tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991145.post6843501113698331781..comments2023-10-09T09:11:58.065+00:00Comments on Ben's Blog: God loves a cheerful giverBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152545728675983286noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991145.post-33389369382928076702010-03-23T21:43:10.954+00:002010-03-23T21:43:10.954+00:00Good point about piracy vs theft - it doesn't ...Good point about piracy vs theft - it doesn't actively make someone poorer, even if it withholds money that is arguably theirs. I will read Lessig's book with interest.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02152545728675983286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991145.post-69308645507497089162010-03-23T17:41:09.176+00:002010-03-23T17:41:09.176+00:00A widely-accepted position (in my circles, at leas...A widely-accepted position (in my circles, at least) is that digital piracy - copying of electronically stored music, films, books, games without the copyright holder's consent - isn't the same as theft, principally because the victim's possessions remain unchanged. Causing lost sales, financially damaging though they may be, is not the same as taking a physical object from someone's possession. Piracy may be a crime, but it isn't theft any more than it's arson.<br /><br />Regarding the give-it-away-and-live-on-the-merch approach: <i>Ghosts I-IV</i> (NIN) and <i>In Rainbows</i> both did very well, but the novelty effect would wear off with widescale adoption, plus both bands were already famous. Unsigned bands love free for the exposure but the middleground is unlikely to benefit, with too few hardcore fans to buy limited editions and less need for wide distribution. Again, a common ideal is to give away the music online and sell the merch (gig tickets, shirts, vinyls) but the startup money is an issue. In Scotland the Gov't funds them...<br /><br />Anyway, the 'cure' for filesharing (or, at least, the cure for non-anonymised, public, uncloaked filesharing) is, if the DMCA / DEB are anything to go by, MUCH worse than the 'disease'.<br /><br />I strongly recommend <i>Free Culture</i>, by Lawrence Lessig (if you don't mind reading ebooks). Copyright doesn't work the way I used to think it worked. http://www.free-culture.cc/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com