In a perfect world, musicians, artists, and designers of ‘intellectual property’ would create and then sell their work at whatever price the market would bear. The sale (or license) of these works would include an implied ‘fair use’, meaning the purchaser could make a copy of the purchased work for his/her private use (read: a copy for your iPod, a copy for your home, a copy for your car, a backup copy in case of nuclear disaster, etc.). There would be no need to worry about anti-piracy measures, because there would be no piracy in the first place; people would recognize the intrinsic value of creative works and intellectual property, and have no qualms about paying the market price for such items. And those who decided to steal these works would be swiftly and strongly prosecuted. Unfortunately, we don’t live in such a world.
To me, the issue we should be discussing is not whether DRM is good or bad, it’s why it’s needed in the first place. We live in what we tend to believe is a civilized society; one in which the rule of law applies and keeps the majority of us walking the straight and narrow. But even the best of us break the law sometimes. Generally, it’s the laws we don’t agree with that we break. They have a tendency to be ‘victimless crimes’: speeding, pot smoking, etc. But occasionally, we break laws where we don’t see there’s a victim, and music/software piracy falls into that category.
I completely understand how it’s hard to see Microsoft, Adobe, and other large software companies as victims. After all, aren’t we the victims of their often obscene pricing schemes and monopolies? And as far as record companies go, I think they’re ripping off both the public and musicians. But what about the small, independent musician or software designer? Those of us who are trying to make a go of it on our own for various reasons are the hardest hit by piracy, and too many members of the listening/computing public refuse to recognize that. And it’s a shame.
The people who make comments such as those I mentioned in my last post are, to me, borderline delusional. I wonder how they would feel if they weren’t getting something for nothing, but rather having their property stolen? I imagine they would be singing a different tune, so to speak. I suppose that until those who steal and freely trade intellectual have their own intellectual property stolen, they’re never going to really get it. And, sadly, from the comments I’ve read, I doubt they’re going to have any intellectual property for sale any time soon.
I admit I’ve been guilty of using a ‘try before you buy’ program longer than I should have before registering or deleting it, but I’ve never stolen music. Is that because I have a different feeling toward musicians, seeing as how I am one of them? I believe so. And that’s wrong (it’s also a practice I stopped some time ago). The question is: how do we get those people who are in no way involved in software creation or music production to see the error of their ways?
Just as the latest anti-piracy commercial on television says, ‘you wouldn’t steal a CD from a store, would you?’ Only we have the ability to educate our friends and acquaintances who try to pass along pirated music, movies, or programs. Only we can refuse to accept their ‘generosity’. Now is the time to put that into practice. The longer we wait, the more ingrained this behavior will become in our society. Then, it will be almost impossible to stop it. From what I already see, we’re getting very close to that point now…
In my last post, I said I would turn you onto what I believe to be one of the best business models a 21st century musician can embrace. The company is called Discipline Global Mobile (DGM), and it’s the brainchild of Robert Fripp, the visionary guitarist from King Crimson. One of the main goals of the company is to do business in an ethical fashion. This includes seeing that musicians actually own the copyright to their performances and recordings – a novel concept in this industry. The result of this practice is that the musician actually stands a chance of making some money, rather than getting stuck in the record industry’s perpetual cycle of ‘we’ll loan you money to make a record, you’ll pay it back at your royalty rate, when it’s time for another record (even though your last one hasn’t recouped yet) we’ll loan you more money to make a new record that you’ll pay back at your royalty rate’ ad nauseum. Believe it or not, this is a standard means of doing business for record companies. Oh, did I mention that you have to share the rights to your musical creations, and that you never really own the rights to the sound recordings you actually paid for?? You gotta love it.
I strongly suggest that those of you who are interested in how things really work in this business visit the following web sites:
DGM Live! start on this page, but take some time and browse the entire site.
The Daily Adventures Of Mixerman a chronicle of the absurd world that is the record industry.
Confessions Of A Record Producer a great book that will open your eyes to the real truth
Also, visit the writer’s website: The Moses Avalon Company
If you’re a musician (especially a young musician), you owe it to yourself to visit these sites, read these (and other) books, and educate yourself to the truth about what the record industry is. If you’re a listener, you owe it to yourself to visit these sites, read these (and other) books, and educate yourself to the truth about what the record industry is. Otherwise, how are you supposed to have any idea at all about how piracy affects those of us who make the music you enjoy?
Until next time…