MemePolice

[jbartas]

"Music Piracy" - An Absurd Meme with a possible solution.

Imagine these two scenarios:

• Scenario A:
  You and you family are relaxing on a yacht at sea. Suddenly there is gunfire! Trained killers swarm aboard, and after raping and torturing a few of you, they brutally kill everyone. They take some valuables and sink the boat.
  


• Scenario B:
  A little girl is reading her favorite web site. She hears some music she likes, and kicks the "save" button so she can hear it again later.
  

The common thread is that both scenarios could be called "piracy": the first by normal people, and the second by Record company executives and their paid stooges. Obviously there's really a great deal of difference. Comparing A to B is like comparing the Saddam Hussein's mass murders to using bug spray, or comparing lung cancer to an ingrown toenail.

Since calling scenario B "piracy" is patently absurd, why is this misuse of the term so widespread? Simple: It's the direct result of one of the most effective brainwashing campaigns of all time. The US Patent, Copyright and Trademark laws have gradually been hijacked away from their original purpose by greedy businesses that saw a way to collect undeserved money (more on that below), and the "Piracy" meme was created and promoted to protect their ill-gotten gains. The culprit in this case is a special interest group calling themselves the "Recording Industry Association of America" (RIAA). Most of their 19 Million Annual budget goes to promoting the Meme "Music Piracy". This is backed by PAC donations and promotions in the MSM (costing billions of dollars) made by their member companies (Sony, BMG, Warner, EMI, etc).

Even Federal Judges have been duped. Marilyn Hall Patel, an otherwise worthy Judge who presided over the first Napster lawsuit, disgraced herself by publicly using the term "Piracy" to describe downloaded music. Clearly she should have recused herself for her overt bias, but to this day she has not addressed the issue. Someday the Napster case may be overturned or otherwise legally discredited due to this glaring breach of legal principles.

Had MS Patel thought about it, she might have realized the copyright laws under which the case was brought are in fact not legal. The concept of copyright laws is justified in the US to “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” (US Constitution, Article I, Section 8.) It says nothing about third parties like record companies having any sort of divine right to perpetual profit. Modern US statutes, with their 100 year copyrights (up from the forefathers 14 year version), obviously work AGAINST "Progress of Science and useful Arts", and are thus unconstitutional.


Music downloading is apparently not considered a moral sin by the millions of people who regularly do it, further evidence that the laws are wrong here, not the people. It's just plain morally repulsive to use the music of my youth to sell beer and cars, but not let kids download it. They may have tortured the law into supporting this, but it's still just plain wrong. It's the immoral hijacking of our cultural heritage by the RIAA that should be illegal.

Referring to copying music as "piracy" is a Meme that's probably too well entrenched to dislodge from our culture. However, an interesting alternative has developed: rather than object to the word "piracy", some folks seek to rebrand it as a good thing. After all, the RIAA has already trivialized the word by applying it to copying music. Maybe it's possible to go the rest of the way, and make piracy a word with good connotations. So when you use the term "piracy", just make sure to mention how it's good for everyone - except the crooks at the RIAA.

See also:
Why the RIAA is wrong
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/3056

EFF vs RIAA
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-08-04-eff_x.htm

[KimCooper]

How is it good for the musicians and composers?

[jbartas]

[jbartas]

Senator Dianne Feinstein just lost my vote, probably forever. She has stuck her name on the latest attack on our copyright system, the so called "PERFORM" Act.

After taking huge campaign contributions from the RIAA and MPAA (The Movie Industry version of the RIAA) she took this law written by their lawyers, given it a catchy name, and is now trying to sneak it through congress. If it does not get a public spotlight, she may well succeed.

I once thought there might be a limit to how low politicaians will stoop in their scamble for corporate dollars, but after eight states passed laws outlawing the way most of us access the Internet (also writen by RIAA Lawyers) I realize there is no floor.

I've voted for Feinstein in each of her previous Senate elections, but no more. She's alway been a suck-up to big business, but this is too much.

If you live in CA, call her office and tell them you're voting for someone else. (202) 224-3841

More
http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/2006/05/pandoras_box_or.html
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004587.php
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/6371/Sen.+Feinstein+for+RIAA+&+MPAA+in+2006,+Not+Consumers

[jbartas]

On A lighter note, Weird Al Yankovic has a new song out named "Don't Download this song" He seems to share my views of the RIAA.

http://www.myspace.com/weirdal

Weird Al has always been topical, funny and creative, and he's a darn good musician too. Plus, I'm sure he could kick Ted Nugent's butt.