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What the MPAA Still Isn't Telling Us

Posted by Zonk on from the be-nice-if-things-were-above-board-for-once dept.

Scott Jaschik writes "An essay at the Inside Higher Ed site looks at the fallout from the MPAA's admission that its statistics on college student downloading were seriously wrong. Among the questions: What is the MPAA still holding back? Why isn't the MPAA changing its position on legislation? 'Perhaps the MPAA's press release acknowledging its "300 percent error" will set the stage for new, less rancorous private and public discussions about P2P piracy. Colleges and universities respect copyright; colleges and universities are engaged in serious efforts to inform and educate students about the importance of copyright. And MPAA and RIAA officials ... should acknowledge, respect and strongly support the continuing efforts of campus officials to address copyright issues, in part by ending the public posturing that portrays colleges and universities as dens of digital piracy.'"

5 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Ummm by Amorymeltzer · · Score: 3, Informative

    Shouldn't it be the 200% error? The number they gave was 300% of the new one, but they were wrong by 200% in the same way that 110 is 110% of 100 but only 10% wrong.

    --
    I live in constant fear of the Coming of the Red Spiders.
  2. Redeeming features by Lilith's+Heart-shape · · Score: 2, Informative

    Sure, and Benito Mussolini got the trains to run on time. One doesn't earn forgiveness for a mountain of fuckups by doing a few things right.

    --

    I write sci-fi for metalheads

  3. Try Eastern Europe. by Lilith's+Heart-shape · · Score: 2, Informative

    Actually, I was thinking of Eastern Europe. Poland, the Czech and Slovakian Republics, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, etc. I'd suggest East Germany as well, but the reunified Germany has also slid into statism. Rome wasn't built in a day, and it wasn't brought down in a year. It takes time to build a tyranny, most of the groundwork is laid behind the scenes, and it takes time to tear one down as well. Hell, it took 70 years to bring down the Soviet Union.

    --

    I write sci-fi for metalheads

  4. A great man being George Creel? by IvyKing · · Score: 2, Informative
    What a lot of people don't realize is that Hitler's Minister of Propaganda had taken lessons from the Woodrow Wilson administration, especially George Creel. There were some incredible lies told to bolster support for WW1 in the US which were revealed in the 1920's, which was a major reason why the US public did not want to get involved in another European war.


    No insta-Godwin for you...

  5. Re:Please think of the recording artists by Noren · · Score: 4, Informative

    That's not QUITE true. The small number of artists who have been popular for a long time, with consistent sales, actually do make quite a bit of money from album sales. This is because they were in a position to renegotiate favorably with recording studios after the lengthy initial contract.

    Which is why long established bands like Metallica and U2 are the only musicians who care enough about piracy to speak out on it- they are the rare exceptions of musicians who actually are getting paid for album sales.

    See this Courney Love essay. (Yes, Courtney Love wrote an informative essay on the topic. Who knew?)