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Putting Canadian Piracy in Perspective
An anonymous reader writes "Over the past year Slashdot has pointed to many industry claims and governmental pressure over Canada piracy issues. Canadian law prof Michael Geist has produced Putting Canadian 'Piracy' in Perspective, a video that demonstrates how the claims are hugely exaggerated. For example, it shows how despite the MPAA's claim of movie piracy, Canada was the industry's fastest growing market last year. Similarly, while the recording industry says Canada is the world's top P2P country, the data shows that the Canadian music industry is experiencing record gains and that most of the decline from the major labels is due to retail pricing pressures."
Finally, we have proof. Ok, not really proof, but here's some data to back up what we've been saying all along. Piracy is not the opposite of a healthy media marketplace. It actually helps to improve the market place. Piracy gives people better access to media that they would otherwise not get to see. They see it, and sometimes buy a legitimate copy. Many times they don't buy a legit copy, but if they never knew about it in the first place, then you can guarantee that they aren't going to buy it.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
It might be lying or it might be delusion, it's probably both. The music giants are falling, but they don't understand why. They got rich running things a certain way, and they are still running things that way, but now they are losing money. They are desperate to find a reason for this that still allows for their huge paychecks. If they could charge $25 for a CD in 1997 why are people saying that's overpriced in 2007? It must be the pirates. if they aren't stealing the music why do they care if it's copy protected? They must be pirates.
We are all just people.
Sorry if they have an outdated business model, but that doesn't mean people aren't buying the music and movies. Most people I know get their music from either iTunes or from Amazon or other online stores. It's much easier and often cheaper to get the stuff online. STRM closed because they have no more image with the young people of today. Their stores are few and far between, and they don't advertise to the people or even attempt to have their name known. HMV on the other hand has stores on every street corner, and has partnered with Amazon to give themselves a name in the online business. STRM failed to adapt and that is why they are closed, not because people aren't buying music.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Selling media content on little plastic discs is obsolete and as such is a shrinking industry. When the pond gets smaller the fish must ether get smaller or some fish must die. That is just life.
Look what happened when computers with word processing software made typewriters obsolete. Should we have had our governments spend millions to prop up the Smith Coronas and Olivettis and Underwoods and enact legislation to restrict the use and functionality of word processing software, or put a tax on computer software to fund concessions for ailing typewriter companies? Of course not, that's a stupid idea and very backward thinking.
That is why Sam died--the "selling plastic discs with music on them" pond is slowly shrinking and Sam was a big old fish set in his ways. Other fish in the pond like HMV ate too much of Sam's food and Sam starved to death. That's just life. Some of those little fish will live on, eking out a modest existence in a little puddle and other fish will evolve into amphibians and hop into another bigger pond with fresher water.
The thing is, things in Canada ARE very rosy indeed relative to our southern neighbours. Our economy is more robust at the moment and demand for media content is obviously strong enough to support some kind of healthy music industry--it's just going to look different. Yes, Sam was an icon of sorts and it's never nice to see an old friend die...but it happened to other old names like Eaton's and the sky didn't fall.
The record and movie industry in my view in their attempt to control "all culture" at the same time have basically been shooting themselves in the foot. Im a perfect example, I dont have time to listen to the radio anymore so I download podcasts then listen to them when I get the time. Thhe media companies have restricted music to such a degree on podcasts that I now dont have a clue what the latest music trends are. If your name or brand or your product isnt being hear or seen by the consumers your dead in the water. Im not surprised in any way that P2P downloads increase music sales because often people dont want to take a chance on a unknown band and fork out the inflated price for CD without some pre existing listening time.
I prefer the dream where the Prime Minister punches a reporter in the face and breaks his camera and the whole country cheers!
Wait... that really did happen. Man Canada is such a cool place!
I thought Canadians were already paying media tax on blank media (cdr, hard drives, etc) to make up for piracy. In that case, you should be able to pirate in Canada. Otherwise, CRIAA is just making money off you for no reason.
The reason stores like Sam go out of business is because people aren't interested in paying insane prices for albums of mostly songs they will never listen to repeatedly. The old CD and Album model is out of date, and some stores that absolutely refuse to adapt are going to suffer as a result. The fact that in the face of competition Sam the Record Man couldn't compete has nothing to do with Piracy.
Competition from online sales is not a piracy issue you cretin.
- London/dp/B00004YTY2
Absolutely true. The prices for music has continued to skyrocket in spite of competition for the entertainment dollar.
I graduated HS in 1975. I bought a few records, but very few because they were expensive. There are many things
to spend entertainment dollars on now besides a few records (CD's now) that didn't exist then. I do spend my money on these items instead of CD's.
1 Internet access
2 DVD's Sometimes 4 for $20!
3 Games, Game PC's & Upgrades E6700 Core 2 Duo Woo Hoo
4 High priced gas from 50 cents to 3 dollars
5 Day admission to State and Fedral Parks Now $5/day was free
6 MP3 player No longer stuck with radio station commercials all day
7 Camcorder
8 Digital Camera
9 Photo printer
10 GPS and associated Maps
11 Nice car
Somehow the music industry thinks their slice of my entertainment dollar won't shrink if they raise prices to cover lower sales volume? They added DRM & copy protection to make the product more valuable to me so I'll run
right out and buy a copy?? Yea Right!! DRM and copy protection reduces the value of their product. If I can't
load it on my media server to put on my MP3 player or stream in the house, I can't use their version of the CD. I look elsewhere. DRM increases piracy as the legit product doesn't work.
The only movie I have ever downloaded on P-P is Open Season. That was until I found I could call them and get a replacement DVD for my defective by design one. The extra copy protection is why I went elsewhere to load it on
the media server for the kids.
I was in Wal-Mart a few weeks ago. Just for grins I looked for Phantom of the Opera. I have heard many dirivative works including MIDI files and Karaoke files and decided to check it out. The CD for just the music in the US is over $30.. What are they smoking?
http://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Opera-Original-1986
List price 37.98
In a nutshell, I bought Fiddler on the Roof DVD and Sound of Music DVD and Sister Act DVD instead with about the same money.
The truth shall set you free!
>Similarly, while the recording industry says Canada is the world's top P2P country
Since I paid those starving musician wages when I purchased blank cd's to backup my photos and my server data I sure as hell will be downloading LEGALY all the music I find worth downloading.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
Yup I think that's very true. I know I get tired of mainstream music after hearing the song on the radio 10 times I'm sick of it - no need to buy it or bother to download. Good indy music I'm willing to pay for and support the little guy.
Website Just Down For Me? Find out
Is he talking about:
A) "the truth" as told by the movie getting in the way of the **AA's accusations?
B) "the truth" as told by the **AA getting in the way of the movie's accusations?
Since when did vague, contextless comments count as +1 Interesting?
And by contextless I mean, 'what truth' and 'what facts support it'.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
You could easily blame the demise of STRM to places like Futureshop (Best Buy) who sell CDs for $10 just to get people into the store to wander around in front of huge markup items like TVs. There is a niche record store in Vancouver who specialize in classical music and they are doing extremely well. If you are STRM and think you can compete on PRICE with the big local merchants you are delusional.
Slavery was once perfectly legal in the US. Not that I'm comparing slavery to indefinite extension of copyright terms ; I'm pointing out that just because its a law does not mean its a just or fair law that should be supported. Rosa Parks is another example where an unjust law was challenged and eventually defeated by public flouting of it.
A lot of folks here could benefit from a realistic and balanced discussion that properly respects the right of others to protect their property...
Thats your mistake right there. Copyrighted material is not property. No matter how many times people like you say 'intellectual property' it doesn't make it true. Copyrighted works are in the public domain* - its just that for a limited time, in order to get more material into the public domain, authors are supposed to have a limited exclusive time of distribution. Its NOT ownership of property, it never was - ideas, stories, music, cannot be owned - it belongs to all in the public domain.
This idea is being lost. Its time we restored it, banished the fiction of 'intellectual property', got rid of copyright altogether and looked to a different method of promoting progress in science and the useful arts. And you say 'china' like its a bad thing. I see china, where copyrighted works are used and shared by all for minimal cost, benefiting the society and users rather than big corporations and I see a good thing much closer to the original copyright ideals than our current twisted approach in the west of lock it up, deny it to the public and keep it hidden.
How much music has re-entered the public domain since copyright began? How much instead has been locked up, mouldering away in vaults? How much has passed several release dates, only for copyright duration to be extended again, and again, and again keeping it locked away? The public is being stolen from. Its time we took it back.
*the reason all this material is in the public domain by default is for one main reason; free speech. You can't prevent someone repeating or sharing an idea, story, music etc because they have a free speech right to do so. Sharing flames with tapers etc. Copyright temporarily removes that free speech right, in order to reward authors sharing their material with a short period of exclusivity before it returns to the public domain covered by free speech. Current copyright approach ignores this entirely, and effectively will extend copyright duration forever, thus eliminating the whole point of copyright, that of a full and healthy public domain of material freely shared and built on in new works. BSD (and to some extent GPL) software is much closer to the original plan of copyright than closed commercial software development.
Remember kids, it's all fun and games until someone commits wholesale galactic genocide.
You're missing the point I think. What you're seeing is the AAs trying to affect Canadian federal policy, and that's dangerous. You know how people keep talking about corrupt governments all over the world? Well guess what, a lot of that is because they get corporate donations in exchange for favorable policy on doing business in that country, and the governments will bend over backwards for the benefactors at the expense of their own citizens. As a Canadian, I don't really want a corporate entity to dictate our laws. This "You need to change or else" attitude should be replied to with a nice moon and a wave.
You also forget (in your post) that we actually already are a socialist nation (note to commie bashers: that doesn't mean we're communist!). You even see Canadian artists talking out against our government listening to the AAs, it's just plain ridiculous. As for your flogging of the software developers, there are two distinct views:
If you make consumer software, you just have to accept that it's part of doing business, sorry to burst your idealistic bubble. You can go some distance to combat it (e.g., online games where each numbered client talks back to the server and needs to be granted access), but in the end lots of them get hacked. As for corporate software, a big part of corporate licensing includes support. At my old company, selling the RIS/PACS systems we built was just the start of the business; and anyways, it wasn't like the general public was going to be interested in a scalable RIS/PACS system. At my current company, we give the software away 'free' with our hardware, even though we know that one of our biggest differentiators to our competitors is that software; people choose us based on it.
I don't want a corporation to dictate the laws of my country. "It's a crime though!" Well, nobody ever died from a mp3 (unless you were unfortunate enough to use an iPod in a thunderstorm) or software piracy (unless you count Die Hard 4