SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act currently floating around for discussion, debate, and deliberation in the United States Congress. I will openly admit here and now that I am not an expert on all that this bill contains. In essence though it is an attempt (from my semi informed understanding of it all) to put in place rules to help stop online file sharing of copywritten material, i.e. music, movies, etc. and stopping the vast market of pirated media related materials that are on the world wide web. File sharing (as it is often referred to) is nothing new. Since day one people have been swapping content of all sorts online. Dare I say even if this law passes…it will most likely continue in some shape or form. These things always seem to work themseleves out that way.
Again…through my limited understanding of what could/would happen if SOPA is to take effect…several web sites could be blocked, taken down, or blacked out. Basically any site that is deemed as a potential risk of sharing creative work…could be snapped up. Gone. Poof. Seems a bit drastic. Many creative and legitimate aspects of the web would be in danger.
I know that the main thrust of this is coming from corporations that make and distribute material. If people get a copy of something, upload it to the web, and someone else gets it without having to pay for it…lost revenue. I get it, but I find myself scratching my head on this one. In many ways I think the entertainment industry has nobody to blame but themselves for the state we find ourselves in. There are so many reasons I truly believe this (coming solely from a fan/consumer standpoint) that I have no idea where to begin. I shall do my humble best to touch on a few points that I find noteworthy. This is a big issue…so hold on.
Long before the internet came into so many households in our country (speaking again from a North American perspective) there has always been sharing of some kind going on. As a kid (long before I knew what a computer was…because I am that old) I always asked my friends for a copy of some new song that I didn’t have. When I was a kid I thought nothing of making mix tapes. And even before that…I thought nothing of holding my cassette deck up to the radio to tape a song that I didn’t have from the radio. I never dreamed I was pinching money from the bands pocket.
In a lot of ways…when I was given a copy of a specific album by a friend…it led me to go out and find more by the band if I really liked it. I would end up at the counter in my local record store (remember those) buying the latest and greatest to be cool and hip. Back in the day before I was able to go to those kinds of stores, I heard of booths that contained listening stations. Here you could “sample” new music before plunking down your coin. That was gone in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s my friend. It was limited world of mouth and a few rock magazines giving us the 411 in those days.
I also recall when I went to purchase my first proper stereo that I could call my own…it most certainly had to have a dual cassette deck. This way I could make copies of albums, share them with friends, or make mix tapes for my car. Blank media was everywhere. Dual tape decks were everywhere. Keep in mind this is pre web right? So if making copies was so wrong even then…why did the electronic industry make such equipment available to the normal consumer? Why was I able to go buy a “copy machine” at my corner store? To this very day…do we not have computers that come preloaded with CD burners, DVD burners, and even ways to play back all sorts of CD-R copies or shove things on flash drives and iPods to take with us on the go? Why make it accessible to the general public if we don’t want copies to be made? Shouldn’t we have outlawed those sorts of things years ago then?
I digress.
Let’s put all of that aside for just a moment. I have stated openly many times that I am a massive music freak. I have been collecting for years and years. I have spent tons of cash on music and movies over those many years. However…not all of the copies of albums that sit on my shelf are first generation. I admit that I have albums that have been given to me as copies. Friends that made me a copy of this or that to try and get me into a certain artist. And there are most certainly copies sitting there that came from a used media shop. Since I did not buy these specific albums brand new…am I also guilty for pinching money from the bands pocket without making the check out directly to the band/label?
My last post stated that I often wonder if I am the only person that swings to such weird places on the musical pendulum. Come to find out from several folks…I am not. That is a good thing. So…that being said…when I go to a retail outlet (be it a record chain, electronic outlet, or department store) I find myself forced to buy either the latest Greatest Hits package by an artist, their most recent release, or in many cases…nothing at all. Other times if it is an older title I am searching for…I have to dig through those horrid “dump tables”. Who knows what I could find in there? Could be all just a waste of time. Face facts…not everyone that is interesting in buying music these days is looking for the new Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga. There is more to music than that folks. What if I wanted the third album by Alan Parsons? Chances are I am not going to find that one, right? I know you can’t stock everything in the world…but the selection these days leaves sooooooo much to be desired. I’m forced to go to Amazon for physical copies or iTunes for downloading. Sort of kills a lot of the industry doesn’t it? Kills competition, but is that a good thing?
If iTunes is where I have to go…then why do bands need to rely on “labels” at all anymore? Can’t they just go directly to the web without some goofy company? Everyone can have a web site and market themselves without the record label pushing them anyway. And with so many different bands flooding the market…someone is bound to lose out anyway. The disposable income of many in this day and age (for music and entertainment anyway) is dwindling as we speak. Why hype anything? Why “pre order” anything? Is iTunes going to run out of digital downloads?
To Be Continued…
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