[Hidden-tech] Music downloads

Mon Jan 1 17:33:57 EST 2007

I'd like to formally request that this thread be moved to one of the 
hidden-tech web forums.  While it is an interesting thread, I feel the 
opinions are too strong to continue in a regular email list.  It is 
becoming like a battle of who thinks who is right, and ultimately, it 
isn't making any progress in convincing anyone of anything; its just 
filling up our inboxes with endless opinions.

Thank you
David

stephanie gelfan wrote:
>    ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.
>    ** You too can help the group
>    ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>    ** If you did, we all thank you.
> 
> 
> 
> there is a culture of stealing music via downloads and cd copying and not
> considering it stealing.
> 
> Food for Thought in Amherst had a slow 10-yr death, as more and more college
> students downloaded/copied from friends rather than buy records/tapes/CDs
> 
> I have had people tell me that they loved my CD, or one of my tapes so much
> that they made lots of copies for their friends and family. They expected me
> to be happy about it. It didn't even occur to them that every copy they made
> was another .75 - $12 that I wouldn't be getting.
> I have heard this same story from countless other composers and musicians.
> 
> As a studio musician in NY city in the 70s-early 90s, I first-hand
> experienced the recording industry and Broadway go down the toilet.
> Thousands of musicians have lost work, royalties, and residual money,  and
> have had to do something else (usually computer-related) for a living
> because of this.
> 
> Part of the reason there are less good new broadway shows is that many of
> the people who might have created something new and wonderful have had to
> make ends meet doing something else
> 
> Music that is put online by artists themselves for anyone to hear/download
> for free is not the same as music that someone has put in a format that is
> for sale, but someone else has made available online for free.
> 
> Until there is a good way for the creators and performers of music to get
> their fair pay, please don't download for free stuff you should be buying.
> Stealing is stealing, and it's not just from the big corporations; it's from
> individuals.
> 
> stephanie
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ron Miller <ronsmiller at comcast.net>
> To: Mary Malmros <malmros at verizon.net>
> Cc: <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>
> Sent: Sunday, December 31, 2006 8:50 AM
> Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] Music downloads
> 
> 
>>    ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.
>>    ** You too can help the group
>>    ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>>    ** If you did, we all thank you.
>>
>>
>> I want to make several points:
>>
>> * There are many free downloads available on the Internet. This is not
>> stealing. The artists provide these songs for free for exposure. Whether
>> your kids who are looking for the latest and greatest would embrace this
>> depends on the child and what kinds of music they like.
>>
>> * Casual copying is not the issue record companies make it to be. Out
>> and out pirating and reselling *is* an issue, but going after casual
>> copiers and mix makers just doesn't make sense.
>>
>> Remember, that sheet music publishers screamed when records were
>> invented because the sheet music business would be suppressed, then the
>> record companies screamed when radio developed because after all who
>> would pay for a song, they could hear it for free. Last I heard the
>> record companies and radio stations were still making money.
>>
>> The movie people screamed that when vhs tape and later DVDs developed,
>> nobody would go to the movies. Last time I checked the movie producers
>> were doing very well.
>>
>> Every time there is a technology shift, the powers that be scream and
>> shout that they will be put out of business. Media companies have always
>> suffered from a failure of imagination and today is no different. By
>> embracing technology instead of fighting it, they have always found a
>> way to make (even more) money. Movie producers often make more money
>> from DVD sales, then they did from the original movie in the theaters.
>>
>> * Cassette mixes are no different than CD mixes, quality aside, the
>> concept is *exactly* the same. Copying is copying is copying. In the 70s
>> when I was making copies of my friends albums on cassettes or making
>> favorites cassettes, I was doing the same thing people do with today's
>> technology. The Internet and computer make everything easier, but the
>> concept is no different. But when you look at the numbers that were
>> thrown around post-Frampton Comes Alive in the 70s, you know that the
>> records companies thrived. Technology did not kill the record companies
>> then and it has not hurt them today as much as they want you to believe.
>>
>> * Finally, there are plenty of reasonably-priced legal outlets for
>> downloading popular music, especially a song at a time. Record companies
>> are finding once again that by embracing technology like iTunes and
>> Rhapsody, they will find new revenue streams. The more things change...
>>
>> Ron
>>
>>
>>
>> Mary Malmros wrote:
>>>   ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.
>>>   ** You too can help the group
>>>   ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>>>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>>>
>>>
>>> Fred Levine wrote:
>>>> I've also wrestled with the morality of letting my kids download for
>>>> free.
>>> I wouldn't allow it.  Period, end of discussion.  There is more to right
>>> and wrong than whether you get caught.
>>>
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David Korpiewski                     Phone: 413-545-4319
Software Specialist I                Fax:   413-577-2285
Department of Computer Science       ICQ:   7565766
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