Except of course those who spent time to write the music, bought instruments on which to play it on, payed to have it recorded, payed to have it mixed, and payed
to have it mastered. How are they benefiting from this free flow of information?
The stock answer to that question is: They are expanding their audience
The real question is: Are artists harmed by this free flow of information?
To my knowledge nobody has produced any evidence of a downturn in the music industry. I seem to recall the riaa trumpetting some study showing a downturn in sales around University campuses awhile back but beyond that... most of the studies I have seen have shown that the record industry is still going strong. One would think that if Napster users were going to stop buying music that the loss of 50,000,000 customers would have had some affect on the industries bottom line by now.
The history of the enterprise during the Nazi era has been under investigation since early 1999 by an Independent Historic Commission under the chairmanship of the renowned historian Saul Friedländer (author of the book "Nazi Germany and the Jews"). The results will be documented in a public report as soon as the investigation is concluded.
Does anyone know anything about this company's history during the Nazi era in Germany?
Hitler - with his minority of the popular vote in Germany would have never been able to maintain power without the support and cooperation of German business. Hitler's Germany tried to slaughter every jew and gypsy in Europe and started a world war that enveloped all of Europe, most of Asia, and North Africa. Citizens from current and former European colonies from every corner of the world fought and died and killed. Much of France, Germany, and Holland were flattened (Rotterdam).
National Socialists brought hell to the world.
They have, in the view of many, pissed away their right to freedom of speech - they have shown that speech can, in fact, be dangerous and they had been experiencing a resurgence of popularity in some parts of Europe. Europeans don't want them back and both "the mob" and "big business" have proven that they are not up to the task of keeping nazism at bay in Europe.
Against this backdrop it is up to the technocrats and politicians to pass whatever legislation they can to make it difficult for the Nazis to publicize their ideas (in the process threatening Germanys minoritys)and do the best that they can to enforce it. It is up to the Germans to decide whether or not they want this material freely available. If they don't want it banned. Germans are not shy about making their political views known and going out and voting, demonstrating (or rioting).
While Martin Niemoller's "In Germany they first came for the Communists...." quote is lovely. The world is not black and white. Different situations call for different measures. The fact is that if they had come for the National Socialists in the early days they could have saved Germany and the world a lot of trouble.
Kiddy porn is not only illegal because kids get hurt in its manufacture (if that was the case a lot of other things would be illegal). It is illegal because it is a "thought crime" a taboo that just about everyone has decided that society can do without. Nazism has earned itself a spot next to "kiddy porn" as a "thought crime".
It has also earned it's place in Germany's national "killfile". Who are we to demand they remove it?
Slashdot Mirror
"You've Got Mail" is about the worst example possible considering that it was made by Warner Brothers. You know.. as in Time-Warner-AOL
The stock answer to that question is: They are expanding their audience
The real question is: Are artists harmed by this free flow of information?
To my knowledge nobody has produced any evidence of a downturn in the music industry. I seem to recall the riaa trumpetting some study showing a downturn in sales around University campuses awhile back but beyond that... most of the studies I have seen have shown that the record industry is still going strong. One would think that if Napster users were going to stop buying music that the loss of 50,000,000 customers would have had some affect on the industries bottom line by now.
From Bertelsmann's web site:
Does anyone know anything about this company's history during the Nazi era in Germany?
Hitler - with his minority of the popular vote in Germany would have never been able to maintain power without the support and cooperation of German business. Hitler's Germany tried to slaughter every jew and gypsy in Europe and started a world war that enveloped all of Europe, most of Asia, and North Africa. Citizens from current and former European colonies from every corner of the world fought and died and killed. Much of France, Germany, and Holland were flattened (Rotterdam).
National Socialists brought hell to the world. They have, in the view of many, pissed away their right to freedom of speech - they have shown that speech can, in fact, be dangerous and they had been experiencing a resurgence of popularity in some parts of Europe. Europeans don't want them back and both "the mob" and "big business" have proven that they are not up to the task of keeping nazism at bay in Europe.
Against this backdrop it is up to the technocrats and politicians to pass whatever legislation they can to make it difficult for the Nazis to publicize their ideas (in the process threatening Germanys minoritys)and do the best that they can to enforce it. It is up to the Germans to decide whether or not they want this material freely available. If they don't want it banned. Germans are not shy about making their political views known and going out and voting, demonstrating (or rioting).
While Martin Niemoller's "In Germany they first came for the Communists...." quote is lovely. The world is not black and white. Different situations call for different measures. The fact is that if they had come for the National Socialists in the early days they could have saved Germany and the world a lot of trouble.
Kiddy porn is not only illegal because kids get hurt in its manufacture (if that was the case a lot of other things would be illegal). It is illegal because it is a "thought crime" a taboo that just about everyone has decided that society can do without. Nazism has earned itself a spot next to "kiddy porn" as a "thought crime".
It has also earned it's place in Germany's national "killfile". Who are we to demand they remove it?