Pirates Of The Virtual Sea
Sunday, October 11, 2009 by shaf_sz
Piracy is not really a touchy issue. We like to think of it as controverial, as anything illegal is usually seen as a touchy subject, but piracy is far too widespread and too commonplace to hold the same status as other illegal activities. Check your music library on your PC, if each song is worth 90c or $1.00, how much have you apparently 'stolen'? That's right, in regards to piracy, we're pretty much all criminals.
Yar puts things in to perspective though, and brings up an issue I myself have always thought was quite important - the music companies/corporations tend to use their creative forces (artists/authors/producers) and place them in a victim like situation, so that we feel when we're pirating music/movies/software, we are literally stealing the food off of their plates. However, Yar points out how this is not only a smoke screen as these companies are just aiming to maiximise their monetary profits, but the figures we get about how large corporations are losing billions of dollars in revenue every year are usually overstated for lobbying purposes.
When it comes down to it, the producers, especially musicians, make very little money from their work which is pirated, the bulk of the revenue ends up in the pockets of the capitalist elite at the top of the food chains. As long we keep doing our part in listening to music, buying merchandise and going to concerts, which shows no signs of receeding, there is no reason to buy into the capitalist propaganda being spewed left, right and centre.
Yar puts things in to perspective though, and brings up an issue I myself have always thought was quite important - the music companies/corporations tend to use their creative forces (artists/authors/producers) and place them in a victim like situation, so that we feel when we're pirating music/movies/software, we are literally stealing the food off of their plates. However, Yar points out how this is not only a smoke screen as these companies are just aiming to maiximise their monetary profits, but the figures we get about how large corporations are losing billions of dollars in revenue every year are usually overstated for lobbying purposes.
When it comes down to it, the producers, especially musicians, make very little money from their work which is pirated, the bulk of the revenue ends up in the pockets of the capitalist elite at the top of the food chains. As long we keep doing our part in listening to music, buying merchandise and going to concerts, which shows no signs of receeding, there is no reason to buy into the capitalist propaganda being spewed left, right and centre.