(no subject)
Dear Music Industry,
I listen to music. I appreciate the effort and creativity that goes into making it. I believe myself to be an ethical person, and recognize other people as moral agents. In recent years the phenomenon of downloading music has become pervasive and seemingly problematic. Some regard it as theft, while others consider the idea of intellectual property absurd. I believe in supporting the artists whose music I love. I have no problems at all with parting with my money to listen to the songs I love.
As someone who lives in a country with little or no legal ramifications, I freely admit to downloading music. Almost the entirety of my music collection has been obtained through peer-to-peer file sharing. I would be more than willing to pay for much of this music, but I fear there are a lot of barriers and contentions that I have that prevent me from doing such The following is a list of demands that I feel must be met before I would give any consideration to regularly paying for my music.
1. Allow the artist full ownership of their work and any right pertaining to it. Due to the contracts offered musicians by recording companies, the musicians must forfeit their work and any entitlement to it. They forfeit creative control and distribution, as well as any potential associations.
2. Compensate the musicians fairly. Far too long the recording companies have unfairly compensated the musicians for their work. Many musicians see less than a dollar for every album sold - albums that have often fetched $20 or more at music stores. While I believe that recording companies are entitled to a fair portion of profit from music sales, I believe this amount to be disproportionate to their contribution. The artist is the one who makes the music, and the artist should be the one who sees the majority of the money made from album sales.
3. Get rid of the copyright restrictions on CDs and other portable media. In this modern day and age, computers are being used for many people as their main media center - yet if I purchased a CD today at a music store, I would not be able to copy the files off of the disk and put it onto my computer. This prevents me from listening to the music I purchased in the way that I feel I am entitled to. I would also be prevented from making backups and thus extending the life of the CD. When I purchase a CD, I do not believe I am buying into a lease of any sort, not do I feel that I should be told which medium I should be restricted to, to listen to it. The current Digital Rights Management (DRM) on media makes it so that only the honest get punished. There are ways to bypass the locks that are put on media files, and as long as I have to pursue ways to bypass what I believe should not be there in the first place, I will forfeit the difficulties altogether and simply obtain my music through file sharing.
In a time where outdated models still govern how media is properly distributed, and archaic persons desperately try to smother reform, social rebellion is the only currency I have against a current of unethical policies and practices. You who accuse me of theft and other possible unethical acts do so as hypocrites and only to maintain the obscene profits you have maintained in the past. You claim that you suffer billions of dollars in lost sales due to file sharing, and point to that as the problem. I won’t argue that file sharing is responsible for your lost profits. What I will do is argue that it’s a solution to the problem of business models that essentially rape the musician and discard him or her when they are done. Musicians are not resources to be used for maximum utility and tossed out when that utility has been exhausted. I, for one, hope you continue to see billions more in lost sales, until the day when you are forced to reform the suffocating contracts you offer to musicians.
Until that day comes, and you continue to fight against the evolution of technology, I will download music to ensure you don’t get a single cent from me. The more you seek to reform law around such practices, the more you will see those of us who listen to music and believe in the rights of musicians stand up against your tyranny and fight back. I assure you in a day and age where people know no life without a computer, you are unmatched. Until that day of reformation comes, I will do all I can to prevent further exploitation of artists, and support artists such as Radiohead, who understand the need to appeal to the intrinsic morality that human beings have rather than treating us all as criminals. As an ethical person I cannot condone the actions of greedy corporations whose bottom line is profit by any means necessary. As an ethical person, I express my utter refusal to support such institutions and do so through file sharing. It may be a trivial act, but it’s the only currency I have to communicate my sentiments.
I listen to music. I appreciate the effort and creativity that goes into making it. I believe myself to be an ethical person, and recognize other people as moral agents. In recent years the phenomenon of downloading music has become pervasive and seemingly problematic. Some regard it as theft, while others consider the idea of intellectual property absurd. I believe in supporting the artists whose music I love. I have no problems at all with parting with my money to listen to the songs I love.
As someone who lives in a country with little or no legal ramifications, I freely admit to downloading music. Almost the entirety of my music collection has been obtained through peer-to-peer file sharing. I would be more than willing to pay for much of this music, but I fear there are a lot of barriers and contentions that I have that prevent me from doing such The following is a list of demands that I feel must be met before I would give any consideration to regularly paying for my music.
1. Allow the artist full ownership of their work and any right pertaining to it. Due to the contracts offered musicians by recording companies, the musicians must forfeit their work and any entitlement to it. They forfeit creative control and distribution, as well as any potential associations.
2. Compensate the musicians fairly. Far too long the recording companies have unfairly compensated the musicians for their work. Many musicians see less than a dollar for every album sold - albums that have often fetched $20 or more at music stores. While I believe that recording companies are entitled to a fair portion of profit from music sales, I believe this amount to be disproportionate to their contribution. The artist is the one who makes the music, and the artist should be the one who sees the majority of the money made from album sales.
3. Get rid of the copyright restrictions on CDs and other portable media. In this modern day and age, computers are being used for many people as their main media center - yet if I purchased a CD today at a music store, I would not be able to copy the files off of the disk and put it onto my computer. This prevents me from listening to the music I purchased in the way that I feel I am entitled to. I would also be prevented from making backups and thus extending the life of the CD. When I purchase a CD, I do not believe I am buying into a lease of any sort, not do I feel that I should be told which medium I should be restricted to, to listen to it. The current Digital Rights Management (DRM) on media makes it so that only the honest get punished. There are ways to bypass the locks that are put on media files, and as long as I have to pursue ways to bypass what I believe should not be there in the first place, I will forfeit the difficulties altogether and simply obtain my music through file sharing.
In a time where outdated models still govern how media is properly distributed, and archaic persons desperately try to smother reform, social rebellion is the only currency I have against a current of unethical policies and practices. You who accuse me of theft and other possible unethical acts do so as hypocrites and only to maintain the obscene profits you have maintained in the past. You claim that you suffer billions of dollars in lost sales due to file sharing, and point to that as the problem. I won’t argue that file sharing is responsible for your lost profits. What I will do is argue that it’s a solution to the problem of business models that essentially rape the musician and discard him or her when they are done. Musicians are not resources to be used for maximum utility and tossed out when that utility has been exhausted. I, for one, hope you continue to see billions more in lost sales, until the day when you are forced to reform the suffocating contracts you offer to musicians.
Until that day comes, and you continue to fight against the evolution of technology, I will download music to ensure you don’t get a single cent from me. The more you seek to reform law around such practices, the more you will see those of us who listen to music and believe in the rights of musicians stand up against your tyranny and fight back. I assure you in a day and age where people know no life without a computer, you are unmatched. Until that day of reformation comes, I will do all I can to prevent further exploitation of artists, and support artists such as Radiohead, who understand the need to appeal to the intrinsic morality that human beings have rather than treating us all as criminals. As an ethical person I cannot condone the actions of greedy corporations whose bottom line is profit by any means necessary. As an ethical person, I express my utter refusal to support such institutions and do so through file sharing. It may be a trivial act, but it’s the only currency I have to communicate my sentiments.