Limewire: Feedback. Is it safe? - Beyond Tiki

SS Satan's Sin Member Imperial Beach, CA Joined: Jun 13, 2004 Posts: 729	SS Satan's Sin Posted posted on Fri, Mar 11, 2005 7:29 PM There is no law against downloading a song from a private individual for private use. I know some record companies have scared people witless and forced them into "settlements" over downloading, but what a record company's lawyer says and what the real law says are two different things. If I were ever served by a record company, I'd say fine. Take me to court. And my defense would be: show me the law that I have broken. For there is none. But ethically, well ... I'll put it this way. I am a published author, but I do not feel cheated when someone checks out one of my books from the library, I do not feel cheated when someone gives one of my books to someone to read without writing me a royalty check. These people are getting "free" reads. But that just goes with the territory. But the most important thing I think is this. These crooks and idiots who run the record companies have priced CDs at an unconsciencable level for far too long. With peer-to-peer file sharing they are going to have to lower prices or become exinct. It is precisely like the movie situation. I well remember when VCRs first came out and Hollywood howled that these things would put them out of business, and they fought VCRs tooth and nail. The Supreme Court ruled in the VCRs' favor, and Hollywood grudgingly offered tapes at $100 a pop. Anyone remember those days? Well, copying tapes was rampant. Then they lowered prices to $50. Copying was still rampant. On and on it went, until they hit $14.99 and that was the sweet spot, that was the price where it was less trouble to buy a tape as opposed to copy it and ... and well, the revenue stream from tapes (and now DVDs) has been one of the hugest bonanzas in the history of Hollywood. Everybody won. So let the record companies break down and offer CDs at a reasonable price. I'd say $7.99 is the sweet spot. I'd be spending far more on CDs overall if that were the price, and I bet a lot of other people would, too. But the record companies won't do it out of the goodness of their hearts. They've got to do it because the market forces them to.

There is no law against downloading a song from a private individual for private use. I know some record companies have scared people witless and forced them into "settlements" over downloading, but what a record company's lawyer says and what the real law says are two different things. If I were ever served by a record company, I'd say fine. Take me to court. And my defense would be: show me the law that I have broken. For there is none.

But ethically, well ... I'll put it this way. I am a published author, but I do not feel cheated when someone checks out one of my books from the library, I do not feel cheated when someone gives one of my books to someone to read without writing me a royalty check. These people are getting "free" reads. But that just goes with the territory.

But the most important thing I think is this. These crooks and idiots who run the record companies have priced CDs at an unconsciencable level for far too long. With peer-to-peer file sharing they are going to have to lower prices or become exinct.

It is precisely like the movie situation. I well remember when VCRs first came out and Hollywood howled that these things would put them out of business, and they fought VCRs tooth and nail. The Supreme Court ruled in the VCRs' favor, and Hollywood grudgingly offered tapes at $100 a pop. Anyone remember those days? Well, copying tapes was rampant. Then they lowered prices to $50. Copying was still rampant. On and on it went, until they hit $14.99 and that was the sweet spot, that was the price where it was less trouble to buy a tape as opposed to copy it and ... and well, the revenue stream from tapes (and now DVDs) has been one of the hugest bonanzas in the history of Hollywood. Everybody won.

So let the record companies break down and offer CDs at a reasonable price. I'd say $7.99 is the sweet spot. I'd be spending far more on CDs overall if that were the price, and I bet a lot of other people would, too. But the record companies won't do it out of the goodness of their hearts. They've got to do it because the market forces them to.

Post #146260 by Satan's Sin on Fri, Mar 11, 2005 7:29 PM