Michele Day's List: File sharing Debate

"Maybe the biggest mistake was declaring war on user piracy in the first place. Because the 'enemy,' ie, the file-swapping music fan, is typically a casual offender. And, most Americans (swapping or not) seem very receptive to more moderate enforcement and blocking responses.

That's the takeaway from a fairly detailed study on 'Copy Culture' just published by Columbia University's American Assembly, one that surveyed thousands of Americans on a broad number of media acquisition behaviors and attitudes (Germans were also interviewed on a separate track). Throughout, the resounding conclusion was that most music and media fans are not hoarding large collections, appear comfortable with some level of monitoring, and are receptive to modest enforcement measures."

From Digital Music News"
"The following video comes from budding artist Jayme Gutierrez, whose song "D.I.Y. MySpam" reflects a pro-sharing, anti-industry, pro-DIY, and decidedly anti-copyright philosophy. In fact, it's now being promoted at the top of the Pirate Bay, one of the most notorious anti-copyright hubs in the world.

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"I think piracy itself is going to end up going away. If you can get something for absolutely free [instead of] stealing it, and the quality of free is actually better than the quality of stealing it, the choice becomes easy.""

"Before it was my book being illegally downloaded, I was more on the 'Information wants to be free' end of the spectrum. The sudden, though predictable, shift in my feelings when I found my own work being downloaded for free was a jarring experience. Maybe Information finds complete freedom too threatening, I thought, and maybe it would rather be a bit more protected. It was a very clear example of how my own views of morality are biased — as are everybody's — based on our immediate perspective."

Oct. 17, 2012 -- "The guy who robs the 7-Eleven rarely returns the next day to buy a Slurpee. But in music, that's exactly what's happening. In fact, stats now clearly show that pirates buy more Slurpees than law-abiding music fans.

The following comes from two sources: The American Assembly, a Columbia University think tank, and Statista, which compiled the report's findings. The big takeaway is that P2P users purchased nearly 31 percent more downloads than non-P2P users."

"Is this where the battle for the hearts-and-minds of music fans ends up? According to just-published research by Columbia University public policy group American Assembly, a vast majority of Americans have little or no problem with casual piracy, though very few are engaged in heavy volumes of theft. "'Piracy' is common," the report flatly concluded. "Copyright infringement among family and friends is widely accepted." "

"During his speech on June 12th, 2012 at the Personal Democracy conference in New York City, Cary Sherman, head of the RIAA, stated:


'…there are fewer people trying to make money as musicians today…'



Cary misrepresented the truth to push the RIAA’s agenda."

"A Movie About Piriting and The Pirate Bay"

Aug. 25, 2012
"There's more music being created than ever before, but paradoxically, musicians are making less. Which means there are also fewer musicians and music professionals enjoying gainful employment, thanks to a deflated ecosystem once primed by major labels and marked-up CDs. "

"What are SOPA and PIPA and why are people upset?
This is all because of two pieces of legislation: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and its Senate companion bill, the Protect IP Act (PIPA). The purpose of these bills is to make it harder for sites - especially those located outside the United States - to sell or distribute pirated copyrighted material such as movies and music as well as physical goods such as counterfeit purses and watches. Even most of SOPA and PIPA's strongest opponents applaud the intentions of the legislation while deploring what it might actually accomplish."

Jan. 20, 2012
"Just hours after Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) announced he was delaying a vote on the PROTECT IP Act, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the sponsor of the Stop Online Piracy Act, followed suit and announced he would be delaying consideration of the companion legislation."

Jan. 25, 2012
"At the end of a Hollywood blockbuster, when the vanquished villain declares that he should have won and that we haven't seen the last of him, we all know what it means: the sequel is coming.
So, Hollywood's top lobbyist, former Senator Chris Dodd, followed a familiar script last week after sweeping online protests derailed the Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and Protect IP Act (Pipa), a pair of legislative proposals backed by movie and music distributors. Dodd snarled that his opponents had misled the public and vowed to continue pressing for new laws to combat unauthorized copying of intellectual property. Coming soon to a congressional hearing room near you, it's Sopa II: Revenge of the Content Industries."

Jan. 25, 2012
"The Internet community, in Washington and everywhere else, is basking in the newfound adulation as a result of the apparent defeat of the dreaded PIPA and SOPA. Commentators are talking about the rise of the influence of the Internet in Washington and "watershed" moments. "

Jan. 18, 2012
"The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act are getting more negative attention, as major websites such as Wikipedia plan to protest the bills with blackouts on Wednesday. Even Google will join the action, with a link on its homepage explaining why the company opposes the legislation.

But what are SOPA and PIPA, exactly, and why are tech luminaries lambasting legislation aimed at stamping out copyright infringement? Read on for a full explanation."

Jan. 12, 2012
Supporters of stronger intellectual property enforcement — such as those behind the proposed new Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) bills in Congress — argue that online piracy is a huge problem, one which costs the U.S. economy between $200 and $250 billion per year, and is responsible for the loss of 750,000 American jobs. 
These numbers seem truly dire: a $250 billion per year loss would be almost $800 for every man, woman, and child in America. And 750,000 jobs – that’s twice the number of those employed in the entire motion picture industry in 2010.
The good news is that the numbers are wrong

Dec. 14, 2011
"And that’s what bothers me about the attitude toward copyright that Andy Baio identifies in his post. Sharing a creator’s work because you like it without respecting the creator’s wishes regarding sharing seems, to me, unethical. I agree with Baio that it’s probably the case that most under-25s (and many over-25s) would disagree with me on this, either because they haven’t consider the “creator’s wishes” argument or because they simply disagree with it."

Sept. 15, 2011 from Digital Music News
"Yes, still: According to a study just concluded by eMusic, music fans overwhelmingly prefer ownership over streaming, by a drastic margin. That is, 92% prefer ownership of music over any other method, with unlimited playback and security of collections cited as top reasons. "

August 14, 2011 from Guardian
By Robert Levine, author of "Free Ride"
"The public hasn't lost its appetite for television, journalism or film; shows, articles and movies reach more consumers than ever online. The problem is that, although the internet has expanded the audience for media, it has all but destroyed the market for it."

July 21, 2011 from PC World
"A study is disputing the entertainment industry's long-held stance that people who use pirate sites are terrible individuals who download movie after movie, ripping off the industry of millions of dollars and hurting us all in the process."

August 9, 2011 from PC World
"Since the beginning of 2010, a whopping 200,000 BitTorrent users have been sued in mass file-sharing lawsuits by copyright trolls, according to TorrentFreak."