Good Copy Bad Copy - What Constitutes Fair Use?

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I think once you buy a copy of a CD, what's on it is now yours.

That's true to an extent. You have a right to listen to that CD and even make backup copies for your own personal use. The problem arises when people start making multiple copies and giving them to friends or distributing MP3s derived from that CD to other people.

That's the whole reason why it is called copyright[. You don't have the right to copy and distribute to others, only the copyright owner. I don't see what's so hard to understand about this concept.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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The short and sweet of my counter-argument to what you just said is this: if you don't make any money off your work, then it probably wasn't good enough and people either didn't want to pay for it or they didn't want to pay so much for it.

See, that's the problem with cats like you - you don't understand the game as it is.

Why would you buy something when you can get it for free or as close to free as possible?

For every legitimate copy of a CD or MP3 downloaded, I can guarantee that at least three illegitimate copies are made by someone who also enjoys the product, they just aren't willing to pay for it.

Let's go back to 2000 when it was common to sell 2-3 million records off a minor hit record. Hell, the bigger acts managed to go platnium in a day.

Do you think that less people listen to music now than they do now in 2007?

Fuck no. It's just that with the proliferation of cheap CD recordable drives, the applicable media, high speed internet connections, P2P like Limewire, BitTorrent where you can find virtually every commercial release up to 3 weeks before it's retail release date PEOPLE CAN GET THE SHIT FOR FREE.

Remember when your favorite band or artist could literally ride an album for a full 18 months with touring and four or five singles that got a good three to four months radio rotation?

You can't do that anymore because people have the whole fucking album before you can even get it legitimately.

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People have a problem giving money to these big, faceless corporations.

Consequently, without these big, faceless corporations, your favorite band wouldn't have the resources to put out a record.

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There lies a problem though, how can you copyright lyrics?

The same way you can copyright a book.

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Can a company copyright a random set of numbers, and likewise can a person copyright words strung together to form a song?

Because these numbers are generated via a proprietary process developed by the vendor.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Yeah, they wanted it sooner - they just aren't willing to pay for it.

What happened to this 'It wasn't good enough' shit?

How do you adapt in this day in age when people expect to get your music for free? It's not cost effective to go strictly digital downloads because even with legitimate outlets like Itunes, there's still BitTorrent, Limewire, people posting up .rar and .zip links to albums on Rapidshare, etc.

I love the music, but a nigga has to eat, too.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

Completely untrue.

My favorite artists are pretty much freelance. I don't listen to much that I could buy in the record store. (With the exceptions of old, classic rock)

There's a revolution going on out there, hadn't you heard? People are using the internet to get a fan base. Aren't you listening?

I don't know too many people these days who actually like anything those big faceless corporations put out. They're out of touch, man.

I have actually made the most purchases in the past 12 months from CDBaby.com. I made it a point to buy when it directly profits the artist. I am not a stingey person. I just appreciate good music, and I will PAY for good music - when it rewards the artist.



Not to mention that bands can completely live off of live performances (where copyright gets tossed out the window). Bands like Phish made all their money in performance, as I hear it. And thats a nice way to go.

Yeah, but how known is Phish really?

Big corporations get you major exposure on all the major media outlets. They allow you to set up nationwide tours and get that massive exposure. Of course, it comes at a price, but what doesn't?

In the hip-hop scene, yeah, there's some underground independents that are cakin' up, sellin 50-100k and that's fine, but at the end of the day, your goal is to get on that nationwide and world stage with your shit.

You're not gonna see cats like Phish or Cunninlynguists even go Gold in this day in age ever again. It's just not possible. Even when Phish did go platnium, it took them 15 years to do it even in the apex of CD sales.

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If it was okay to go after the gougers during the Katrina hurricane aftermath for over-charging on Gas, it sure as well better be okay to do the same for gougers of CDs and anything else for that matter...

Even though I think by and large price-gouging laws are bullshit....

There is a fundamental difference between gasoline (which people need in order to travel) and CDs, which are a total discretionary product.

I was speaking idiomatically.

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A well-mastered album can make a band sound better, but a producer with no musicians to create music is nothing.

Have you ever been in a real recording studio fucking with REAL ARTISTS?

More often than not, the producer makes the entire record possible. Most producers often write and arrange the music you hear. What you hear is by far more of a product of what the producer does AFTER THE ARTIST HAS LEFT THE STUDIO than you think.

Take it from someone who has actually been through the process of creating a record.

Where would Run DMC be without Rick Rubin? Amerie without Rich Harrison? Da Brat, Bow Wow, Mariah Carey, Jagged Edge without Jermaine Dupri? 112, Faith Evans, and Mary J. Blige without Sean Combs?

Better get your facts straight, pimpin'. Producing is where the money is at.

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from everything I hear the industry isn't hurting.

Isn't hurting my ass. It's to the point where virtually all new acts have to fork over nearly a third of their touring revenue if they sign to a major label because revenue from CD sales has declined so much.

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I understand what you all are saying, but still, assuming people would buy more CDs if they were at a cheaper price, how's that taking a loss if you have way more sales?

It's called the law of diminishing returns.

You'd have to sell proportionally so many more CDs to reach that same margin of profit.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?