Slashdot Mirror
Korean Brothers Arrested For File-Sharing Site
HarlanC writes: "This story discusses the arrest of two Korean brothers who run a website [warning, page requires Korean language support] that allows peer-to-peer file sharing. Note that the Recording Industry Association of Korea reports local companies lost $154 million in sales in 2000 due to use of the program, even though sales increased to $31.5 million in total sales in 2000 from $29.2 million in 1999."
My provider, http://www.giganews.com, already has a "Click here to submit DMCA removal requests" button.
(Besides, I hate the thought of using Usenet to distribute large binary files. Physically copying huge blocks of data all over the planet is just not the right way to do it. Sure, it works, but it's still a ridiculous waste of bandwidth and storage.)
Dahlmann tightly grips the knife, which he may have no idea how to use, and steps out into the plain.
Now I don't mean to get off on a rant, but...
Someone remind me how the RIAA can charge $15 per CD, get $14 of that, and say that they aren't getting enough money? What about the artists, man?! I'd hope that they deserve something. I mean, god forbid that the RIAA would ever have to lose any of their precious, precious money. What are they even managing to spend it on that they need it so badly? That'd be an interesting story: Where The Money Goes: A VH1 Exclusive Look At The Lives Of Record Company Executives.
The most pathetic thing is they don't realize that by trying to squeeze every last dime out of the market they're pissing more and more people off and, in effect, endorsing the P2P transferring.
While I think the RIAA should crash'n'burn, at the same time, some things I agree with them on. Downloading entire albums should not happen (support artists!), but unfortunately human instincts are to Cheat, to Lie, and to Steal (and the artists don't get much, anyway). I mean, can anyone honestly say that they haven't ever been tempted to cheat on a test, or that they haven't ever lied to get out of something, or ever wanted to steal something so they wouldn't have to pay outrageous prices (see: Adobe, heh). No, I didn't think so.
I seem to have gotten a bit off track. I think that someone (or some people) should start a new music union. Fuck if I know how it'd manage to grow, but I think that if there was something like that that would give more money to the artists, charge less for CDs, and, most importantly, not combat P2P sharing but support it, the world would be a better place.
"Don't you hate pants?
I hope he tells us to burn our pants."
[insert witty comment here]
Try http://www.soribada.com if you want to see the site mentioned int he article.
So, do you refuse to listen to music now, since nobody "lets" you steal it, or do you just go and say, "Well, if I couldn't steal it, then I wouldn't listen to it..."
Fortunately, it's currently not difficult to "steal" the music I want to evaluate. The real problem is the threatened demise of private Internet streaming; that's where I usually become aware of new stuff.
My usual pattern has been:
1) Hear one song on MPEGRadio that sounds cool. Portishead's "Glory Box," to cite a real-life instance. That song was six years old when I heard it for the first time; I'm damned sure not going to stumble across it on eMpTyV or what passes for Top-40 radio ("All Britney, All The Time") these days.
2) Go to Napster/BearShare/whatever. Download every track by (again, e.g.) Portishead I can find. Say to myself, "Self, this r0x0rs."
3) Go to Amazon and start whaling on their Patented One-Click(tm) Button.
4) Go back to Napster and search the drives of people who had the good Portishead stuff, looking for similar music to "steal."
5) Discover Morcheeba, Lamb, Hooverphonic, Massive Attack, et al. Go back to step 3 above.
The problem I have is, if the RIAA actually does manage to shut down the streaming servers and the many heirs to Napster's throne, I will have no way to find new cool stuff to buy. I don't hang out in smoke-filled clubs, and at any rate, the examples I mentioned above probably haven't been played in clubs for years. The RIAA will have inconvenienced me, but what will really have happened is they'll have shot themselves in their collective feet, along with the artists they represent. No "stealing," no revenue. It really is that simple.
I can't speak for the "cheap" losers you refer to who make it a point of (dis)honor to use MP3 servers to avoid paying for music they enjoy. I'm not one of them; I don't know any of them; and frankly, I'm not sure they even exist in numbers large enough to warrant the RIAA's concern.
Dahlmann tightly grips the knife, which he may have no idea how to use, and steps out into the plain.
The article doesn't cite any sources. It seems there was a failure to communicate. This page is apparently based on the same sources, but has slightly different figures:
Alleged lost sales: 200 billion won ($152 M)
2000 sales: 410 billion won ($312 M)
1999 sales: 380 billion won ($289 M)
Presumably you can find this information on their official website, but it seems to be in Korean. In any case, it seems that in the article a decimal point has been slipped in by mistake, makeing a ridiculous claim into an apparently outrageous one.
Oh, and if anyone cares, their homepage is here: http://www.riak.or.kr/
(Don't worry, that is not a link to a particularly disgusting webpage which is found here: http://goatse.cx
I suggest reading the article located here which contains the more believable numbers
the industry says album sales in South Korea totaled $315 million in 2000, up from $292 million the previous year. .
This comment was generated by a Squadron of Ultra Ninjas