New Approach to Fight Music Piracy Needed
Not a week goes by where we don't write one story that involves or mentions music piracy. To this day, it's the number one industry discussion topic. How do we curtail it? Are there any solutions? Today, I read one suggestion by Bobby Owsinski that was insightful and clever. Like anything, I'm sure there are a few perspectives on this that I haven't considered. Overall though, I think Owsinski makes a great point:
"To date the RIAA's approach to piracy was to punish the hell out of anyone caught indulging in illegal music downloading in order to make a nasty example that would deter all others from even thinking about participating in such a heinous crime. Didn't work, did it?
Let's try another technique instead. How about taking the same approach that countries often take when they catch a spy?
When a spy is caught they're given the option; come and work for us as a counterspy, or be prosecuted. What if the industry used the same mindset? Register with a music subscription service (assuming that a widespread subscription service is in place) for a minimum number of years (say, like 5), or be prosecuted.
I bet you already know which one everyone would take.
This way, you turn illegal file sharers into customers, you take the incentive out of illegal file sharing in the first place, and the artist, publisher, and labels get paid. Everyone wins." (Read On.)
What's your opinion?
Seems like a good idea but perhaps a little too late and therefore pointless. I think that entire industry has gone pas the critical point and there’s not much we can do stop so-called “illegal” music sharing. Better embrace it than fight it.
Then again it’s a cool idea and it would be interesting to see if it could work…
Government backed copyright enforcement via the ISP’s could end piracy in a minute.
The will to do so isn’t there. Too many voters love illegal music sharing and the ISP’s are making a fortune
@Tricky
Demanding that ISP become copyright cops is not the solution. There are serious 1st Amendment issues with this. Our judicial system can’t even get this right. Rough operations like DHS’s ICE do what they want with no oversight, ignoring due process. YouTube, with all the wisdom of Google at their disposal, cannot figure out what is infringing and what is not. You seemingly perfect solution of ISP as copyright cop is a pipe dream. And it would not end piracy. It would only drive it further underground. Time to think of a better solution. Companies need to take responsibility for their own business models and not go crying to the government.
They are modern day Robin Hoods, stealing from what they feel are the rich and sharing with the poor via file sharing sites. Pirates don’t share.
Incorporate them into part of the solution… as I stated here:Music Industry and Pirates
They are not “modern day Robin Hoods”, they simply understand that a file is not a “thing”. It’s a “virtual thing”. Most music “Robin Hoods” aren’t stealing something from someone and then re-distributing it (although, you could make that argument with bit torrent sites). They are copying vaporware and using it for themselves. It may have the same effect on the content creator because the public is no longer saddled with having to exchange money for a physical thing (cd, vinyl, dvd, etc.) in order to enjoy the virtual experience (music, film, etc.) but if we are going to figure out a solution, we need to frame this problem in a way that more closely resembles the truth. Let’s not pretend that “pirates” are gathering in some dark corner devising new and devious plans to stick it to “the Man”, when in reality, people just want to hear some music without paying for something they technically don’t or can’t own.
Pierre’s right. It’s a waste of time. Really, the right solution would be to give creators the right to charge or sue the website owner for distributing the content illegally and get it shut down for non-payment. The law is written in a way that absolves the service provider from properly vetting data stored on its site. It’s great for service providers but it’s a raw deal for content owners.