Record and movie companies want to turn file sharing into a moral issue -- I think there are some moral issues here, although they fall on both sides -- but in reality everyone knows it's just about money and the fact that they have their hands on the levers of the legal system which they use for their benefit. It's not about justice. They recover money from teenies and grandmas and then don't redistribute it to the artists. In fact they have a long history of cheating artists. And now they have been caught again with their hands in the cookie jar.
I found this on Slashdot but the original article is in French. My French, while passable is not terrific, but I can certainly translate the first sentence, "La nouvelle ne manque pas de piquant," into idiomatic English and German: We greet the news with a certain amount of Schadenfreude. And what is the news?
The record giant Sony BMG is being sued for software piracy by a French company, PointDev. The software at issue is a server administration tool, four counterfeit copies of which were seized in a raid on Sony premises in January. It seems a Sony employee called the company for technical support and gave a software key the company realized was counterfeit. I'm sure Sony would like to settle this embarrassing episode quietly, but the 6 employee PointDev isn't interested: "It's not a matter of money. It's a matter of principle," the CEO is quoted as saying. Principle or not, I'm sure the 300,000 Euros demanded as damages will help ease the bruised sense of honor, but for the rest of us it really is a matter of principle. These bastards bully people they have no real evidence against for the sake of making an example of someone. It doesn't really matter to the record companies whether the little guys they sue are guilty of anything or not. They know it will never get to trial. They just want to hurt ordinary people and let everyone know they are doing it. So the matter of principle for me is this: the record and movie industries have no moral standing to accuse anyone. None. Zero.
And now they've been caught. "La nouvelle ne manque pas de piquant."
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It is just a detail, but the original article has a typo in the first sentence. It should read " La nouvelle ne manque PAS de piquant."
Posted by: Christine | March 31, 2008 4:30 PM
Priceless! Thanks Revere!
The arguments AGAINST the music industry are many.
For example, I've bought and paid for MANY songs over the years I never wanted. It was an early model, with the A and B side of singles. One you wanted, the other you paid for whether you liked it or not. Then they started making us buy entire albums to hear the one and only "hit".
Things have been wrong for years. It needs to change. The music industry Moguls (and not the artists) have gotten fat and fat cats don't hunt. It's time they work for their supper. And picking on their fans is no way to do it.
Posted by: Patch | March 31, 2008 5:09 PM
Christine: Mais, bien sûr. Merci.
Posted by: revere | March 31, 2008 6:34 PM