RIAA's statement on the closing of Megaupload...

[kungfuwaynewho]

...just demonstrates how stupid and out of touch these people are.  From this article, some idiot who doesn't understand how causation actually works says that "digital music sales rose after file sharing service Limewire's shutdown in 2010."  First of all, who the hell was still using Limewire in 2010?  But second of all, how on earth could you say that one led to the other?  This is like that whole sea piracy/global warming thing.  "Collectively, this evidence strongly suggests that the shutdown of illegal sites helps create a thriving and diverse digital marketplace."

No.  What it does is force new alternatives.  Napster gives way to Kazaa that gives way to Limewire that gives way to torrents and from there to Megaupload and its ilk, and now that the direct download sites are under attack, something new will pop up.  Why?

BECAUSE I DO NOT BUY SHIT IF I DON'T KNOW IF I LIKE IT OR NOT.  I don't know why this is so hard for these people to understand.  I am not just going to buy a DVD or a CD without having seen or heard it first.  I don't have the money to throw around on a whim, and most other people don't, either.  I've purchased things I never would have without downloading them first, because I never would have known those things existed.  When was the last time you heard Gogol Bordello on the radio?  Exactly.  But I have four of their CDs and have gone to two concerts, and I guarantee you I never would have even known about them at all if I hadn't been exposed to their music online.

Also, I rarely buy books.  I read them for free from the library.  How come no one's shutting down the libraries?  What's the difference, really? 

If I had to actually purchase all the media I consume then I simply wouldn't consume much at all.  That's what these imbeciles don't get.  I have a finite amount of money.  I'm not just going to magically have more because you shut off my access to popular culture.  If the only way I can listen to that song that I'm so-so on is to buy it then I just won't buy it.  I don't download movies, so if something comes out and it doesn't excite me enough to go out to the theaters, then I just fucking wait till I can watch it for free when the library buys the DVD.  The end.  I don't even Redbox that shit.  BECAUSE I CANNOT AFFORD TO BUY ALL MY ENTERTAINMENT.  Sorry, media.  Sorry, studio execs and producers and everyone else.  That's just the way it is.

They act like it's a zero-sum game and it's not.  If I download an episode of American Horror Story because I missed it and I'm so far behind the episodes aren't up on Hulu anymore, I haven't stolen anything.  Nothing is missing.  I already missed the live airing so I'm not counting in the ratings anyway and whether I watch it six weeks later will have no impact on their ad sales.  But if I have the chance to go ahead and watch it by downloading it?  I might end up buying it when it comes out on DVD.  I certainly won't buy it sight unseen, that's for damn sure.  I don't know why they can't see this fact.  It's not that hard to figure out.

(I have been thinking countless iterations of this rant since last week.  Reading that article finally put me over the edge.)

Comments

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Oh God, the e-books. Patrons will come in asking about it, and I will take them through the process - they have to get a state library card, they have to browse through a very limited catalog, they have to put items on hold because we have very very few digital copies of what we do have, they can only keep them a few weeks - the hoops are ridiculous. Most people end up just waiting to check-out the physical copy. I know I gave up on it, because the publishers have made it so difficult to try and use.

Miss an episode and you waited until the summer. Ick.

Horrifying memories of my childhood and missing episodes of The X-Files! Nothing was worse. NOTHING.

The guys in Monty Python decided to forego DMCA'ing their stuff on YouTube, instead insisting that a link to a place to buy their cd's, books, and dvd's be shown next to each clip. Sales went up. Huh.


That seems to happen anytime an artist tries this out. Joss Whedon put all of Dr. Horrible up for free to start with, and it's certainly still sold very well. Because people knew what they were going to get, and like the Louis C.K. comedy special that came out recently, people are definitely willing to shell out the money when it's an easy transaction, when it's not exorbitant, and when they know it's going to the actual people who made it. (And Louis C.K. said everyone told him his sales would be hurt by piracy, but he did it anyway, and sold like gangbusters. I'm sure some of the people who pirated it ended up buying it, too.)

I just hope the dinosaurs don't break the internet with their flailing about trying to fight it.

I just think it's a losing argument. They're never going to convince a populace that has trouble making ends meet that we're horrible people for not shelling out tons of money when we can see executives making millions and millions of dollars off the work of people who are also quite wealthy.

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

There are like 20 holds on every e-book in the library right now, and omg the horror of the Overdrive interface.

As for the dinosaurs, it's a losing battle all right. I just don't want the web to be collateral damage. Fooling with the DNS system is bad damn news. I was hoping the Eurozone would pick up the ball and take over while we come to our senses, but they seem to be falling apart too. Balkanized, and censored, internets, picking your website menu by provider, different speeds depending on who you're using to access what... DO NOT WANT.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we just switched away from Overdrive because they were raising their prices again, but the new system isn't set up yet. I'll be interested to see if it's any easier to navigate.

I think everyone's scrambling to try and control the internet now because they're realizing that if they don't make it happen, before too long it will be entirely out of their hands.

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

Overdrive is on the way out here as well, although implementation of the new system (whose name I forget) seems to keep getting pushed off.

I hope, hope, hope, the 'net gets away from everyone and roams free forever.

that's a lovely icon, btw. *is distracted*

I think I'll try the March no-buy thing too. Do I have to stop streaming Netflix? *whine*

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

I looked it up - we're switching to EZ Library. *shrugs*