and watch Matlock.
Re: Excellent, informative and thought provoking article, Mike.
I too will avoid sites that don't allow comments.
As others have said, comments can get out of hand, off-topic, and rude. Mike hints at how you deal with it in the article above: crowd-source. Give commenters the ability to moderate the comments and the idiots who just like to hear themselves speak will be quieted down. If you can't say what you need to say in a few paragraphs, you haven't thought about it enough.
The market will determine the new business model. There are artists who work for free RIGHT NOW, as we speak. They are either getting their career going or do it as a hobby. If people won't pay for music, then artists will have to evolve and figure out what people WILL pay for.
Noam Chomsky presented the Propaganda Model for media 20 years ago. Now that the *real* consumers (the advertisers) aren't willing to spend as much, media is trying to turn the model on its head and start charging the *product* (the reader). Its like a fisherman who, when no one wants the fish he's bringing to market, tries to start charging the fish for the privilege of eating the worm. The fish can eat elsewhere.
Can you please ban Weird Harold, just for a week. I'm getting sick of seeing his comments, plus now people are anticipating his comments and making preemptive rebuttals. One week free of his crazy ranting so we all can have an intelligent discussion. Then he can come back.
Scalping laws have always driven me crazy. It is a perfect example of the nonsense that happens when you interfere with a free market economy. All tickets should be sold using an auction, then all scalpers would disappear and artists would gain all the profits currently going to scalpers.
The rating system is useful to parents like me, who actually have a backbone and can say no to their kid. The reality is most problems with kids getting M games have nothing to do with the retailers, but lazy stupid parents who don't give a s**t. But it would be difficult to make a law that punished parents, so let's blame everyone else.
Similar case in point: I actually had some stupid woman come up to me and my wife and ask if we'd take her two 11-year-old boys into Friday the 13th. The cashier had informed her that the movie was rated 18A, and no they can't go in without a parent. The business did their job, and this woman was doing everything in her power to circumvent it.
If they are based on a setting or characters, the "original creator" always loses. For example, Nancy Stouffer lost against J.K. ("Larry Potter"), Rebecca Eckler lost against Judd Apatow ("Knocked Up"), and White Wolf lost against Sony ("Underworld"). Really, the only way to win an infringement case is to have complete pieces of dialog lifted, or have hundreds of similar plot points.
I think people get two terms mixed up: cost and value.
Say you make a program that costs $5M to develop. You figure you could sell it to 1M people so you print off 1M copies. You charge $10 so you expect to make a profit of $5M. You start selling and then another similar product comes along that is $2. Now people stop buying your software. Here is the difference. The COST of each copy of your software is $5 ($5M/1M). But the VALUE of your software is only around $2.
On the post: ASCAP Thinks That Video Game Providers Should Pay Music Performance Royalties
Re:
On the post: Now It's The UK's Turn For Some Bogus Piracy Stats
Re: Re: Re:
Have you ever seen a really crappy movie or bought an album that was garbage, except for the single? What is your response? "Oh well, guess I'll learn next time"? That business model is dead, as the consumer is sick of being duped to purchase crappy mass-produced media. I have bought the movie Terminator 2 at least four times (including seeing it in the theatre). That crap is going to end whether people like it or not.
On the post: Prosecutors Still Want To Pretend Lori Drew Was Convicted Of Harming Megan Meier
Re:
On the post: Software Developer Liability Up For Debate In Europe
Re: A Market For Lemons
"... the proposed regulatory extension would cover all software, including beta products, and would cover both proprietary and open-source software."
On the post: Canadian Parliament Threatens People For Posting Video Of Proceedings Online
Re:
If you read the article, the committee made a reasonable compromise:
"Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official."
On the post: Boston Trolley Accident Sadly Shows, Again, That Cell Phone Bans Alone Don't Really Work
Re: Re: Seriously?
We can't have business where everything is "common sense". You have to have rules about appropriate clothing, safety rules, etc. For example, the people who die most in on-the-job accidents are new, young employees. Common sense is mostly earned through stupid mistakes. Are you seriously advocating that the transit get rid of all rules and just have a Darwinian "common sense" free-for-all? You can take that train, and I'll take the train run by the company that has clear training and safety rules.
On the post: Minnesota Sued Over Online Gambling Ban, While Frank Again Introduces Bill To Legalize It
Re: Re: Re: What's in a name
I'm Canadian so our government hasn't made it illegal. I gamble at a site that has a good reputation (prompt payments, good protection against cheating, etc). There is little incentive for a site to cheat its customers because online casinos are insanely profitable. However, there have been cases when *employees* for sites have been caught cheated customers.
On the post: No Musicians Have Ever Been Guaranteed To Make Money Selling Music
Re: Y'all miss the point again!
But to classify that as "bedroom recorded crap" is harsh. Did you ever think that people would take many hours out of their day, research subjects and write about them, FOR FREE? Welcome to most blogs. Welcome to Wikipedia.
The problem is record labels (and other media corporations) had a monopoly which drove the price up. Now that it is relatively easy to create and distribute music, news, videos, etc, the market is adjusting. If you cut out the record labels, there is more than enough money to go around to each artist. Unfortunately, there will be some grey suits on the street; boo-hoo.
On the post: Even The Phoenix Police, Responding To Emergencies, Can Get Dinged By Speed Cameras
Re:
On the post: Wolverine, Box Office Results... And Piracy
Comparing to other movies
What the hell is this? Now movies should make *more* money because we're in a recession?
If you compare it to X3, Hulk, and Fantastic Four (all similar PG-13 movies), it Box Office seems reasonable. There is no way you can compare it to Iron Man, which is a vastly superior movie.
Comparing B.O. is difficult because there is little correlation between ratings and B.O. There is probably a correlation between advertising budget and B.O. but those numbers are common knowledge.
On the post: The Mother Of All Anti-Google Rants: Comparing Google To The Taliban
Re:
To me, calling the downloading of top 40 songs "piracy" and "theft" is idiotic. Hey, remember the radio? How many of us (the older ones) made mix tapes from the radio?
Buiter better calm down, pour himself a Sanka, and watch Matlock.
On the post: The Conversation Is What Matters, From Learning To Journalism And Beyond
Re: Excellent, informative and thought provoking article, Mike.
As others have said, comments can get out of hand, off-topic, and rude. Mike hints at how you deal with it in the article above: crowd-source. Give commenters the ability to moderate the comments and the idiots who just like to hear themselves speak will be quieted down. If you can't say what you need to say in a few paragraphs, you haven't thought about it enough.
On the post: Pirate Bay Loses A Lawsuit; Entertainment Industry Loses An Opportunity
Re: What should the new business model *be*?
On the post: Media Dinosaurs Look To Set Up iTunes For News
Propaganda model
On the post: Remixing Is Creating And Original -- It's Not Just Derivative Copying
Re: Re:
On the post: Vancouver Olympics Using Copyright Law (Rather Than Scalping Laws) To Ban Ticket Reselling
Scalping laws are nuts...
On the post: Mostly Toothless Video Game Bill Passes the Utah Legislature
Re: Forbidden fruit
Similar case in point: I actually had some stupid woman come up to me and my wife and ask if we'd take her two 11-year-old boys into Friday the 13th. The cashier had informed her that the movie was rated 18A, and no they can't go in without a parent. The business did their job, and this woman was doing everything in her power to circumvent it.
On the post: Two People Can Have The Same Idea... It's Not Necessarily 'Theft', Infringement Or Plagiarism
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: Talking On A Cell Phone Like 'Placing Your Face On A Toilet Bowl'
Re:
On the post: Software Development Is A Scarce Good
Re: Logical conclusion
Say you make a program that costs $5M to develop. You figure you could sell it to 1M people so you print off 1M copies. You charge $10 so you expect to make a profit of $5M. You start selling and then another similar product comes along that is $2. Now people stop buying your software. Here is the difference. The COST of each copy of your software is $5 ($5M/1M). But the VALUE of your software is only around $2.
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