Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate • Hacker News Board

Re: Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate

#31

Post by alextgordon » Mon, Dec 13, 2010, 5:24 PM UTC

rick888 wrote: post #7

This still doesn't change the fact that piracy does hurt authors. The sad fact is that piracy is only getting worse. Even when you can get a song for 99 cents with no DRM or restrictions, music piracy is still rampant. I'm waiting for the next set of excuses. In '99, it was because music was too expensive and the artists were getting screwed (which is a funny excuse, because 1% of something is something, but 1% of 0…

The sad fact is that piracy is only getting worse. Even when you can get a song for 99 cents with no DRM or restrictions, music piracy is still rampant. I'm waiting for the next set of excuses.

I rarely pirate music but, if I bought all my music on Amazon or iTunes I'd be paying thousands of dollars a year. For a large subset of the population, this is simply an unacceptable expense. Hence: piracy.

Re: Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate

#32

Post by T_S_ » Mon, Dec 13, 2010, 5:24 PM UTC

.. no one possesses the less because everyone possesses the whole of it. He who receives an idea from me receives [it] without lessening [me], as he who lights his [candle] at mine receives light without darkening me. --Thomas Jefferson

And so the progress of virtual goods has turned their producers into teachers. The consequences are still unknown.

Re: Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate

#33

Post by rmc » Mon, Dec 13, 2010, 5:26 PM UTC

rick888 wrote: post #7

This still doesn't change the fact that piracy does hurt authors. The sad fact is that piracy is only getting worse. Even when you can get a song for 99 cents with no DRM or restrictions, music piracy is still rampant. I'm waiting for the next set of excuses. In '99, it was because music was too expensive and the artists were getting screwed (which is a funny excuse, because 1% of something is something, but 1% of 0…

I'm waiting for the next set of excuses.

I use an operating system (Ubuntu Linux) that doesn't support the main digital music download software and live in a country (Ireland) where choice is limited.

There are easily a billion people who can't legally purchase mainstream american music.

Re: Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate

#34

Post by tptacek » Mon, Dec 13, 2010, 5:27 PM UTC

jules wrote: post #27

tptacek wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know, but the underlying problem is very real: counterfeit goods.

I don't see traditional counterfeit goods like watches and perfumes being printed any time soon.

The economic harm caused by both actions is analogous; "printing" goods is basically a more sophisticated way of counterfeiting them.

Re: Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate

#35

Post by ewams » Mon, Dec 13, 2010, 5:29 PM UTC

markkat wrote: post #13

pmichaud wrote: post #3

I sell e-books and they almost all get pirated. I don't care, I just focus on the people who want to pay for my stuff. No skin off my nose if they don't.

Same here. A file that can be copied infinite times without cost is not worth much. I put 2 years of work into a book that gets pirated all the time. I have no problem with it at all. I think we would be better off reevaluating business models rather than suffering the effects of trying to preserve out-dated ones.

What mediums do you two sell your books through?

Re: Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate

#36

Post by rmc » Mon, Dec 13, 2010, 5:29 PM UTC

pdx wrote: post #2

I feel for the kid. I still grimace when I think of bragging to the game warden when I was 4, about how my dad caught a salmon with his bare hands. Of course, it wasn't fishing season, nor did we have a license. Even at 4, as soon as I said it, I knew I had screwed up. Luckily, everybody just laughed, as the game warden was a friend, but to this day, that slip of the tongue reminds me to think before I speak.

Yes the kid 'outs' her, however she also digs her own grave and makes some points that can easily be used to justify book piracy.

e.g.

“Pirated handbags? Yes, I do buy them,” she said. “I feel that the genuine Prada bags have such an inflated price.”

and

“You have a pirated MP3 collection,” Jo added, helpfully. “We copied the first 1500 songs from one place and 300 from another.”

“Yes,” admitted Ragbe. “There were a lot of things on the iPod.”

Re: Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate

#37

Post by zacharycohn » Mon, Dec 13, 2010, 5:31 PM UTC

arethuza wrote: post #23

rick888 wrote: post #7

This still doesn't change the fact that piracy does hurt authors. The sad fact is that piracy is only getting worse. Even when you can get a song for 99 cents with no DRM or restrictions, music piracy is still rampant. I'm waiting for the next set of excuses. In '99, it was because music was too expensive and the artists were getting screwed (which is a funny excuse, because 1% of something is something, but 1% of 0…

Music piracy has always been rampant I can remember being a kid in the 70s and 80s and we all borrowed albums from friends and made copies on cassette tapes. Or at least all my friends did.... ;-)

I once had a polygraph interviewer tell me this exact same thing and "not to worry about small shit like piracy."

Re: Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate

#38

Post by wvenable » Mon, Dec 13, 2010, 5:34 PM UTC

WillyF wrote: post #9

hvs wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that wildlife is a limited resource that needs to be protected from poachers. It's only like piracy if you think there is an unlimited supply of wildlife that anyone should be able to take as they like.

As an avid fly fisherman, I completely agree; however, it's often very difficult for people to conceptualize that wildlife is a limited resource. How does my taking a fish that is a half inch under the limit really hurt anyone? What about an extra fish? Or fishing after dark when it's illegal? The negative effects are often extremely far removed from the initial act. That doesn't make it ok, but it does explain why m…

This is tragedy of the commons -- if one person does it, there is no real harm but if everyone does it then there will be no fish left for anyone. A lot of people can conceptualize this but many others rely on the fact that other people don't break the rules.

Music piracy is similar. Piracy works right now because there are enough people buying music and the margins are high enough that those legitimate buyers are supporting the pirates. Only at the point that creating music is unprofitable will piracy be affected (no more fish in the sea). I don't see that happening for a long time.

Re: Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate

#39

Post by pmichaud » Mon, Dec 13, 2010, 5:35 PM UTC

ewams wrote: post #35

markkat wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here. A file that can be copied infinite times without cost is not worth much. I put 2 years of work into a book that gets pirated all the time. I have no problem with it at all. I think we would be better off reevaluating business models rather than suffering the effects of trying to preserve out-dated ones.

What mediums do you two sell your books through?

Lots, but it's the PDFs that normally get copied.

Re: Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate

#40

Post by matwood » Mon, Dec 13, 2010, 5:35 PM UTC

pmichaud wrote: post #3

I sell e-books and they almost all get pirated. I don't care, I just focus on the people who want to pay for my stuff. No skin off my nose if they don't.

That's probably the best attitude to take since you can't ever stop the infringers. And if you do try to stop them you're only making it more complicated on the people who do want to buy your content.

I buy lots of ebooks and music and the key for me is making it easy to pay for (Amazon and ITMS are great for this). I don't want to jump through hoops to give you my money.

Contrast this with the movie industry who I think are setting themselves up in a way that's pushing infringement with all the rules around renting, buying, streaming, and NetFlix. For example, I see a commercial that a movie now 'in stores' so I check NF. If it's not there and I really want to see it, I'll check the iTunes and xbox marketplaces. When I can't find it there I wonder if they really want my money? They are pushing me to buy the movie, but I don't want to buy the movie I just want to rent it and see it once. I think they are pushing many potential renters to just torrent the movie because they have made it so hard to actually give them money. By this point I'm usually so fed up with looking for the movie I forget about watching it until it shows up on NF.