$1.5 Million Fine for Downloading 24 Songs

Good luck nailing me. I have downloaded several files I probably should have paid for. The majority of the music I listen to was downloaded. Aside from that, I go to the library and check out c.d.s and burn them. I do not care one bit. Mainly because most of the artists are dead. To my mind the families of those artists did not create the music so they do not deserve one cent from the profits. The record companies take a huge percentage of the money you spend on c.d.s anyway. Nothing is going to stop me from doing this, and it kinda prorates all the fines people incur from legal trouble. I love free music. The simple fact is that we always will find a way to download music anyway. Bands like metallica need to chill out because there is no way they are going to stop me.

reply to post by Tetradeth


Once again, I underatand you point of view. But it doesn't get around the laws that are there. And I don't make them. All I'm saying is that don't brake the rules.... epescially when you know the rules can be so fillpant by the industry in question.

Like I said, I download copyrighted material, and I take all precations to avoid being found out (using a cloned modem (mac addresses)), but if there was ever a knock at my door, I would be kinda expecting it and wouldn't be complaining when it happened.

The biggest problem with the civil suit court system is that it goes against our supposed court of laws. In court of law you are supposedly innocent until proven guilty. If you are sued it is guilty until you can prove you are innocent. Great for people that keep all their receipts for everything. I have had a huge CD binder stolen from me, all the CD's I payed for gone. Good thing I backed up all of them, I was able to burn them again. If I was sued for piracy, I would be screwed, I do not keep all my receipts. I could not prove I own all that I have burned, good thing I now live in canada, and at the moment canada isn't all gungho like the us is.

reply to post by TKDRL


No, ALL music and ALL digital material is loaned to you if you read the laws. You are, to use a term so losely, a "franchisee" and they can amend any terms they wish. It's sick, I know, but that's the way it is.

If we weren't so dependent on the hype surrounding many of these so called musicians, we might take our own initiative and give more attention to musicians who are genuinely interested in music rather than making vast fortunes.

It seems to me, that as a direct result of the 'dumbing down' mentality surrounding many aspects of our lives, some of us tend to depend on the opinions of a bunch of lying, thieving smug faced a$$holes to tell us who to listen to.

There are so many excellent independant musicians out there who hardly make any money, but love to make really good music, and hardly anyone knows about them.
If we offered these people more support, we could really hit these record company parasites where it hurts, and deny them their main source of sustenance. Then maybe, just maybe they will get to know a bit of humility.
There has never been a better time to do this than now, with all the online facilities available.

The thing, as far as I can see, is that many people think that if something doesn't cost a lot, then it isn't worth a lot.

Sad really.

Originally posted by MadDogtheHunter

Originally posted by Faiol
reply to post by Whyhi

 

downloading over the internet is not stealing, simply because you are downloading a copy and the owners are not losing anything, since its a digital copy, meaning, it did not cost anything to the owners that copy

That has to be the silliest thing I've seen in this thread thus far. Copying IS stealing. Ignorance of Copyright Laws is no excuse. I will argue the facts in this thread no longer. Instead, I will let the Federal Copyright Laws argue it for me. Its in black and white. If people can't understand it or want to take time and understand it, then thats their problem.
I BUY all the music I listen to. I don't mind obeying the Copyright Laws. After all, those laws are some of the very few Laws that actually make sense in our Government.

the difference between you and me is that you follow, while I think

I dont agree at all with most copyright laws

if you use any material copyrighted for profit, then its another thing, but if you use for your own thing, I dont see any problem in letting it be free ....

you need to understand that sharing over the internet is the same as the old sharing methods, everyone shares, its impossible for you to buy something like that and not share, it always happened and always will happen, if its not over the internet, it will be thought other methods ...

Originally posted by ldyserenity

Originally posted by Faiol
reply to post by Whyhi

 

hey guys, I never used the internet, so, let me call everyone a bank robber

downloading over the internet is not stealing, simply because you are downloading a copy and the owners are not losing anything, since its a digital copy, meaning, it did not cost anything to the owners that copy

besides, to this day, no one proved that people that dont have money would buy a CD or whatever if they did not have the mp3 available for free

plus, in the past, people always pirated this kind of thing, now its more easy, but people always did the same thing in other technologies

ignorance is not a blessing

No you're correct, if they didn't have the money and didn't have digital media, most likely they would if they were really desperate and wanted something, would just walk into a wal - mart and still a real valued item. They should be thanking god for the piracy industry, it keeps the people from going into a store and actually causing real losses to the store as well to the RIAA And the artists... where actual physical items would be stolen! Also I am not saying all people who partake would end up doing real theivery, obviously, but the majority of the people who do pirate are children who do not think about nothing but what they want or think they need at the moment and would be prone to resorting to actual theivery, if the digital media did not exist...and with peer pressure, this is even more likely. Cause let's face it, not all kids even think before they act!

not only kids, but adults too dont have money to buy for all these media, so, its not just about kids, its all about the money

if everyone had money to buy it, they would buy it .... but they dont ... you need to understand that people dont have money like you ...

Originally posted by Neutradol
reply to post by TKDRL

 

No, ALL music and ALL digital material is loaned to you if you read the laws. You are, to use a term so losely, a "franchisee" and they can amend any terms they wish. It's sick, I know, but that's the way it is.

the reality is that this is all a big conspiracy by these corporation

if you stop to think, these artists are broke, they dont get rich, they are owned by these corporation

if you want to support an artist go to their show ...

Reply to post by Neutradol

Your exact words were time money etc.

So if not, then what exactly was stolen?


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Reply to post by Soldier of God

I will thingyou the same thing.

What exactly was stolen?


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by MadDogtheHunter
Every time a person shares a song file with another, the Artist who created/sold that original copy, loses an album sale. Multiply this over and over as more and more copies get shared across the net, and that Artist DOES suffer major losses due to the fact that none of those people actually BOUGHT that album. An Artist has a right to earn money from what they create. Whether any of you like that concept or not.

If you download a song/movie without paying a penny for it, you STOLE it. Plain and simple. You're guilty, as is the original person who ripped it in the first place with intent to share it.

As one must not post about performing illegal actions on ATS, the following are thought-exercises only.

I've downloaded a bunch of music I was unfamiliar with, which I would never have bought because you don't buy music you're not familiar with, too much crap out there ...
and then I've bought albums by artists who I discovered that way.

So tell me, who suffered a loss due to my downloading?


I've found music on you-tube which I wanted to own, searched the stores for it, and even asked if I could order it in, only to be told it was not available in Australia.
So I "illegally" downloaded it from you-tube.

So tell me, who suffered a loss due to my downloading?


I have a musician friend with an eidetic memory for music.
Any popular music he hears, he can reproduce the lyrics and score afterwards.
Is he stealing by listening, as his memory copies the music perfectly?

reply to post by Lemon.Fresh


No, I said "WORK, that has cost money to produce. Time, money etc".