What is Digg?53 Comments
- bbatsell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+26It's not that citizens are too apathetic to write letters; it's that writing letters doesn't bring in $500,000 worth of soft-money contributions, whereas pandering to corporate America does.
- Anth, on 10/12/2007, -1/+27I've written my Senators (Harry Reid and John Ensign) about the illegal cartels of the RIAA and MPAA. You know what they told me? They're right and I'm wrong. They will continue to work hard to "protect copyright" (from their POV). I explained how they sign artists into unreasonable contracts, lock down their behavior with respect to the "art" and work to force consumers into buying content multiple times and the outright destrurction of fair use.
But no. I get very condescending letters telling me how important they are and how copyrighted material needs more protection now that ever before.
My friends, we have already lost the war. - dragoth, on 10/12/2007, -4/+28The author talks about artists "rising up" to attack the MPAA and RIAA, but he forgets that they can't... it's in their contract.
What we need is government oversight of the entertainment management industry. Yes, oversight of the MPAA and RIAA.
But it'll never happen. We're too apathetic to write our senators and congresspeople and tell them that we've had it up to here with this racketeering. =(
Prove me wrong?
+digg - MoeB, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4837609090332617729
- Arramol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23So you'd rather we be like China in that the common citizen is treated with fear and suspicion. Much better. Keep in mind that most of us here on Digg could easily break the DVD encryption if we wanted to, and yet a lot of us are still honest enough not to pull the illegal copying. We're just sick of getting pushed around for no legitimate reason. The piracy argument is overblown to the point of ridiculousness.
- breakneckridge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19"Don't copy that floppy!"
Does anyone remember that super lame rap that the software companies put out in the late 1980's with the black guy rapping to a couple of white kids "Don't copy that floppy!" Companies have been trying to stop content copying since as long as it's been possible. It didn't stop people then, it doesn't stop people now, and it won't stop people in the future. It's like the drug war; you can't win, you can't even make a dent, so if you want to have any effect you have to try something different! - Burns, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14So somehow not allowing us to copy DVDs and Cd's to our mp3 players is stopping large bootlegging rings from forming within America which creates actual selling of bootlegs on the streets.
- Bigcat1021, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14Contracts expire when fulfilled.
I've never understood, with digital content distribution easily done, why musicians haven't done away with the record companies. As a simple example, why wouldn't U2, a band guaranteed to sell millions with each release, cut the extra layer of the record label? - celerate, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Piracy is stopped when people decide not to pirate; companies are fighting a steep uphill battle trying to impose copy protection on their customers, and every step they take makes the hill even steeper. Forcing content protection on people only makes them hate you, and when they hate you they won't want to give you any money, and if they still want your product but don't want to give you money you may have very well just caused them to consider piracy. Companies that take a higher moral ground and decide not to put in some restrictive copy protection get in people's good side, and many people will even want to give money to that company in exchange for the product, just to reward them for treating their customers fairly.
In large part sales that are lost and gained have much to do with where you stand in the eyes of your current and potential customers. - DannyX0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Direct link to the podcast mp3:
http://server1.sxsw.com/2006/coverage/SXSW06.INT.20060313.FutureOfDarknets.mp3
enjoy :) (if you are still reading comments) - Chupatumama, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Bigcat wrote:
> As a simple example, why wouldn't U2, a band guaranteed to sell millions with
> each release, cut the extra layer of the record label?
Because U2 is the whats wrong with the industry: they ARE Clearchannel.
Who promotes their tours? Clearchannel.
Who is their booking agency? Clearchannel affiliate like Solo.
Who controls teh majority of music stations and what is played? Clearchannel.
Clearchannel is more responsible that the RIAA for the state of the music industry: a monopoly taht you can not go around if you want to play in arenas in the US and more and more in europe. They makes Microsoft seem generous.
Its a good point you make but your example had to be exposed because people believe PR press releases way too much. I had a friend once rip intro Clearchannel until I told them that Bozo was their biggest asset (its not music, its a commodity). Right away she switched into that "working from the inside" gargage.
The are groups who benefit from the status quo. the only problem is they are just a infinite fraction of music out there: the exceptions that prove the rule. Dont expect them to change the rules of the game because no one rocks the boat they are confortably sailing on. - acontorer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Outstanding headline of the week.
- avonej, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7"My friends, we have already lost the war."
On the contrary. Time and time again technology had proven to be a double edged sword. Digital Restrictions Management will be circumvented, and Peer 2 Peer network will only grow and evolve. There is no possible way a select group of lawyers and businessmen forming a cartel in American media distribution can keep up with the masses collective ability to exchange information with each other now that the Internet is here.
No, if any person with a will to learn and a decent DSL line can accumulate thousands of copyrighted novels, several hundred movies, over 100GB of music, and tens of thousands of video games in their spare time, the war is not lost. I'm not saying we shouldn't compensate artists for their work, but the industry must understand that people want to use the content they purchase in any way they please. It's merely an ironic twist of fate that NOT paying for content is fast becoming more convenient (read: no DRM & ability to format shift) than going the "legit" route.
No, these cartels are digging their own grave. It's only going to become easier to see straight through the propaganda and crippled media formats, even for the average non-geek. We haven't lost the war, there won't even be a battle. As long as they refuse to adapt to technological change, they are digging their own graves.
"Information doesn't want to be free, the law of supply and demand just dictates that it will eventually be free in a digital world." - topey, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9MPAA & RIAA... 2 dinosaurs about to go extinct...
- gxti, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Oh dear god, THE PAIN! (the memories come flooding back)
But yeah... it's not like anything they're doing is having much effect, they've basically been suing random people who had nothing to do with "piracy" and making asses of themselves. Eventually artists will get tired of it and find other means of distribution. It's not just probable, it is inevitable. - LinuxEvangelist, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I really like this story. It's not often that members of the MPAA or RIAA are available in a public setting like that. I imagine that stories like this one would be the result pretty much every time that occurs though. They are going to have to realize that their cries of theft and piracy are falling on deaf ears after all these years of thievery from them. How many times do I have to buy the same content over and over and over and over and over again? Despite throwing down 20 bucks for a CD or DVD I really haven't purchased anything except a promise to give them another unknown amount of money in the future if I want to continue to have access to that content. Monthly charges are probably the next step. And if they have their way it'll be through legislation and it'll come directly out of your check like Social Security or FICA. Your monthly subsidy to keep them going even though their purpose and usefulness in our society has long since run its course.
So it should be no surprise to them (the MPAA - or the RIAA for that matter) that people are developing a bad taste in their mouth for them. Keep ripping everyone off. It's not going to make you very popular. Instead of embracing new technology and finding ways to develop new markets (lesson: Apple) they choose to simply lean on legislation and lawyers and scare tactics to keep people rebuying the same old products over and over to keep the profits up. I can see that working for them for the short term but I can't see how that kind of plan will work out for them over time. - scotus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6i totally agree. bands no longer need multi-million dollar studios to produce albums in--quality music can be made with pro-tools on the cheap.
bands may still like the marketing muscle labels exercise. the cynical way to look at this is that the labels still engage in a lot of payola to get artists on the radio, which sells more albums. they also advertise in other ways for artists i guess. and studios probably have influence about getting CDs into shelves at record stores. maybe they have contracts with venues that make it easier to book artists even? in any event i think it's mostly about marketing.
A few bands just need to take the leap and reject major labels and try to do it on their own, selling online via online music stores or their own websites, and marketing themselves via blogs, music sites etc. in a few years maybe it will happen when the infrastructure online will be even better and CDs will be even less important. - mutedecho, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5What contract are they referring to? I don't remember signing anything when I purchased a DVD. They will never rule the information age. They're simply upset because their movies can and are pirated. But let us look at this little tidbit of information: If you ever watch E! entertainment or anything with entertainment news on it, you constantly hear about how these movies pull in MILLIONS of dollars on the FIRST WEEKEND that they are out. That's not counting the subsequent weekends that it is in the movie houses. Seriously, when is the last time you saw a movie star or producer director driving a beat up pinto. These people are already filthy rich. They're just being greedy is all. They're upset because now there is a way that they will not get every body's $7.00 for a movie ticket or $18.00 for a DVD movie. They're whining about how piracy is impacting them. It's BS. They're just greedy. They're not hurting as bad as they say. If they'd quit paying all these darn lawyers money to sue grandma and little Timmy for downloading a movie, they might be able to buy that third Ferrari. That is what I find is stupid. I know that there are people that pirate movies and music out there. But that's such a small percentage that it's not worth paying millions for lawyer fees, etc. to sue Grandma for $2000.00 for downloading a song off the internet and was not aware that it was legal. (or her kids/grand-kids/neighbors downloaded it on her computer. It is wrong. These people are not very smart.
- lane.montgomery, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5It is an election year isn't it? Put the questions about the MPAA and RIAA to them while they are running. Let them know you will not vote for some one who will continue to bow to pressure from the MPAA and RIAA and allow the erosion of your rights.
We all know politicians lie, but I would much rather have some one who has a grasp on the situation and disagrees with me in office, than some one who doesn't know squat about it. - Ignignokt01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Mods are perfect examples that prove that the reasons expressed in that video are *****: They make them for free, and enjoy doing it. Its not like nobody's going to buy good games, thats just ridiculous... the industry is so stupid.
- burke, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7if only. They have far too much money for that to happen. they basically own america.
- paulfarag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4As long as the media cartels continue to line the pockets of our "representatives", they'll remain in control. Considering it's almost impossible to find politicians to support that are in favor of real reform, the only real power left in the hands of the people is to stop buying the crap they market down our throats.
Support independent media! - TheReport, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"i totally agree. bands no longer need multi-million dollar studios to produce albums in--quality music can be made with pro-tools on the cheap."
They dont and alot of independent labels have sprung up from this realization, but as a musician myself people are still brainwashed to think that the only way to make it big in the music business is through Record Label assistance via a cash advance. Even bands from indpendent labels turn to larger ones caues they think the larger labels can broaden their audience with its marketing muscle, and sadly enough there are bands out there that on the RIAA's side alot of them just dont want to admit because if its serious reprecussions, Flashback to the Metallica incident. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Proud software, music and movie pirate!!!!! Dvd's are WAY overpriced. So are CD's and software. The MPAA RIAA and such are going to lose. Contrary to what they say, most people who download, wouldn't have paid money for it in the first place. The MPAA has no one to blame but themselves. The movie studios are putting out crap. Crap that I aint payin 12 bucks a ticket for. 12 bucks a ticket. Even if the movie was good. That's almost a half a case of beer!!!! To WATH A MOVIE!!!! Oh wait....it's no fun to see a movie alone. So it's at least 24 bucks. That's definately a case of beer or so!!! Screw the industry. Artists have said time and again that it's no biggie. They need to break from the industry, but sadly, it will take a new agency. One that will not make much profit at all. Their sole job would be getting the movies, music, or software into the stores so that retailers don't have to deal with a million independant artists. They don't have the time.
- jayf, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4The article was very articulate and void of BS.
Thank you! - geekologist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3To Quote NOFX - Dinosaurs Will Die:
"Kick back watch it crumble
See the drowning, watch the fall
I feel just terrible about it
That's sarcasm, let it burn"
"For all the years of hit and run
For all the piss broke bands on VH1
Where did all, their money go?
Don't we all know
Parasitic music industry
As it destroys itself
We'll show them how it's supposed to be" - StealthTomato, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3This has got to be the single greatest digg headline I've ever seen.
Oh, the fun to be had with four-letter-abbreviations... - ryanknapper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Cory Doctorow gave a great talk regarding DRM and Europe's proposal for a broadcast flag.
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail881.html - hammerattack, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5"What we need is government oversight of the entertainment management industry. Yes, oversight of the MPAA and RIAA."
Are you cracked? You're simply replacing one slow, inflexible, tyrannical overseer with one that has infinitely more power. Think son. Stop looking to big government to be your mommy and daddy. You empower the MPAA nad RIAA when you buy their product. So stop, and quit complaining. - breakneckridge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3OMFG!!! HAHAHAHAH! I never thought I was going to see that video again in my entire life! It's just as bad as I remember it. At least now I can enjoy it for the nostalgia. Thanks MoeB.
- Cerberus047, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I think people need to get it out of their head that PIRATING IS NOT STEALING it is copyright infringement
Did you know the song happy birthday is copyrighted... we are all sued!!
Plus no one mentioned that when buying a cd your entitled to a lisence not the hard media.. but with a lisence that means that if i break that cd i should get a new copy? riiiight, and since i dont that means i dont have a liscese and i can do what i please with it... but people if you do like a band go see them in concert!!! - JAC34, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Great article, nails it bang on.
Love this comment from Hubris too "The MPAA and RIAA keep claiming that there is no difference between the person who buys a DVD and rips it so he can put it on his pc, and the person mass-duplicating it for sales on street corners. They are wrong - one is fair use, the other is theft." - kokobaroko, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Not Found
The requested URL /video/rb/rb_sxsw_darknets.mov was not found on this server. - Chozabu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3man that vid is cool!
my main prob is with the guy relating copying to stealing, which is far worse!
IMO, the solution, is weak if any copy protection - and massivly reduced prices with an online distrobution system
im saying like 10p a song, and 50p a game
its what im gonna be doing once my games are good enough, and before then, i tihnk ill make the price an e-mail contacting me, donations welcome too though! - allenkt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2One way to look at it is just hold on. One day the congressmen and women currently in office will get old and die, and a younger, more tech-saavy generation will be in office. Then, perhaps, we will see some real change.
- Cykaos, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"The end of the computer age" hahahaha
I never saw that video but it's funny - Ratteler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"And that's really the problem, isn't it? There are these industries of middlemen - RIAA, MPAA - that claim to "protect artists" but what they're really protecting is themselves." - powazek
I just found my new forum Siggy. - baronvonrolo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Gah!! I could have been at SXSW this year on behalf of my college, but i wasn't 21, gutted. He does raise a good point about the people selling them on the streets over people just having them on their H/D just to sit and watch every now and then. +digg.
- boredzo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Nothing all that new in the article - digging it for the title alone. :D
- paul2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It's not piracy that the mpaa and riaa are trying to stop- it's the sharing between media that consumers are doing that they are trying to stop. A "pirate" will always pirate a movie, or a song, but a consumer that bought it once will usually buy it again if they have to. This was never about piracy, but ending consumer rights, forcing them to buy multiple formats of the same song/movie. piracy is just a loss that can be written off, but multiple format sales is new revenue.
- absurdist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"One way to look at it is just hold on. One day the congressmen and women currently in office will get old and die, and a younger, more tech-saavy generation will be in office. Then, perhaps, we will see some real change."
Oh yeah... of course. That's why weed is legal now, right? - Hubris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You didn't sign a contract, there is an EULA that you implicitly agree to by playing the media - I believe we normally look away while all the legal mumbo jumbo plays at the beginning of the DVD, but that's where it's stated. I believe that we should have fair use of the product and the EULA is rediculously-restrictive - but it does exist.
Also - simply the fact that a big movie makes millions is in no way justification for piracy. Good movies SHOULD make money for the people involved. Again, the legal issue we can discuss is whether the DRM, copy protection and legislation allow us to get what we pay for when we buy a dvd or music. As to piracy, illegal duplication and sales have always been illegal. Almost everyone knows its illegal, and many today don't care.
The MPAA and RIAA keep claiming that there is no difference between the person who buys a DVD and rips it so he can put it on his pc, and the person mass-duplicating it for sales on street corners. They are wrong - one is fair use, the other is theft. - HikariLink, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It looks like there's a series of anti-RIAA and anti-MPAA activities going on. Looks like that's what you get if you go all whiny to gain a couple extra million dollars added to your multibillion empire.
- Zeerus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1wow, this is the first story I've posted that made it to the front page, feels good. I agree with everything he's said, and I think the attendees were right to be biased against her, whatw ith all the problems lately with Piracy and anti-burning measures.
- Enderend, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The original article gets it right: the MPAA and RIAA are simply middle-men in an industry that is showing that it no longer needs middlemen. There was a time when artists needed payola and promotion to sell albums and movies needed billboards, commercials, and fast-food merchandise; but that time is quickly coming to an end. In a time of instant information and communication, people can use word of mouth and systems like digg, delicious, IM, and text to share with friends/family exactly what is worth their time and money. Artists can provide and distribute this media through existing means. iTunes is perfectly capable of selling independent artists directly if Apple would make the posting process easier. (This same principal could apply to any other online music store or subscription service as well). BitTorrent and the like can be used to distribute movies and "TV" shows with built in ads (like the ones that stay in the corner to tell you what channel you are watching). These movies and shows can come directly from the directors and their production companies.
I guess all I'm saying is this: we don't need a Recording Industry or a Movie Industry. We have artists with the means to create their art on their own and distribution systems to reach paying and non-paying customers. Let's drop the middle man. - deaxes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1thats easy to say, but what about the user who doesn't care for the DRM but wants the content. I may like a particular band, and I have no say over the DRM that the company uses. Thank god for the need for compatabiltiy with older, non-drm technology in music and movies. Games don't have such need for compatablity, so they can get away with DRM like Starforce, which you only hear about when it screws up your system. As people transition into newer technologies for music and movies (downloading, dvd, etc), it will be harder to get past the DRM, but its only a hack away. (DVD-Jon, Slysoft AnyDVD)
- Kolar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Is it just me or was almost everyone on that panel living in lala land? Sure while the MPAA is "educating people" and "making sure they know what is right and wrong" and while they actually get with the time on offering media content as fast as I can "steal" it: it might do some good to STOP SUING PEOPLE. It's that easy, if you want to be part of this new revolution of sorts without looking like an unnecessary, bloated and power hungry shadowy middle man of media work on revamping the system in a way that consumers will come accept and maybe some day prefer?
- tmornini, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4http://www.tunecore.com is flattening the playing field.
As for U2, the record labels made them who they are. - jovet, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2This article is a great read.
However... dragoth ... more government regulation? Don't we have enough of that? I think so.
Instead, the free market will settle the MPAA and RIAA. If there's a "contract" in purchasing a legitimate copy of a DVD, which I have never seen and others aren't familiar with...perhaps people should just stop buying them. :) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1oh wow, they are such meanies. That will show them.
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