Ever
since the dawning of the Internet, bootlegging, (for lack of a better word),
has become quite rampant. Meaning, that people copy and sell products that they
did not create to other people for a profit. But, none of that money goes back
to the people who actually created the product; be it a book, music, or a film.
Maybe
stealing is a better term...
Certainly,
the whole Napster syndrome shook the music industry a few years ago. At that
point, people were copying music, uploading it, and “Sharing it” with other
people. Though it changed the music industry forever, it also affected the
financial livelihoods of many artists.
In
the more recent past, movies have come to be bootlegged, uploaded, and then
people are allowed to watch them by paying a price to join the website service
that is showing them.
Now,
in terms of high budget films, one could argue that the movie studios have
already made a lot of money on these films, so why do they need to make more?
Be that as it may, there is a whole other side to the issue. For example,
people like myself, who pay for their films to be made out of their own pocket.
When these sites get a copy of my films and put them up on the Internet, it can
really kill sales. And, believe me, it costs a lot of money and time to make a
movie. And, it is very sad when someone else is making a profit from my
creation, when I am not.
Some
people believe that the “File sharing sites” are better than the ones just
described, as they appear to be free. They are not. Someone in that chain is
making money or these site would not be active. Someone, but not the creator of
the project.
Another
path where people are commonly bootlegging other people’s creations is in
relation to books. I have found several of my books, copied and put up on sites
on the Internet. Now, let’s think about this for a moment. The people who do
this may like the book, but they did not write the book, they did not spend the
money to have the book printed that was laid out by the publishing company.
Yet, they scan the books and are selling people the ability to read them on the
Internet. They are the one’s making the money. Not the author or the publishing
company.
Recently,
I was popping around the Internet and I found a website that is selling scanned
copies of martial art magazines. In fact, this site is selling photocopies of
several magazines I wrote articles for. They scan them and then sell them.
Of
course, on this website, the people are not honorable enough to provide a name,
address, or telephone number where you can contact them. Which illustrates that
they know what they are doing is wrong, illegal, and uncool. So, I emailed
them. They did not reply.
But,
think about this for a moment. How long do you think it takes to write an
article? Then, you have to supply photographs for the techniques presented in
the article. This all costs time and money.
Back
in the day, when these magazines were published, they use to pay me $125.00 per
article. The photographs alone used to cost me more than that to produce. So, I
personally made no money. And, this is not to mention all the time and money it
actually took, on the part of the publishing company, to create and release
these magazines. But now, here is somebody on the Internet, who had nothing to
do with the creation of these magazines, making money by selling someone else’s
hard earned work.
Ultimately,
if you’ve ever created something, that you cared about, and took the time and
made the effort to get it published or released, you will understand the
problem with what is happening when these websites release this information.
We
all want things for free or for cheap-er. This being stated, whether you are
paying to access a site or viewing and downloading content for free, you really
should think about the reality of what is going on and how your actions are
affecting the lives of creative people before you access these sites that sell
and make money off of the creative work of other people.
Internet Piracy is not a
Victimless Crime
I
was flipping through channels last night and I came upon the Arsenio Hall Show.
Prince was on.
At
first glance, this show was kind of interesting in that this same show could
have taken place twenty years ago when Arsenio’s first late show was on the
air. But, there they were, Arsenio and Prince both looking quite good for their
age.
I
was never a really big fan of Prince back in the day. Though me, being who I
am, I do own all his vinyl and most of his CDs. It was later that I came to
appreciate his music and his contribution to popular music in general. This,
though I do have an abstract connection to Prince in that my high school
friend, Lisa Coleman, was his keyboard player for a number of years in the
Purple Rain era and an actor, Kevin Thompson, who I have used in a number of my
films was a Prince impersonator until that era dried up. In any case, it was an
interesting show to watch.
When
Arsenio was talking to Prince they discussed his love and hate relationship
with the internet and how music gets out-there for free which really impacts an
artist’s bankbook. Though Prince made his own contribution to the changing
evolution of music by being one of the first artists to break away from a major
record label, what he said made me think back to the time when the whole
Napster thing took place and there were a lot of musicians out there rallying against
people getting their music for free. I remember when they spoke to Dave Grohl,
(Nirvana, Foo Fighters, etc.), and he said, “Why should I care, I’m already
rich.” I believe that is an important, and oftentimes overlooked statement to
keep in mind when one views this subject.
There
is a certain group of people who now expect to get everything for free on the
internet — whether it is music, movies, books, or whatever. But, by taking
those items for free you are really causing the person who created those things
to not earn money for their creation. As money is one of the most essential
elements to life, it is what we must have to survive. And, by taking these
creations for free, you are really creating karma for yourself.
It
is one of the most instrumental laws of understood spirituality; do not take
things for free or steal things because then karma is created. One should
always extend a payment for whatever they receive, as then karma remains clean.
But
to view this subject in a little bit more in-depth manner; first of all, do you
think the websites who host these downloads are doing it for free? No, they are
not. They are earning money by being in existence or they would not be there.
From
a more philosophic standpoint, (if you want to make excuses for yourself),
downloading movies and music financed by major studios or corporation can be
viewed as, “Sticking it to the man,” if you want to view life from an
anarchistic point of view. But, for people like myself or on a much higher
scale someone like Prince, who finances all we do out of our own pockets, it
becomes a very different ballgame. For me, I can’t make the same claim as Dave
Grohl. So, every dime taken out of my pocket really changes my reality.
The
other side of the issue is that there is nothing I can do about it. My books,
music, and movies are out there on this offshore websites being offered for
free. Do the people or corporations who run those websites care about what
affect they are having on me and the other creative people in my predicament?
Probably not. Why? Because they are generating money to support their lifestyle
based on the creations of others.
There
is just something wrong in that equitation.
This
is what people really need to think about when they do what they do, whether it
be downloading things for free, without thinking about what effect it has on
the creator of the work, or simply not taking the time to think about the
impact they are having on this world by their various actions.
What
you choose to do and how you choose to do it affects everything in this world.
How you choose to live your life affects the next evolution of this Life-Place.
So, if you are doing things that negatively impact other people, don’t cry when
karma comes calling. Because you are the one who set it in motion.
Internet
piracy is not a victimless crime. And, the victim may end up being you.
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