[Filesharing] The Cost Of An Idea
Posted by Lex Fear on June 22, 2009
David Dunham at CaPC poses the question “So is the judge making an example out of her or does this seem like a reasonable price to pay?”
I started commenting but realised it was too long and so I’ve moved my response here.
Let’s start by saying that these fines are supposed to be representative of lost sales.
Forget the fact that many people who download music tracks wouldn’t buy them anyway (and – shockingly – might even delete the crap ones).
What I think the lawmakers have glossed over is the fact that if you fine one person for *every* *lost* *sale*, then there should be no-one left to pursue for the downloading of those tracks she shared. Ie. if I had downloaded those 24 tracks from Jamie Thomas, it’s OK because she is already paying for *my* lost sale – as well as – literally – millions of others.
I’m pro-filesharing and I file-share.
I look forward to the day that these media companies grovel in the dirt – I’ll make no bones about that fact. Increasingly I’m ‘coming out’ to many friends and people I wouldn’t have before, because I see it as a revolution, a cold war, where as many people need to be recruited as possible.
I look forward to the day that we look back on these events in history and marvel at the ignorance of the politicians and industry that supported this 21st Century ‘House of Un-American Activities’.
I see filesharing as the future – setting knowledge, information and arts free – like they used to be before the 20th Century. Perhaps it’s not ‘the future’, perhaps it’s simply restoring values of the past.
Did any of those black slaves or their families who worked in the cotton fields see a ‘dime’ for their musical contribution to the blues? Intellectual Property is about as anti-creativity as I can imagine.
How do you prevent new ideas and human progress? Introduce ownership of ideas by long lasting corporate bodies to buy up and own *ideas*, then sue anyone who independently thinks up, tries to share or improve that idea for an arm and a leg.
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Abandon All Fear 
James Gray said
There is a common sense idea that you shouldn’t do what is impossible. You simply can’t stop filesharing. Therefore, it doesn’t make sense to try to stop it. It is easier to fireshare now than ever despite the court cases. To accept reality and adapt to the world as it exists makes the most sense for the music company.
So far iTunes is pretty successful, but I think it’s too much of a pain. It’s not just about paying a dollar, which is too much. It’s also too inconvenient to give companies my personal information and credit card number.
Also, now that file sharing is so easy, almost nothing is worth saving permanently anyway. We have an unlimited amount of entertainment. We don’t want to own movies and songs. We just want to pay 25 cents to listen or watch a couple of times.
BHudson said
I’m with both of you on this. Perhaps I’m mission the point, but surely the whole idea of art is not to make loadsa money for the people who sell other people’s art. ars gratia artis, after all. It’s telling how few of the actual artist who are supposedly having their livelihoods stolen by those naughty child-trafficking, drugs-pushing, sex-trading pirates are actually complaining about it. If anything, it’s forced a change in how artists think – we’re seeing more and more bands offering albums for free. Art is only worth something when it is shared – ideas are not proprietary.
BH