For legal protection this post is based on a dream I once had. There were way more dragons in the dream, but I have omitted them from the post in order to convey the seriousness of the issues at hand.
It's considered pretty immoral...but a huge proportion of people do it! Be it music, video, software, or any copyrighted material, a lot of people are logging on and 'stealing'. Why? Because it's easy! You get everything you're interested in delivered directly to you for free. But wait...these people are stealing...right?
In my opinion, people who are doing this are absolutely stealing! But, it isn't entirely their fault. The fact that it's an incredibly easy crime has very little to do with the extent to which people engage in piracy.
EMI have filed a legal suit against the Irish Government, in retaliation of outdated piracy law in Ireland. In a bid they have dubbed 'Operation Futile Publicity Stunt', they want the government to bring forward laws that would restrict ISP's from allowing access to sites that enable piracy.
I don't understand how this can possibly be taken seriously! I understand that if your shop is being robbed you get a better security system, but if you put a restriction on these sites, these people won't thank you by going out and buying your music! If you try take the pirate sites offline, you're going to create a new horde of active pirates, that in retaliation for your interference in their daily way of life, will take that CD they bought and share it with the world.
What these labels need to do is bring back the sentimentality of music into buying a CD. They need to put that little bit more effort into making it attractive to go out and buy a CD, because a true fan just needs a gentle nudge to do that! Throw in something unique that cannot be replicated and copied online in the CD case. Something that is attractive to the people who would engage in piracy. A code for a discount on concert tickets or that particular artists online shop, or membership to the official fan club...ANYTHING! Put golden fucking tickets in them if you have to!!!
There has been such a small degree of development in the CD product that it has become boring. The same must be said about the DVD. The people need more incentives to buy these products, and enforcing these bans is not an effective solution.
The threat of being taken to court over illegal downloading is laughable to most people as there are so few people who ever get caught. When those people do, they are fined such a ridiculous amount of money that the mindset of "In for a penny, in for a pound" sets in, and people do not alter their behaviour patterns as they do not feel a real threat. The fact is, even if they are fined, it isn't going to help the stores that lost their profits from the missing business. All the money will go directly to the record labels.
Here's a concept solution!
1. Amnesty for all internet piracy committed up to the date that this solution is set in motion. Any piracy engaged in before that date is considered legal, and everyone gets a clean slate. This could potentially see a drop in piracy for the more morally inclined among us who would give it up.
2. Realistic fines set for downloading/uploading copyright material, tailored to rather the act than the quantity. (i.e. Payment made directly related to the losses incurred by whomever is taking legal action against them. Other legal damages/repercussions go to the state). This way the label doesn't make a huge amount of money while bankrupting someone, and the state has motivation to enforce the law.
3. No restrictions online for anyone not proven guilty of internet piracy. Previous offenders should be subject to more serious repercussions if repeatedly breaking piracy laws. This way, you won't piss off people who aren't already pissed off at you for being fined for piracy.
4. Run a huge media campaign (Funded by EMI it should be in my opinion...bunch of complainy bastards) detailing exactly what the repercussions are for committing online piracy, and also exactly what constitutes piracy. Fearmongering...it's a good thing!
If the record companies aren't willing to agree to reasonable terms, they will get nowhere in these futile battles. They think of themselves as a bunch of self-entitled do-gooders, when really all the rest of the world sees is desperation and greed. And the rest of the world ain't too fond of that at the moment...
In conclusion, piracy is a bad thing...but record labels need to meet the pirates halfway! The moral high ground is a great place to look down on people, but in the end, you'll never catch a pirate on top of a mountain!
(Also, getting rid of Justin Bieber would probably appease the internet lords enough to earn you a few extra album sales...just saying!)
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