When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for CPU users to dissolve the commercial bonds which have enslaved them to another Industry, and to assume the powers of copy and paste, a power which Steve Jobs entitled them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all binary data is created equal, that data is endowed by their Muse with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of independent reproduction amongst student and other low income classes.

That to secure these rights, torrent sites are instituted among men. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it.

Such has been the patient sufferance of music fans; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present Recording Industry Association of America is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over CPUs. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

The music industry has historically refused to sell separate tracks, falsely claiming that "albums" full of two hits plus useless, contractually obligated filler is the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

The RIAA has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the homes of music lovers, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

The RIAA has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of lawyers to harass common people, and eat out their substance.

For taking away our tape recorders, abolishing our most valuable song collections to piles of obsolete dust, as forms of computer memory and music encoding evolve.

The RIAA has plundered our CPUs, ravaged our download speeds, burned our corrupted iTunes playlist recovery ability from iPods, and destroyed the lives of low income people who would never buy Prince's stupid Batman Sountrack CD just to get 'Batdance' at the exact same inflated price that early adopters of CDs were charged for. The profits of this "filler tax" benefited neither artist nor fanbase.

The RIAA is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the cassette tape and VHS ages.

We, therefore, the Blogosphere of United Earth, assembled through comments and hyperlinks, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good users of these CPUs, solemnly publish and declare, that our CPUs are, and of right ought to be free and independent; that they are absolved from all allegiance to RMA schemes, and being free and independent CPUs, they have full power to share data, worldwide. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

NikFromNYC

@BasicBlack: You can't say that something, even intangible data, is simultaneously desirable and worthless.

someToast

The problem with the RIAA is that they get rich off of artists work, and screw them out of all of the money you give to them for a CD. In fact, if you pirated everything, but sent an artist 5 bucks for every album you ripped, you'd basically be giving them - At Least- a tenfold increase in their share of a CD.

Let's not even MENTION how the distribution of music over P2P Exposes people to new music, and allows good music to flourish to audiences who might never hear it. And alot of the time, these true fans that are created go out and fund the artists, either by buying their CDs, or more importantly, going to concerts and telling their friends.

For the love of God, look at Radiohead. They made an obscene amount of money on a simple donation system, because they didn't have the overhead of a huge CD producer and a record label over their head.

Look at the Explosion of NIN because of free releases.

The RIAA refuses to adapt to these kinds of business models (With the possible exception of their iTunes deals, which are STILL exploitative towards artists.)

Consumers are stopping buying the derivative crap that's marketed to them in the big stores and the mass market pop. The quality of music has long been in denial, and now, more than any big-business profit-driven market, Consumers have the absolute ability to support artists they like.

You need 1,000 hard core fans to live the good life. Once upon a time Radio and word of mouth were the only ways to hear new music. Now you have the Internet. It's not about a free ride, it's not even about fucking the RIAA, so much as it is about finally being able to go "I like your work, Artist! Here's money that isn't skimmed off the top because I want to support your ability to make more awesome music."

Crimson (PS3 ID Black--Tiger)

So what part of this is theft again?

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

The same defects of character that make you a thief make you a liar as well.

pyleg

Come on how can they lose!? (don't answer that question)

Rususeruru

Dude, RTFA!

Sponsorship of artists (aka: paying them for their work) has a long history. Pirate Bay is saying they'll employ artists to make music but instead of then charging for the music they bought they will give it away for free. The artist can always do what other musicians have done--sing for their living by, gasp, charging for live performances. The Grateful Dead didn't have trouble getting money this way.

Heck, the same artist would be free to then sign a contract with one of the corporate producers and create new music to sell the the standard way.

Seems like a best-of-both worlds situation to me.

shawn_dude

Does copying harm the artists' interests? I'm not convinced. It may harm the megastars, whom everyone knows already, but it could also be a way to expose people to new artists.

Back in the day, there was a thing called "radio", which was used as a viral promotion tool. Nowadays, the methods of a new artist gaining exposure are much more limited...

ideaman2020

DJTripleRRR

Damned if I'm buying the same album a third or forth time! I already paid the artist, and I shouldn't be expected to pay for my all media in a new format when they kill off an older one. In cases like this, I think it's perfectly acceptable to find it online. If I already own the album on vinyl and cassette, then all the download is doing is saving me the labor of transferring my copy into a digital format.

I did buy a lot of CD when they first came out, and the record companies SWORE they were twice the price of the same album on cassette because they were still "new" and thus more expensive to manufacture, but that eventually they'd drop in price to the same as cassettes when they finally replaced cassettes completely.

Didn't happen.

I paid $7 - $8 for a new album on cassette. I'm still paying $14 - $20 for a new album on CD, and CDs are CHEAPER to produce than cassettes ever were!

Digital costs almost nothing to reproduce... I see no theft when the person doing the downloading has already lined the record companies' and artists' pockets with previous purchases of the same intellectual material on a different distribution format, as well as concerts, t-shirts, and other merch.

The future belongs to artists who distribute their own material and cut out the record companies entirely. I just bought a CD from CDBaby, and I felt good knowing that a MUCH LARGER chunk of the money I paid was going directly to the artist, and not to some uncreative asshole who had nothing to do with the music.

ZeroCorpse

skilled1

if people steal things, the people making them turn their efforts to something else

you're already paying and don't even know it--you've effectively killed a generation of rock acts

pyleg

VishusBurn

It is the Labels that will get squeezed out unless they can adapt. I'm sure that some companies that made buggy whips managed to convert their operations to manufacture some thing else. Change is inevitable, and the Labels are fighting a losing battle.

GadgetPlay

Don't forget the "Bikini Team!"

GadgetPlay

If it's nothing, then why do you want it? If you want it, it must be a thing of some value. You can't say that something, even intangible data, is simultaneously desirable and worthless.

BasicBlack

So, let me ask you this, then: In this scenario, what, exactly, have I stolen?

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

That's a little circular HeartBurnKid.

1. I hate the RIAA.

2. I won't give the RIAA my money.

3. It's okay to download, since I won't give my money to the RIAA.

What that boils down to is "I hate the RIAA, so I get free downloads."

That's fine with me (if it matters), but most people who steal things never intended to pay for them, either.

BasicBlack

This is getting silly. There's a huge difference between making copies of something you own and taking copies of what someone else owns. It's like making photocopies of a book by your favorite author and handing them out on the street to whoever wants one. And they do the same. And so on.

Sure, you're sticking it to the evil Barnes and Nobles empire, but the author is the one who feels the prick.

Why do we need to delude ourselves? A pirate steals shit. That's why they call them pirates.

BasicBlack

Yar - har - fiddle-dee-dee, being a pirate is all right with me! Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free, you are a pirate!

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

I personally find the idea of pirating morally objectionable, but the above commenter is correct: trying to stop the copying of "intellectual property" (a term, I think, that is full of holes as well) is a lot like trying to stop a flood after the dam has broken. Artists that deal in relatively intangible mediums (that is to say, most of them) will have to learn to adapt to survive.

But I really do wish (as some others have noted) that a few folks here would stop justifying their actions as some sort of half-assed statement against rampant corporate greed. Really, that's just childish.

JustThisGuy

For example: I will never buy a RIAA-label CD again (unless I can find it used, in which case I can sleep soundly knowing they don't see a dime). I hate them that damn much. Frankly, I don't download much music either these days -- after all, internet radio is much more fun -- but, since they're never seeing a dime from me anyway, what exactly would they be losing out on if I were to download a copy?

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

Stopping the copying of music and other material is like trying to stop a flood after the dam has already broken.

yougottabekidding

Freedom of internet!

BenjaminD

It's copying.

When you steal from someone you have physically deprived them of property. Pirates don't take anything away from anyone, so technically you can't say it's stealing...

ideaman2020

foureight84

BasicBlack

ideaman2020

Erase all their harddrives...

ideaman2020

If you read what I wrote, I didn't say anyone should stop what they're doing. I do it. Hell, I stole a copy of "Steal this Book" when Hoffmann was still alive.

I said it's hypocritical to say it's not stealing. Do what you'd like. Just don't pretend you're serving any cause other than your own wants.

BasicBlack

Boo = all the haters who think that paying outrageous prices for cheap music while simultaneously lining corporate coffers and screwing the artist is a good thing!

martini1179

JesusDeSaad

@BasicBlack:
So semantically speaking (you did it first), a company that lays off its employees for reasons that are not the employees faults is effectively stealing from them. Yeah, how about judging them before you do the same to some kids? Why not sue them as well? I mean the companies CAN afford to pay fines, unlike kids who barely have weekly allowances.

JesusDeSaad

jtheletter

deed02392

Anything that takes bread off another man or woman's table is theft. We need to stop trying to rationalize it as part of some philosophy that serves the greater good. A grownup recognizes the costs and consequences of his actions. A child steals a toy from another kid and thinks it's okay, because the other kid has plenty of other toys."

Yeah but TBH, it's not just a simple case of taking bread from another mans table, it's just like the South Park episode depicted, the theft actually involved here actually results in nothing more then 'the next worse model of their private jet'. If I had a fuck load of money, more than I'd ever need, I fucking deserve to be stolen from TBH. Besides, it's not exactly as if one 'child' loses a toy in this case. That was a bad analogy, as in this case, the result is not a loss of possession, but rather the CHANCE that an extra sale may not result, from something which has already been produced and copies made of for FREE. And when I say chance, it's because the person who 'stole' the track often ends up buying it anyway. So yeah... FU

deed02392

about 99% of musicians who already have that deal, for one thing.

nutbastard

Anyway, PB is a leecher infested hit and run cesspit that lists nothing but nodef audio and video, and malware.

The laws there will change and they will get shut down. The age of the massive public tracker is coming to an end.

They're lucky it's not the 17th century.

olafson

(I signed up just so I could post this comment).

eFrisk

You don't have to shill for the record companies, they've already got enough lawyers.

Comms

WAAAAHHHHHHHH somebodys charging money for something.

$13-$20 will get you jack shit in a bar or it might get you a cheap dinner for 2. That amount of money is NOTHING.

dead_red_eyes

You are rationalizing, Brock. Grey areas are a good place to hide our failing.

A great author deserves his copyright, and he deserves to be paid for his work. You are not paying for the book; you are paying for the words. In this environment, the only thing that is changed is the medium by which the words are conveyed. Words, music, all the same.

As for costs to the producers, even if you are stealing something you consider overpriced, you are still stealing. Obviously, it has some value, or you wouldn't take it.

As I said above, I ride the Torrent upon occasion. I am invested in nothing. Except trying not to be a hypocrite.

BasicBlack

these corporations are chargin us $13-$20 for a CD like its 1996.

They don't even invest money in singles with b-sides anymore, so we can't even figure out if the albums good.

If it werent for TPB and the likes, you wouldn't have itunes or any of that.

If no one challenged their 20 year old model, they'd keep gouging you. But it's ok, because you feel like you really helped that 17 year old corpo-whore out with the 10 cents she made off the album.

Sh3rpa

Like an old blanket, moral absolutes are comforting. They make you think you undrstand how the world works, and know right from wrong. You feel safe.

But that doesn't make them right. You can't make perfect analogies between sharing IP (music, software, etc.) and stealing candy from kiddies because the IP and physical property really are different. You need different rules that recognize the very real differences.

In "the past" (as recently as 15 years ago) it was really, really expensive to make new copies of media and to distribute them today. If you stole a CD you weren't just stealing the song, you were stealing the distributor's investments in printers and distribution infrastructure. You paid for the distribution by buying CDs (or books, or disks, etc.) Things are totally different today. Today you pay for the infrastructure with a monthly bill to your ISP and copies cost nothing.

Do artists deserve to make a living? Sure, everyone does. But they have to adjust to the new situation. When anyone can make more of something you can't make money by restricting supply. That's like trying to establish a diamond or oil cartel when anyone and everyone makes diamonds and oil in their spare time solely for the fun of it.

The Pirate Bay guys are good guys because they are midwives to the new age. They are actively killing off the dinosaurs and making room for the new. It's a messy process, but I expect there are few people on this board invested in the current status quo.

Brock

krisve

they need to keep showin their vags outside cars.

u a$$, don't you get it that they aren't artists anymore? their freakin action figures molded by corporations to make $$$$$$$$$$ for.... the corporation. the action figure just gets a plastic gun up their a$$

Sh3rpa

riqgeez

A: we'll have nothing but cheap, 'free' music from 'aspiring artists' to listen to.

or

B: The industry is going to HAVE to come out with some super duper ultra- secure way of locking music down to its original owner.

THANKS ALOT GUYS

vicsells

keysereble

Empire

Abnormal

golferal

Innocence through omission. Gotta love it!

axiomatic

Mrrix32

dry-roasted-peanuts

I hate record companies and how they try to Own everything, but not paying for something just "out of principle" is still nothing more than going the 5 finger discount way.

If an artist has a means of me giving them money for their product without having to go through mediators, excellent, it has been a long while since I bought a CD though.

ithobbit

dry-roasted-peanuts

netcretin

Rick Lobrecht

Mag

Sloth

wakeupbomb

The grant will give out money to Danish aspiring artists for making music and releasing it for free.

someToast

fck the RIAA

maxcalvino

William Hook

phantam

Rodime

You are correct. It's stealing. I still do it occasionally, but at least I don't try to bullshit others into thinking I'm doing a good thing.

Anything that takes bread off another man or woman's table is theft. We need to stop trying to rationalize it as part of some philosophy that serves the greater good. A grownup recognizes the costs and consequences of his actions. A child steals a toy from another kid and thinks it's okay, because the other kid has plenty of other toys.

BasicBlack

Szin

Darrone

It's gonna be the next 'thing' I swear :P

GloStix

NoStyle

liveinvt

madlogik

Altanader

blomster

GloStix

Razta

mechfluff

med

Poon

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak