"Less cool" aspects of file sharing

[iago]

http://entertainment.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/19/181246

That's one of the better arguments against torrent sites like The Pirate Bay that I've read. It's short and concise, and I agree with his premise.

[nslay]

So, to summarize:
Let's ignore piracy as the illegal activity that it is and blame the major records for hindering the media market.  Piracy is a tool to keep the major record labels in power.

Am I understanding this article correctly?  Somehow this seems twisted.  Sure, major record labels are monopolistic, maybe the govt. should bust them up...but why is file sharing mentioned here at all?  This article reminds of an alcoholic who justifies drinking because a heart book tells him wine is good for his heart.

The way I see it.  Like a gun's primary purpose is to kill, file sharing's primary purpose is to steal intellectual property.  There are legitimate uses to file sharing technology, but thats the plain truth. People are using it to steal.  I honestly wish people wouldn't abuse peer-to-peer file sharing technology because I absolutely hate download providers (rapidshare, etc)...they are just like the bottled-water industry!

[iago]

I think you missed the part where he said:

My concern is about this argument, which has been seen in most any debate about this subject for the last 10 years, usually formulated roughly as below:

"Filesharing will provide massive marketing to new artists, and drive forward a new and more dynamic music market."

I beg to differ.

He isn't arguing for/against filesharing in general, but he's discussing that one single argument.

[nslay]

I think you missed the part where he said:

My concern is about this argument, which has been seen in most any debate about this subject for the last 10 years, usually formulated roughly as below:

"Filesharing will provide massive marketing to new artists, and drive forward a new and more dynamic music market."

I beg to differ.

He isn't arguing for/against filesharing in general, but he's discussing that one single argument.

Right, he's pointing out that the monopolistic behavior of major record labels is hurting the media regardless of file sharing and that major record labels use piracy as a witch hunt to distract everyone.  I'm not entirely sure how to take his argument.  I feel like the author has an agenda to favor piracy, albeit in a very obscure way.

[iago]

Being the owner of an indie label, I'm not surprise he is in favour of it. Generally, the only way to become recognized without being backed by one of the major labels is to find a way to distribute music to a lot of people.

The Pirate Bay doesn't do that, obviously, but there are likely torrent sites dedicates to smalltime people, none of the top-100 popular stuff. Anyone know of any?

On a sidenote, I do my best to buy CDs from good local guys whenever possible. I could rip/share some of my favourites if people are interested, I'm sure the bands would thank me for it.

[Camel]

First comment I saw summarizes how I feel:

The assumption is that pirated music should favor the less known artists somehow? Why would anyone be surprised that download statistics mirror sales and radio stats in general? It's just another outlet, but it CAN create awareness if sparked properly by other means

[Towelie]

Yeah, but what about private trackers? Private trackers provide a community, an aspect that TPB doesn't have. From my experience lesser known artists do get a bit more attention on private trackers than they do elsewhere.

[nslay]

First comment I saw summarizes how I feel:

The assumption is that pirated music should favor the less known artists somehow? Why would anyone be surprised that download statistics mirror sales and radio stats in general? It's just another outlet, but it CAN create awareness if sparked properly by other means

I tend to think Internet Radio does a much better job at raising awareness of small time artists.  Internet Radio at least spoon feeds you a variety of music you may or may not have heard complete with artist, genre and so forth information.  In file sharing, you would have to search for an artist unknown to you which is a paradox in itself.

[iago]

In file sharing, you would have to search for an artist unknown to you which is a paradox in itself.

Not necessarily, there are a number of options -- finding artists based on artists you like (Pandora style), or find a "best of indie" list (per genre, perhaps).