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Employers to be held accountable for piracy

13 Feb 2006 14:1024 commentsBizLike
With the ever increasing bandwidth, albeit a painfully slow progress, available in SA, music and video piracy is spiralling rapidly out of control.
Piracy is theft; plain and simple. The shortcomings of the SAFACT campaign aside, we all know this to be the case as is it has been drummed into our heads forever - remember the "Home taping is illegal and is killing music" campaign of the 80s?

Creatives and suits alike moan all the time about not being paid enough for thier work. Agencies complain about clients stealing pitches on this very forum, so why should artists' product be consedered any differently? Ponder the chain of mouths that are being ripped off every time a track is stolen. It's a long one. From artist and family to studio staff, record company employees - top to bottom - cd shop staff, couriers, packaging and manufacturing concerns and even... GRAPHIC DESIGNERS and AD AGENCIES. One would have thought that the folks in this industry would take these matters to heart for this very reason.

If somebody creates something of value, and you would like to use it, a mutually benificial commercial deal is struck. Fair is fair.

Employers need to carefully monitor what thier staff are up to on thier lines in terms of this wholesale theivery lest they find themselves charged with being accesories to this, not so victimless, crime. Conviction rates are improving rapidly.

Would you continue to employ someone knowing that they steal on a regular basis? I wouldn't. Remember: Theft is a dismissable offence.

(Illegally) Downloading is a pretty word for a criminal offence. Let's call it what it is:

Theft.

 
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noddy
A DOWNWARD SPIRAL-
The advertising and media community is the poster theme for hypocracy. In a previous forum on the topic, every contributor kept "gaaning-aan" about the the price point of original DVD's and the greedy movie industry. How dare you call the business practace of any other industry thieving. The fact that we can sleep at night knowing that we screwed over another client for a bundle seems to be a prerequisite for the job. This apparent moral-highgound advocated by the movie industry is a realistic one and, peanut galary, this is why:

1. The proceeds of movie piracy is used for the production and import of drugs and illegal weapons. To those immature bastards that don't have children (and who are probably the end of the distribution line of these drugs), if you ever have your brains splattered against your windscreen in a highjacking wilst driving around Jozie looking for blow, spare that last second of thought for where that gun came from.

2. Apart from you being a loser, we all lose. Nu Metro and Ster Kinekor are the main importers and distributers of movies in SA. Because of revenue losses due to piracy, they can no longer afford to buy the rights to all the big movies from Hollywood. They have to now select only what they can afford, meaning, again due to your idiocy, the SA public is limited in its choice of entertainment.

3. Not that you care, spare a thought for the home entertainment industry. This industry employs 10 000 people. Due to your thieving nature, ad-boy, video stores are forced to close down everywhere. Only the big groups with the recources can make it. Did you know that a rental copy of a movie costs between R300-R400. Because of piracy, less movies are bought, again meaning that we are all limited in our choice.

4. The only reason that their ads are aimed at you that might get into trouble, is simply because they realise the selfish nature of people that buy pirate DVD's. They have to appeal to some part of your backbone that is afraid of also disappearing, because you just don't give a f..ck.

Piracy is only a stitch in the seem, but it is all coming apart. I guess it is just a sign of the times. You give meaning to the saying: :you can't polish a turd".

I can't wait to read the comments from the pirate DVD get-along-gang. It is mans worst ability - to be able to justify to yourself any action or belief. Posted on 14 Feb 2006 16:55
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Zama
Lets consider this as well-
In as much as we can complain about the high prices of CDs and DVDs to date I can honestly say that the industry has really brought the prices down. In fact I think they are bending over backwards.

Look at Musica for instance you get the current Top 20 CD at R99,95 compared to the usual price of a CD which is R180 or above. The most admirable though is Reliable music warehous, now those guys have the cheapest disks around. I mean go into any store you will see. Good music going for R50 a disc or 2 very current discs going for R150,both and not each.

So guys honestly we cannot expect to get any better than this, otherwise it would be killing the indusrty totally. These people also have to make a living. Posted on 23 Aug 2006 14:21
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CommuniCat
Distribution just changed - Um, ah, time for a rethink?-
Evolution - it's a Power Law of life and business. Ignore evolution and face the ultimate price - you dead. Simple as that.

Moaning, complaining and scurrying about trying to find legislative or any other way to counteract the inevitable power of the market and technological development may buy you some time. In the end - you dead.

All that happened was that the distribution method evolved. Now stop bleating about it and evolve with the distribution method. Others have already been successful in mutually beneficial partnerships - AKA Apple iTunes store.

Will there be casualties? Sure there will.

Newspapers used to be made up manually by hand. Was anyone able to do anything about the tide of progress? Zero. Did people go hungry? Probably.

Evolution and progress, like time, loiters for no man. The path of time is littered with the dusty bones and more recent rancid corpses of organisms (and businesses) which did not, or could not, evolve.

The question is not whether people will, or will not, download. Nor is it about trying to prevent them from downloading. The real challenge is in delivering a legal option which the market will accept. Posted on 14 Feb 2006 17:28
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Mr Brightside
Download spiral-
Noddy and Communicat, learn to spell before you spew. We live in one of the most corrupt, dishonest societies in the world. We wake up to news of crimes of a more horrific nature than piracy, our ex Deputy President is on trial for rape, the current Dep Pres has just fleeced the tax payers of roughly R 700 000 for a shopping junket in the Middle East. And at the bottom of the food chain is a relatively small crime called piracy in comparison to what is going on in this sad land. The problem is far bigger than you think. As the old saying goes: 'The fish rots from the head'. Posted on 14 Feb 2006 22:35
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Cyril
Actually Mr. BS-
Actually, Mr Bs, piracy is by no means a small crime or anywhere near the bottom of the list. Read the above posts again and understand how deep piracy and it's effects truly go.

Piracy funds terrorism.

People suffer and die because of piracy.

The Madrid bombers were found to be involved with piracy a few months before they destroyed those trains and so many lives. Piracy is run by organised crime and is more profitable than drugs.

Yes, I know that the issue at hand is download piracy and not physical media, but this is in response to the comments above.

PS. Both dep prezes should be locked up after having thier thieving hands chopped off. Posted on 15 Feb 2006 10:32
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noddy
THE THICK OF THIN THINGS-
Mr.BS, you seem to be burdened with a very unfortunate (yet not so rare) disability caused by a lifetime exposure to a lack of insight. You bring forth supressed memories of my grade 7 English teacher, which, by staggering coincidence suffered the same short-sighted fate as yourself. Thank you very much for pointing out our spelling inadequacies. I feel truly energised by your educated and highly topical comments on the matter at hand. Please do call on us if you require any assistance when packing your shit for your one-way trip to the promised land. The relentless missioning line of Lemmings has a spot just for you. I hear the weather in Alaska is quite invigorating this time of the year. Should you not have the financial means to plan said trip, I am sure that we can start a collection amongst the participants on this website. It is afterall for a good cause. Posted on 15 Feb 2006 17:16
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Charles U Farley
Let's start with Vodacom's meerkat ...-
... who was directly pilfered from a video clip which did the rounds on the Internet a few years ago, with a similar-looking little creature dancing to "You sexy thing". That's piracy, isn't it? But the agency thinks it's the cleverest thing since sliced bread. Where's the sanction in this case? Posted on 15 Feb 2006 10:14
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TalithaStar
Well well now-
Charles you obviously don't have much work to do now do you? Posted on 15 Feb 2006 13:51
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captain hook
aaaarghhh mateys.-
Ahoy me mateys!!

We be sailin' the world wide waters downloadin' all in our path, nobody can escape the wrath of the bandwidth bandits......

Aaarrrrggghhhhhh!!!!!!!

(P.s mateys: Fun with Dick and Jane R60.00 + cover, interested land lubbers contact the captain at captain@jollyroger.co.za, or dial 0800 BARNACLES Posted on 16 Feb 2006 09:25
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Cyril
What do employers have to say?-
It would be nice to have some input from employers on this matter. What sort of controls do you have in place to keep a check on this and what are your moral views on the situation?

Has anyone in SA been fired for downloading as theft yet? Posted on 17 Feb 2006 12:54
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gavich
if you don't buy-
I still maintain that if I am not going to buy the product in the first place, the manufacturers and artists are not losing out, and itunes and sharing music makes it so easy. Posted on 20 Feb 2006 07:33
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Spanky
I am honest, but pragmatic-
I download music that I am simply unable to buy in RSA. I could order it from Amazon, pay R200+ then import duty, and then wait 6 weeks for a package that may never even arrive ... or I source it online for free and download it within 15 minutes. The choice is impossibly easy.

Now that I think about it, I have not bought a CD in over 2 years now. Posted on 20 Feb 2006 09:30
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Bob
Things then become worse.-
...and therefore, my wise, pragmatic pal, less will become available in South Africa as it is increasingly unviable to carry a wide range of product. You, therefore, contribute to the problem and accelerate the cycle.

Legal services such as i-tunes are not the issue. It is the illegal pillaging that is so obviously wrong.

The less you buy locally, the less you will find locally. It's simple business economics friend.

Be a man. Pay your way. Posted on 20 Feb 2006 14:28
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legal downloads ok-
I tunes is legal, so has no bearing on this matter. Posted on 20 Feb 2006 14:30
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Lime Wire
LIMEWIRE-
Guys - want free music? Free Movies? Free Pics?

Download LIMEWIRE www.limewire.com
For easy peer-to-peer sharing!

AND READ THE DISCAIMERS AT THE BOTTOM...Or click on the link to support artists...

ENJOY the world on THE INTERNET! Posted on 22 Feb 2006 16:23
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BAZZ
LIMEWIRE?? YOU'RE A FOOL!-
THATS A BRIGHT MOVE. WHY WOULD YOU PROMOTE CRIME YOU IRRESPONSIBLE TWAT? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? USE YOUR HEAD FOR GOODNESS SAKE. Posted on 24 Feb 2006 13:48
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???
Guys, stop complaining!!!-
Rather look at why this is happening? There is software on the market that's specifically for this, authorities should be fining them and not the consumer. It's like waving a lolly in front of a child and not allowing him to have it, come on, it doesn't make sense. I'm not for it and I don't have any copied stuff but I can understand why people do it. Also, look at what DVD's & Cd's cost now a day. Is it really digging a whole in the artist’s pockets e.g. Britney Spears have not produced a cd in almost a year and yet she's still making millions........ Posted on 2 Mar 2006 13:57
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Nic
The fact of the matter is....-
...until the record companies in SA pull their fingers out of their well-waxed backsides, we're never going to see legal download services like iTuynes come to SA) Musica's site is pathetic so it just propogates out of frustration. Posted on 11 Apr 2006 15:00
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???
Stop......-
Rather look at why this is happening? There is software on the market that's specifically for this, authorities should be fining them and not the consumer. It's like waving a lolly in front of a child and not allowing him to have it, come on, it doesn't make sense. I'm not for it and I don't have any copied stuff but I can understand why people do it. Also, look at what DVD's & Cd's cost now a day. Is it really digging a whole in the artist’s pockets e.g. Britney Spears have not produced a cd in almost a year and yet she's still making millions........ Posted on 2 Mar 2006 14:03
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SKiZM
ye olde double edged sword-
hmmm....filesharing....

although i do believe piracy is 'bad' there are some strange and positive offshoots of the technology.

firstly, filesharing apps are bad for the cartels that run the music/movie etc industry AND established artists.

HOWEVER, for upcoming and unknown artists filesharing is actually quite an advantage - it helps get your brand out there to the world at large - quickly.

granted most up n comers havent yet been picked up by the labels etc and as a result have less to lose...but that is only 'coz they weren't neccessarily gonna make the fat stacks o cash (mainly for the labels) in the first place.

remember the metallica/napster thing? they only went off about it coz they started to lose royalties from older recordings - if they had suddenly gained fame after just breaking into the industry i doubt you woulda heard any complaints...

depends what angle you take.

filesharing for up'n comers: DA!
filesharing for established acts: NYET! Posted on 8 Mar 2006 12:33
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AR
Piracy creates fans. Fans BUY music.-

I don't know enough about the alleged piracy-as-funding-for-terrorists issue to be able to comment on it, but I don’t believe that music piracy kills music. Show me how music is dying. Prove it. If piracy is killing any music at all, it’s killing manufactured artists and fad tracks – which are disposable by nature and soon forgotten anyhow. Good music of any genre will live and be bought because it is valued and feeds souls.

I certainly remember the taping-is-killing-music campaign of the eighties. We taped and taped and taped back then regardless, much in the same way that people download and copy now. Some of our tapes were taped from the tenth tape of a tenth tape and the sound got pretty interesting. But we were playing the field, and the music was our entire life, and that’s how it still is with people. We grew up, started earning and soon started buying. With the very first paycheck in fact, as small as it was. My first official purchase was True Stories by Talking Heads, even though I already had all their albums on tape, and I went on to buy all the albums AGAIN on CD even after I’d bought them all on record…
It’s ALWAYS been expensive, but when you’ve sampled something that’s given you goosebumps, you WILL pay for the real deal. When you fall in love with a band or an artist, it’s for a lifetime. You end up buying the album no matter how much you already pirated it – you need to worship the sleeve notes and the artwork and the pure sound and stuff…

Music would be dead by now, if piracy was already killing it back in the eighties. But music is alive and well – ok, in some cases unwell, I guess I’m just too old for 50 Cent - but kicking to be sure. Young people who pirate music grow up to be old people who spend big bucks on it. Posted on 16 Mar 2006 11:03
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SKiZM
Ed Fuggin Zachary-
haha! the Home taping is killing music...sheesh...that brings back memories...poorly printed on cheap record sleeves...did music die then?

naaaaaaaah.

is it gonna die now?

naaaaaaaaaah.

oh yeah - talking heads' true stories deserves to be owned on every format known to man, including 8track, reel to reel and anything else you can dream up.

Download it NOW!

(actually dont. go buy it.) Posted on 17 Mar 2006 09:51
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John
I will fire them for sure-
If any one working for me is caught engaging in illegal activities of any sort, including music theft, I will fire them on the spot. No second chance for them. Posted on 20 Mar 2006 10:09
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mandy
no mercy-
send the robbers to jail. make it plain theft, then anyone dealing, selling, using or buying it will be charged with possesion and dealing in stolen goods and be arrested. catch the crooks! Posted on 15 Jun 2006 12:56
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