File Sharing...Good or Bad?

B

Breakout

Okay...this has nothing to do trading, but it's friday and the
weekends coming, so I thought I'd lay out this dilemma for
you guys to settle for me.


If I join one of these file sharing websites to swap
MP3s am I...


1. Doing something that brings people closer together?
or...

2. Are we all just a bunch of thieves trading in
stolen property?
 
Here are three issues that I see with it, in no particular order.

Anytime that you download something from the web you are letting a stranger into your house, picking up a hitchhiker, sitting on a dirty toilet. Is the risk of your computer security worth saving $10 on a cd?

The record companies generally crap all over artists. So by "sharing", you are essentially stealing from the record company, and the artists as well. But, some artists feel differently than others. Ted Nugent and Metallica are clearly against file sharing. Where I am guessing the Grateful Dead and a few others could care less.

Eventually the free market system should bring down the price of music. When VHS tapes first hit the market a movie title might cost $50. But as people burned copies the cost dropped to around $10.
 
Originally posted by Breakout
Okay...this has nothing to do trading, but it's friday and the
weekends coming, so I thought I'd lay out this dilemma for
you guys to settle for me.


If I join one of these file sharing websites to swap
MP3s am I...


1. Doing something that brings people closer together?
or...

2. Are we all just a bunch of thieves trading in
stolen property?
More...

#2; but who cares ...
 
Originally posted by jaan
FWIW, here are some excellent articles on the subject:

- jaan
More...



Whereas Merge and others have used peer-to-peer systems to promote little-known artists and new releases, the major labels have sued Napster, Audiogalaxy, Kazaa and three other file-sharing networks, alleging copyright infringement on a grand scale. They also are injecting bogus files onto the most popular networks to stop users from downloading new songs, and they are contemplating lawsuits against consumers who offer huge collections of songs to copy.



Thanks for the links jaan...I thought this was interesting from
the Nando Times. I wonder what else their "injecting" into
our computers. Sounds like, their the ones that have an
ethics problem.
 
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