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So a friend of mine recently got the ban stick aka perm ban for "Selling ripped DVDs, don't steal from the folks that spend time and effort to make PB movies."
Anyways, I was finally able to talk to her about it today, and we discussed the terms in which the DVDs were sold.
Which were: Charging only for the cost of the blank DVD, and the exact cost of shipping to break even.
Now, from a legal stand point, would that be considered as infringement of applicable copyright laws?
Yes, it certainly would.
Under the US Code the act of making an infringing copy available is the breach, so you don't have to charge money for it. Selling the DVDs for the price of a blank disc has no bearing on the criminal action, but will potentially influence the civil damages that the rights holder can claim returned as part of the contribution to damages is the amount of profit the infringer makes from their action. The rights holder can still claim for loss of revenue as a separate calculation.
If your friend's idea worked she'd be walking past hundreds of stores selling music and videos for a dollar each, and getting away with it by sticking a sign on the door saying "blank discs for sale".
Thank youuu.
I downloaded the copyright laws but couldn't really interpret it...so thanks :)
yeah, it's technically actionable, thats how they shut down p2p sites. Though if shes not making money from it the person who owns the copyrights wouldn't be able to sue for the profits of the sales since there where none.
never mind illegal, it's downright immoral
Are you being serious or sarcastic?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Karl
Every time someone downloads a song, the RIAA loses its wings.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheQuietPlace
Seriously..it may not seems like stealing..because they are supporting the band "musically"...but they are not supporting them financially. Which is their job in a sense. Without pay, there is no more work. Aka..no more music.
Even though most bands make their money by merch at concerts and usually get dick from cd sales..every bit helps.
serious of course..........would you work for free?
not to pay someone for services rendered is declaring them a slave
what kind of person lets themselves be entertained by.......a slave?
not only that but paying someone keeps them in thier place(whereever the hell that might be)
I see no fucking possible way that ripping a DVD and selling it for the price of the disc, and exact shipping cost, is immoral.
Depending on what the work is, yeah I'd work for free. If I were in a band, all I'd expect is a couple bucks for gas, and the crowd to have a good time. Music is not about money to me. Music is, and should be about the music.
Anyways, I was asking about this from a legal stand point, not a personal stand point.
Who does get the money from CD sales?Quote:
Originally Posted by VoldtaEngler
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheQuietPlace
If you have a band and you want to give your music away for free, that is your right as an artist (unless you are under contract that says otherwise.) But, that doesn't mean you have the right to make that choice for everyone else.
snooooze. parents (or more likely single mothers) don't get even minimum wage for raising kids, why should musicians for making music?
Ok. so I'm not really being 100% serious, but I kind of am. It's not our obligation to support people financially so that they can make art, fuck, I'd love to make even a dollar a day making art. And now to turn that around - yeah, I kinda do wish that people were making a living doing things that they wanted and needed to do instead of just doing pointless shit that they hate to make others rich, like music executives.
I know i've talked about this issue befroe, but I'm going to say it again. No one's losing money here except the people that are being sent to court not because they ripped someone off, but because they excersized what I just requested for free enterprise in the face of the real theives.
burning a cd is not the same as stealing a car, and it's sure as hell not the same as reaching in and taking a dollar out of the hat of a poor street corner musician. The only cd's that people are burning and selling are one's that are allready selling (at jacked up record company pirces), otherwise no one would want to buy them. I'm sorry, but (intellectual) property is theft. The only loss in the market is potential revenue, which is bullshit. the fact is that those Cd's would not have sold at face value and in the same numbers in the first place, no matter what. If they did, then people would have bought them and not burned them. So it really makes no difference. It's just about who thinks that they have the right to decide what is legitamate and what is not and it's never the people that are making the money that get burned, just the one's that don't want to share it and see anyone else making it.
I never [meant] to imply that I was making a decision for anyone other than myself. Despite how I feel about music, I pay for all of it. I don't have one downloaded song on this or any computer in my possession.Quote:
Originally Posted by ForrestBlack
I did my fair share of illegal downloads a few years ago, back when I first joined the BlueBlood Boards. But I figured after my computers kept getting stolen it doesn't make any sense. I'd keep downloading, and downloading, in an endless cycle.
I'm not in this to rip anyone off. They worked hard on creating their music, and I understand that they should be justly compensated.
Fuck, I hope they do lose money, Jay Z can spare a yacht or two. You know most of us work at jobs where we don't get any say or compensation for the services (intellectual and actual) that we provide. Just working at a register I make hundreds of dollars a day of profit for the company; sales that they wouldn't have gotten if it wasn't for me, so how come I don't get profit sharing?
How is that any different than what the music business is demanding?
Thats a good fucking point. I guess when you look at it that way, it isn't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Morning Glory
TQP - no problem.. if I didn't know that bit of the Code backward I'd be in trouble given I'm still living on royalty checks!
This topic did the rounds about a year back and I posted a breakdown of CD revenues if anyone wants to dig for it.. I know half of you will say "go sharers!" and the other half will light burning torches and sharpen pitchforks, so meh. I've been in the industry on both sides of the revenue stream and didn't like a lot of it, but by the same token I've no axe to grind - a job is a job. Folks ask me stuff I'll tell them how it is, if they don't agree it's their hassle but until they've been inside they don't get to disagree with the facts.
If someone distributes without paying the fees, be it via a disc or online, then the headline artists don't suffer. Don't care. Don't notice. Seriously, it's totally unimportant to their contract group (label, management, etc) as the publicity will outweigh the losses. Some of us even used it as a marketing tool back in the day. What happens is that the total revenue into the label drops a few thousand dollars. Mr nu-metal-funk-rapper XGXG is on contract and gets his cash. The label execs get their cash. The person who doesn't get their cash is the one allocated the last few thousand in the budget, and that's either the receptionist at the label or the new artist looking to be signed. So sure, small-bit trading isn't going to destroy a millionaire artist, but it's going to screw over some random single mom you never even heard of who's trying to cover her rent.
It's the same in any industry - if Burger King's profits drop a few points you don't expect that the board of directors all get fired - they sack serving staff. The music industry does the same, but their burger-flippers are hidden from view.
mG
No kiddin. I think that's why I dont mind giving away my work for free downloads, until I get signed and under contract (hopefully one day!). I would lose more money making the cds by home than selling them at shows.Quote:
Originally Posted by ForrestBlack
What I really need is really hot girls to pimp it like it's hot..sex sells everything.
Hrm...now where to get really hot girls.... :cool: :rryumy: