Mark Wilson

The Copyright Act. Two sides to this tale.

First, I love music and enjoy watching a movie every so often. I also love things that are free. Downloading is free. In this great world of sharing by downloading music, movies, TV shows, etc., we’re enjoying more and more entertainment, at no cost. Is this good? Not really. It’s unethical in my mind, but I also won’t say that I’ve never done it.

Seeing it from MY side… downloading is great! It’s convenient, it’s fast, you can always find what you want… and best of all, it’s FREE!
However, from an artists side (whether musical or theatrical), we’re ripping them off big time.
I would argue that most of the big name artists, actors, producers and the like have enough money and likely don’t need the lost revenue. But this is just about the only reason I can come up with. The bottom line is that they are working to make their money and we’re ripping them off.

The copyright act is great, I don’t think we should be downloading this material, but I also don’t think anyone really thinks about it from the artist’s view. The bottom line is that we’re selfish and want things for free.

—Should be an interesting debate this week, further updates to come after class 🙂

 Artists losing money because of downloading. Industries dropping 10%+ in sales, artists suffering, not able to make money.
Downloading music is stealing, no different than stealing a loaf of bread.
Future artists may not be able to produce because of lack of funds
Just because you can’t afford it, you shouldn’t be able to steal it.

Can’t afford to download
Won’t be able to listen to our information
Possibly a different solution from bill C-32, digital lock breaking issues.
If you purchase something, should be able to do whatever I want with it.
Downloading for preview purposes. If you really like a movie or music, you might go out and buy the actual good quality.

The argument was very one sided as it’s clear that by downloading music, movies, books,etc. , you’re breaking your license agreement and stealing. Not only are there legalities behind the pirating of licensed property, but it’s an ethical issue as well. Artists are losing money because we’re stealing their product. Sure, some are making top dollar, but there are so many that barely get by… now suffering because of the theft.
A good point that made me think was ‘the future of our industry’. If new artists are struggling to start, how are we ever going to see the future grow? If more and more people steal… then what’s to say there will ever be any money left for even big name artists?

In order for the industry to survive, we need to try to control pirating. People need to look at it from an artist’s shoes, how would you feel if your life’s work was being stolen? When we see increased lock security, the breaking will come, but if we top it off with severe punishment, people will be afraid to download. As a marketer, we know that fear is a great way to instill a message… so if we can create fear around downloading, then maybe we can control an industry spiraling out of control.

M