Re North American Box Office Hits Record $11.4 Billion

["Rich Kulawiec" <rsk () gsp org>]

(for IP, if you wish)

On Mon, Jan 02, 2017 at 05:52:19PM -0500, Richard Bennett wrote:
> If the defendant in a case of car theft [snip]

Except copyright infringement is not theft.  Copying bytes does
not deprive the original person who possessed them of their copy.

> but I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a large number of
> musicians willing to assert they're doing as well as they ever have.

I've been a sporadic professional musician for 40-ish years.  During
that time I've been repeatedly ripped off -- by club owners, by
record companies, by booking agents, by promoters, by concert
venues...but NEVER by a music fan.  Those folks have shown up
in snowstorms and patiently waited when we were late and bought
us beers and helped carry our gear and reminded us of the words
to the third verse and applauded even when we didn't deserve it.

This experience -- support from fans, abuse from the music "industry" --
isn't unique.  It's the norm.  See links below for similar stories
from others, some of whom are rather famous.

But this is changing, thanks to technology: we no longer need a
quarter-million dollar recording studio: $2K worth of gear in
the basement will suffice.  We no longer need record pressing
plants and warehouses and trucks and inventory: we can release digitally.
We no longer need to beg for a listen and sign over all our rights
just to get heard: we can post music online and make it immediately
avialable to a potential audience of billions.  The plaintive whining
about piracy that you hear from the record labels/RIAA isn't because they
care about us: they NEVER cared about us.  It's because they know
they're becoming obsolete.  We don't need them any more.

So if I ever get around to releasing my own recording, I *want* it to
be pirated.  I'll be delighted if people like my work and want to share
it with others.  Because for someone like me, that's the best form
of promotion I could possiby hope for.  It's vastly better than anything
I could afford, it comes without the one-sided contractual entanglements
preferred by record companies, and it reflects the reality that for nearly
all of us, the problem isn't piracy: it's obscurity.

---rsk

Links:

Belgian Collection Society SABAM Caught Taking Cash For Made Up Bands It Didn't Represent 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110209/04101413022/belgian-collection-society-sabam-caught-taking-cash-made-up-bands-it-didnt-represent.shtml

More Details On Spanish Music Collection Society Corruption: Accused Of Stealing $550 Million From Artists 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110705/02190314964/more-details-spanish-music-collection-society-corruption-accused-stealing-550-million-artists.shtml

GEMA, Once Again, Demands Royalties From Creative Commons Music It Has No Rights Over 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111114/02034116758/gema-once-again-demands-royalties-creative-commons-music-it-has-no-rights-over.shtml

Kenny Rogers' Lawsuit Shows The Many Ways That A Major Label Screws Artists (Even The Big Ones) 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120220/04491417812/kenny-rogers-lawsuit-shows-many-ways-that-major-label-screws-artists-even-big-ones.shtml

How Big Music Companies Are Stealing Hundreds Of Millions In Royalties From Artists 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120305/04332117978/how-big-music-companies-are-stealing-hundreds-millions-royalties-artists.shtml

Lester Chambers, Successful Musician Who Received No Royalties From '67 To '94, Planning To Sue 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120315/03304918113/lester-chambers-successful-musician-who-received-no-royalties-67-to-94-planning-to-sue.shtml

How ASCAP Takes Money From Successful Indie Artists And Gives It To Giant Rock Stars 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120323/18055718229/how-ascap-takes-money-successful-indie-artists-gives-it-to-giant-rock-stars.shtml

Def Leppard Covers Its Own Songs With 'Forgeries' To Fight Back Against Universal Music 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120706/04162619600/def-leppard-covers-its-own-songs-with-forgeries-to-fight-back-against-universal-music.shtml

Anti-Piracy Song Pirated By Anti-Piracy Group; Collection Society Fined For Failing To Get Royalties 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120717/03544819727/anti-piracy-song-pirated-anti-piracy-group-collection-society-fined-failing-to-get-royalties.shtml

Journey's Producer Sues Sony Over Unpaid Royalties For 21 Classic Songs 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120811/09162919995/journeys-producer-sues-sony-over-unpaid-royalties-21-classic-songs.shtml

Major Labels Claim Copyright Over Public Domain Songs; YouTube Punishes Musician 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120827/22533320172/major-labels-claim-copyright-over-public-domain-songs-youtube-punishes-musician.shtml

This Is What's Wrong With The Music Industry: Musicians Have To Pay To Pay Themselves 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120920/03183520447/this-is-whats-wrong-with-music-industry-musicians-have-to-pay-to-pay-themselves.shtml

A Parade Of Horror Stories From Copyright Collection Organizations 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120921/22263320468/parade-horror-stories-copyright-collection-organizations.shtml

Performance Rights Organizations Accused Of 'Retitling' Songs To Collect Royalties Without Paying Artists 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130318/00072222358/performance-rights-organizations-accused-retitling-songs-to-collect-royalties-without-paying-artists.shtml

Yet Another Music Collection Society Corruption Scandal May Lead To Real Copyright Reform In Peru 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140402/17490026782/yet-another-music-collection-society-corruption-scandal-may-lead-to-real-copyright-reform-peru.shtml

Recording Industry Wants To Have It Both Ways When It Comes To Pre-1972 Recordings 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140415/07051726917/recording-industry-wants-to-have-it-both-ways-when-it-comes-to-pre-1972-recordings.shtml

RIAA Claims That It Is 'Standing Up For' Older Musicians That It Actually Left To Rot 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140425/07192227027/riaa-claims-that-it-is-standing-up-older-musicians-that-it-actually-left-to-rot.shtml

Lester Chambers, Screwed Over For Decades By The Recording Industry, Goes Direct Via Kickstarter 
https://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20121211/10563521347/lester-chambers-screwed-over-decades-recording-industry-goes-direct-via-kickstarter.shtml

> From A Weekend Musician, To Making $4.2 Million... By Giving Music Away Free 
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090120/1942463468.shtml

No, RIAA, It’s Not The End Of The World For Musicians 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150512/13343330980/no-riaa-not-end-world-musicians.shtml

Amanda Palmer Sells $15,000 Worth Of Music & Merch In Three Minutes 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100722/12084810324.shtml

Steve Albini Takes On 'Parasitic' Record Labels And Copyright's 'Outdated' Illusion Of Control 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150531/10391331163/steve-albini-takes-parasitic-record-labels-copyrights-outdated-illusion-control.shtml

Early YouTube Musician Explains How Signing Major Label Deal 'Nearly Destroyed My Career' 
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150909/17000032211/early-youtube-musician-explains-how-signing-major-label-deal-nearly-destroyed-my-career.shtml


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