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In Defense of Piracy

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21–25 of 25 posts

Re: In Defense of Piracy

#21
post #5

At least this article tries to point out that there's a significant difference between "real" piracy and "who gives a damn" piracy. One of the biggest problems still remaining today is the fact that all the power is with the recording companies, at least when it comes to music; it's not with the people who actually created the work. Somehow, I doubt Prince would care that some baby is dancing to a grainy recording of…

> If the record and movie companies are failing it's because people have decided that their products aren't worthy of immediate purchase... then they download them and realize they're not worthy of purchase, period. It would be great if studios only produced great music and movies. Until now, a lot of crap has been produced knowingly because all they need is people going into theatres & music videos with scantily cla…

You bring up some good points (although a couple actual paragraphs would have been easier to read ;), but I have to personally disagree on the replay value of good movies. I own many movies that I have watched countless times; I recently had to buy Fight Club again because we watch it a few times a week and the DVD was just worn out. There are numerous other amazing films that I can't get enough of as well. I have no idea how many times I've watched The Shawshank Redemption, as another example. I own movies like Transformers not because they're perfect filmmaking, but because I like to relive my younger years sometimes.

In general I agree that music has far greater replay value. I think that's partially because it's something that can be enjoyed basically any time, anywhere. I can't think of the last time I worked in silence for more than a few minutes at a time. That being said, I do my best to "pay tribute" to quality media by purchasing it. I'm sure I own quite a few movies I haven't seen in years, but I bought them because they struck me as worth paying for.

Finally, I think at this stage piracy (well, quality piracy at least) is still something that Joe Public isn't savvy enough to pick up. By the time the people who pay to consume all the horrible media out there (like, 90% of the total), I would hope a sane and intelligent response to the piracy issue will have found its way to "Big Entertainment."

Re: In Defense of Piracy

#23
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If the record and movie companies are failing it's because people have decided that their products aren't worthy of immediate purchase... then they download them and realize they're not worthy of purchase, period. It would be great if studios only produced great music and movies. Until now, a lot of crap has been produced knowingly because all they need is people going into theatres & music videos with scantily cla…

You bring up some good points (although a couple actual paragraphs would have been easier to read ;), but I have to personally disagree on the replay value of good movies. I own many movies that I have watched countless times; I recently had to buy Fight Club again because we watch it a few times a week and the DVD was just worn out. There are numerous other amazing films that I can't get enough of as well. I have no…

Yeah sorry about the lack of paragraphs. I always get this nagging feeling that I need to add empty rows for.. clarity :)

You watch Fight Club several times per week?! I can't understand the motivation, but hey, people are different!

I've seen Fight Club exactly once, in a theatre, but there are movies I've seen many times, and will watch again. One such movie is Leon ("The Professional"). In case you haven't seen it, do yourself a favour.. It has to be the director's cut though.

> Finally, I think at this stage piracy (well, quality piracy at least) is still something that Joe Public isn't savvy enough to pick up.

Maybe, but many Joe Publics are already downloading movies much like you and I, and at least see some of the good stuff in there while looking for Saw XVII.

They might download quality entertainment by accident. Of course, they might just as well stop watching it too, when quality fails to keep their attention.

Anyways, Transformers was legendary for me too, and the movie was enjoyable, with some of the coolest 3D ever. I feared Michael Bay would just totally ruin it.

Re: In Defense of Piracy

#24
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You bring up some good points (although a couple actual paragraphs would have been easier to read ;), but I have to personally disagree on the replay value of good movies. I own many movies that I have watched countless times; I recently had to buy Fight Club again because we watch it a few times a week and the DVD was just worn out. There are numerous other amazing films that I can't get enough of as well. I have no…

Yeah sorry about the lack of paragraphs. I always get this nagging feeling that I need to add empty rows for.. clarity :) You watch Fight Club several times per week?! I can't understand the motivation, but hey, people are different! I've seen Fight Club exactly once, in a theatre, but there are movies I've seen many times, and will watch again. One such movie is Leon ("The Professional"). In case you haven't seen it…

Fight Club helps keep us grounded in a sense. As for Léon, it is an amazing film to be sure. Transformers I first saw on DVD after it had been released. Maybe it was due in part to my circumstances at the time, but it was somehow a profoundly surreal experience.

Re: In Defense of Piracy

#25

Buying albums doesn't support the talent - it supports the suits. Margin wise, artists make jack shit from albums. They make significantly higher cuts from touring, but even that isn't enough. I wish there was an easy way to donate to the bands directly. No TPS and no big labels taking 90%. Clean, easy, and direct. Tipjoy are you listening? :)

Music is ridiculously litigious, but we have plans for the space.

If you like, you can submit any band's site to Tipjoy right now, e.g. http://tipjoy.com/joy/90578/

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