Re: (non-roc) Stop Napster???

[Jan Folkson <jfolkson@optonline.net>]

This certainly doesn't apply to this list but...

Stealing is stealing, you can try to justify it to yourself however you
want.

Piracy of music has become a tremendous problem for people trying to make a
living in the music industry.  As somebody who makes their living in this
industry I can see the damage that something like napster can cause.  When
an artist creates an album, their making that album with the intention of
selling it.  If it sells enough, they can then have the opportunity to make
another.  Their creating a product to be sold.  Copying it without
permission is the same as stealing it right out of the record store.

Tape recorders and minidiscs have been controversial since their inception,
but piracy was taking place on a much smaller scale than on the internet.
There's nothing wrong with copying something for your own use.  For
instance, using your own cd collection for making a compilation cd for
'driving' is fine.  If you want to share it with a friend, that's getting
into a grey area.  But once the copying reaches a certain level that it
adversely affects the sale of an album, you're only hurting the people
creating the music that you're a fan of in the first place.  If you're a fan
of somebody's music you should support them by buying their record, not
stealing from them.  Some artists have embraced the internet and have sold
or distributed material directly to their fans by bypassing the record
companies altogether.  That's fine, that's their decision.  But most artists
are affiliated with a record company because that company can put it's
muscle behind an artist and get their music properly produced and heard by
the masses.  That artist then has to recoup all of the money spent creating
that record with the money that they get from record sales alone.  For
instance, if a band gets $1 Million to create an album, they don't make ANY
money on mechanical royalties until that $1M is recouped.  The only one who
does make any money before that is the person who wrote the song, they get
paid from performance royalties.  Which is often only one person in a band.
The rest get NOTHING.  They do however, make money from touring.  But most
bands tour to support a new record.  If they don't sell enough of their last
record, there is no new record.  Also Chris, these people don't make enough
$$ from their position in the media and their radio exposure.  Trust me.
Again, the ONLY person in the band who makes ANY MONEY from the song being
played on the radio is the writer of the song.

I'm not a big fan of the way that some huge record companies operate, but
"copying" music via napster or gnutella or any other means will eventually
shut down the creative process.  People that spend their time creating,
producing and practicing will no longer be able to do that because they
can't survive without making any $$.  I agree that $18 for a CD is a lot of
money and that the artist doesn't get enough of it.  But stealing it really
isn't the answer.

I don't really know how this thread appeared on a list like this, but I felt
obligated to respond.

- Jan Folkson   www.janfolkson.com
    
'86 16V            
'99 Passat 1.8T  
'00 Beetle GLX 1.8T
 
"Only realize the truth...There is no spoon"

> From: "Chris DeLong" <green536@hotmail.com>
> Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 23:20:06 PDT
> To: marie@blaze.ca, scirocco-l@scirocco.org
> Subject: Re: (non-roc) Stop Napster???
> 
> 
> I agree. Why do they make tape recorders or minidiscs? Just because it is
> easier to do on the internet does that mean that the entire planet should
> ban any copying device? These people make enough $$ from their position in
> the media and their radio expose'.
> 
> 
>> 
>> Man, these guys suck.
>> 
>> Marie
>> 
>> http://www.stopnapster.com/
>> << StopNapster--ArtistsProtectingArtists.url >>
> 
> 
> Chris DeLong
> ICQ#45030867
> Seattle, WA USA
> '80 16V Rag
> '80 Rocco (For Sale)
> '78 Scirocco
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> 
> 
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