http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122966038836021137.html
According to the Wall Street Journal article above: "The decision represents an abrupt shift of strategy for the industry, which has opened legal proceedings against about 35,000 people since 2003. Critics say the legal offensive ultimately did little to stem the tide of illegally downloaded music. And it created a public-relations disaster for the industry, whose lawsuits targeted, among others, several single mothers, a dead person and a 13-year-old girl."
I assume that the lawyers are still trying to collect from the dead person . . .
I heard this on Buzz Out Loud yesterday. The whole thing has been a disaster for them. The next step is the movie industry...they haven't had quite the same issues since movie files are so much larger, but they will as more people get higher speed connections.
ReplyDeleteThey have just started to try to catch people who download illegally here. Most dont believe it will do anything to stop it. There is even a political party here called the pirate party (as in pirating music and movies) that are fighting them trying to prosecute anyone who downloads.
ReplyDeleteI find it a tricky situation. I understand that it's a great way to find new artists, but it doesnt feel all the right to download something for free. The artist has a right to be paid.. Mind you many have more money than they know what to do with but I'm thinking of the newer artists, the ones that dont have a gold plated toilet yet.
I wonder how many times they were told by a judge to get the hell out of my court room.....especially when the defendant was dead.
ReplyDeleteThey only stopped because Congress is giving them a bailout.
ReplyDeleteWhy Not,you are right,it is a tricky situation. I own a large music collection much of it obtained "illegaly". I have recorded music off of friends collections,burned CD's from the library,and yes,downloaded some stuff.
ReplyDeleteMusic collecting is expensive. The average price of a CD is about $13. To upgrade my collection and keep up with the new stuff is very costly.
An artist may get a buck or two off of every CD sold. The rest of it goes to advertising,production costs,shipping,packaging,fees,and yada,yada. Somewhere along the line,somebody is making profit off of somebody's creation. To me,that isn't right.
I'll go out of my way to buy a CD from an artist that I'm most loyal too. The other stuff,I'm going the cheaper route,especially those CD's with a couple of good tunes on them.
I've also make very good use of the public library. I agree with drew. You wouldn't mind supporting the musicians if they were paid reasonably.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is, as in most working situations, the people who do the hardest work, get paid the least.