torrentfreak.com — The RIAA has responded to The Pirate Bay's decision to change its domain name from .org to .se. The torrent site made the switch to prevent a seizure by US authorities, and according to the music industry group this is a clear indication that tougher laws are needed to deal with
Feb 17, 2012 View in Crawl 4
quadeFeb 17, 2012
Dear RIAA,
In point of fact, I do believe that Hitler, Stalin, or Mao may actually be the "worst of the worst". On the scale of things, The Pirate Bay doesn't even rank a bin Laden or a Tiananmen Square massacre.
Also, I'd like to point out that a profit of $2 billion when you had hoped to make $10 billion is not actually a loss of $8 billion.
FOAD,
Everyone.
murxFeb 19, 2012
PirateBay can't be worst - they never sued the dead, the deaf, the children (think about the children!!) or those too old...
The RIAA is far up ahead of the PirateBay at the 'worst' scale...
icwydFeb 17, 2012
Just because someone downloaded it doesn't mean that they would have bought it.
concusionFeb 17, 2012
I would say that this is the majority of pirating right here. People who can afford to buy stuff are not going to take the risk of stealing a dvd or a video game.
amnesia10Feb 17, 2012
Stealing is physically depriving permanently. Downloading is copyright infringement, so not theft, no matter how many times the RIAA call it theft.
Downloaders are also the biggest buyers of content as well. Think of it as a try before you buy. You might download "Norbit" but would never buy it, because it is crap. I found that Youtube is now my biggest source of new music and then I buy the CD, if I like the tracks. Some use Piratebay or some other method.
The real losers are the counterfeiters who flood markets with cheap DVD's with movies and music that are depriving the media industry of revenue from people actually willing to pay. In fact downloading is probably destroying the counterfeiters more effectively than the efforts of trading standards and the police.
inajeepFeb 17, 2012
I agree mostly but I don't agree with you on the downloaders are the biggest buyers myth. However, I fit the myth but I find that mainly you either pirate a lot or not much at all.
The pirates I know have libraries, servers and a trading system. They aren't buying anything.
Graf_OrlockFeb 18, 2012
" They aren't buying anything."
Except hardware. Lots and lots of hardware.
amnesia10Feb 18, 2012
But those people are highly unlikely to pay anyway. There are always people who will try and get everything for free.
PanjeeFeb 17, 2012
Stealing a video game... or sharing ones and zeros?
brennjohnson1Feb 17, 2012
The RIAA can eat a dick.
murxFeb 19, 2012
No, they can download dick...
riverstyxFeb 17, 2012
I'd say they're the best at what they do, considering they haven't been able to take the site offline, despite all the heat the RIAA/MPAA brings onto them.
But go ahead, keep giving them free advertisement =)
al3efromanFeb 17, 2012
FTA - "Responsible leaders in the tech community should come to the table with constructive ideas and work with us and others to address this blatant theft before more damage is done to our economy and the creative community."
This right here is such a huge part of their problem. It is not up to "responsible leaders of the tech community" to do anything for you, especially when you sue the moment anyone innovates. If the RIAA are serious, their members should hire some serious tech visionaries and pay them for their work. This is, otherwise, no more than the whining of a petulant child.
rogue100Feb 17, 2012
RIAA needs to die already.
jphrFeb 17, 2012
The back lash from SOPA/PIPA and that despicable ACTA is mounting. The open threat of Dodd of the MPAA to retract campaign funding was quite telling in its arrogance and considering himself to be able to utter such treats with impunity. Pity that the White House refused to act on the petition to investigate Dodd.
By now ACTA seems dead in the water.However the pendulum is really swinging back:
Within the EU the obscene duration of rights for creative works of some 70 years (compare that to only twelve for pharmaceuticals) is getting increased attention. Do expect some changes there.
The content industry's arrogance fed by both the US legal framework and the US corrupted political system was well underway with ACTA to extend the US approach to the rest of the world. In the end they have overplayed their hand by trying to put their interest before other interest of the public and society. As a consequence their rights will have to reflect a more proper compromise between awarding a creator and the interest of having this in the public domain. EU commissioners have already made such statements.
Graf_OrlockFeb 18, 2012
"Pity that the White House refused to act on the petition to investigate Dodd."
Not much of a surprise. What would have been a surprise would be if they *had* acted on it, as that would give some hope that not everyone in the upper echelons of government had been bought and paid for.
Closed AccountFeb 17, 2012
Worst at the worst of what? Spelling or Sailing?
scienceguy1977Feb 17, 2012
Can't stop the signal!!
darkwater37Feb 18, 2012
I think the title should be reversed on who is the worst of the worst
Them and the MPAA
parasangerFeb 17, 2012
I was never that fond of PB as a torrent site, but hats off for their F.U. to most everyone against them.
jerroldsFeb 17, 2012
You cant keep changing the laws when you don't think its working for your agenda you pieces of s**t.
GTFO RIAA
paula1849Feb 18, 2012
Dear RIAA,
I am a goody two shoes. I admit it. I follow the rules. However, you make my life so difficult. When I legally purchase items, I have to go through all kinds of issues for DRM and heaven forbid I want to load them or share them on another device that I own.You make billions while crying poverty and don't take the time to learn new technology or trends on how people like me use media.
So thanks for turning me onto the Pirate Bay, I never would have found them if it wasn't for you!
PS. Perhaps if you weren't such dicks about things, less people would turn to them. Just saying.
JS76Feb 18, 2012
Just so we're clear, you want to buy something but don't like the way it's being sold, so you steal it?
You may self-identify as a "goody two shoes", but your actions don't reflect that. You have the option to get the music legally or not, you choose not to, then you steal it. You don't have some inherent right to own music - you can buy it legally or not. Not liking the ways they sell the music doesn't give you the right to take it for free.
That's like saying "I don't like how much they charge for movies at the local theatre or that they make me sit in uncomfortable seats, so I sneak in and watch them for free".
paula1849Feb 18, 2012
When I buy a book, I can take it wherever I want, lend it out, sell it if I want. If I buy a cd, which I used to do a lot, I can rip it and play it on lots of different devices.
When I can I try and support the artist directly. I have had friends share music with me or physically lend me movies and because I liked them I bought more products from the artist.
But just so we're clear, we have an industry that is making billions that is going after grandmothers and acting like total dicks, like adding malware to a Mareah Carry cd.
And just so we're clear I am probably one of the Pirate Bay members who has never downloaded anything because I am a goody two shoes, but I support them and their actions.
If the RIAA wasn't so evil, I wouldn't.
It is like saying "I don't like how much they charge for movies at the local theater or that they make me sit in uncomfortable seats and they are ripping me off so badly that I go home."
JS76Feb 21, 2012
I don't disagree at all that the RIAA are being giant dicks about a lot of things. That doesn't change that their artists and constituent members have the right to sell you things the way they want to. They choose to sell licenses, that's their preferred method. It doesn't make it right, and I fully support not buying from them. However, that doesn't give you the right to take it for free either.
The logical assumption that many people make is that since the RIAA members offer no good way to buy and own your music, people have a right to go get it somewhere else. That's just not true. We have a right not to buy from them, which we absolutely should exercise and encourage more people to exercise, but we don't have a right to steal.
paula1849Feb 21, 2012
We sort of agree or at least have common ground.
I go way out of my way to find the artist and see if I can't support them directly. Because as I see it, part of the problem is that the artist is getting screwed too.
Elvis Costello recently told his fans (I am a big one!) to pirate a compilation of his hits because he disagreed on the price and the industry refused to do anything about it.
For the most part I do use my purchasing power as an extension of my beliefs. Sometimes that is not an option for everyone. Choices are either pay full price and support the continued dickness, not get the product, or pirate.
While what the RIAA is doing may not technically be illegal, perhaps it should be. However right now they have the money to buy the rules. Therefore Pirate Bay has my support if not my files.
JS76Feb 21, 2012
I definitely support your support of artists. However, I think even they are misguided at times. Elvis Costello may tell fans to pirate his work, but that's at no cost to him - some record label already paid him his money. In other words, the record label gave him cash to make the record or paid him handsomely for the rights, then he told his fans to screw over the people who paid him. If he's giving away a record he is distributing himself, a la Radiohead, fantastic and great for him. If he's telling fans to steal a record that he already got paid for, that's not altruism, that's just being a dick to the people who helped him become rich for his work.
I don't think it's a matter of buying the rules, I think it's that people, for the most part, just don't care. By and large, iTunes is a fantastic distribution system for most people's needs. They get the music they want and don't really mind not truly owning it, either because of ignorance or apathy. There's nothing inherently evil about copyright law, there are just companies who are caught in a fight between trying to make content easy to buy and trying to control the distribution channels. Personally, I think they're overzealous in their desire to control them, but I don't think I have the right to take whatever I want because I don't like how they're doing things.
paula1849Feb 21, 2012
Yea, I think we have more in common than not, but I will have to peaceably disagree with you on those finer points.
Part of it is that we are between generations of people who learned technology as it happened and people who were born with technology. I think younger people will have a better sense having lived with technology their whole life, and won't just be looking for the easiest solution. So I vote ignorance instead of apathy.
But I respect your ability to have an intelligent conversation and have enjoyed this, even if we don't see exactly eye to eye.
JS76Feb 21, 2012
Me too :)
I do hope that within a generation, we'll see meaningful reform for the digital generation. The current system doesn't work, for any number of reasons, but I don't know that the actions of either side really help.
Copyright holders in many areas need to learn how to meet the needs of their consumers. The good news is, there's evidence that people know how to deliver services that people like - Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Instant, HBO. Free services like Spotify make music more accessible than it's ever been. Even though we hear a lot about the RIAA, the fact is we're getting a lot of what we, as consumers, want. It's not perfect and it's going to take time and a meaningful move to change to get there, but I think it's going to happen. When you consider where we were just 15 years ago compared to where we are now, it's leaps and bounds better.
Of course, there will always be people who will download music not out of good will or a desire to control their music but because it's free, but that's on them.
Good luck finding your music :)
paula1849Feb 21, 2012
Agreed!
jivatmanxFeb 17, 2012
RIAA: Why can't I buy lossless music from Amazon or ITunes? Why do I have to buy a CD, rip it (in a CD drive most laptops now lack), then encode and tag the files?
Why are you surprised that many people who don't know how or don't want to do the above, but shockingly, still like hi-fi, will just torrent them?
reallyevilcaninFeb 17, 2012
Perhaps they are, but UltraMegaLockerShareLoadTorrent-dotcom is the WORST of the worst of the worst. For this week, anyway.
ka5p3rFeb 17, 2012
what a load of bull.tpb is not the worst.i could name p2p that is far worst.
blankmikeFeb 18, 2012
Not a bad article. A bit repetitious though. The recording industry keep on with the same old tune which has been proven to be wrong. If that was all there was to the post I wouldn't have commented and anonymously Dugg it up.
As with similar articles I take issue with the classification part of the post. TPB and the recording industry are businesses and not technologies. Switching to a .se domain was a business decision. The actions of TPB as a business are business actions. Job losses are business matters (or political depending on the context).
Seizures of domains, copyrights, laws and law enforcement, and having international relations are legal (political) actions.
The word "technology" does not appear in the article. Although "tech leaders" in a business and political context does. This would be a technology article if they talked about hardware, software, the use and structure of torrent and magnet files, or how they switched domains. None of this was mentioned.
JS76Feb 17, 2012
Headline: RIAA: The Pirate Bay is The Worst of The Worst
Article: "It is, in a phrase, one of the worst of the worst.”
How is he wrong? It's common knowledge that The Pirate Bay is one of the largest hosts of torrent links for copyrighted works which are being downloaded illegally. They facilitate illegal activity. That's not to say the site doesn't have legitimate uses, but clearly it's being either abused or used with the tacit approval of the owners to facilitate the theft of intellectual property.
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