| Subject: Re: Fansubs |
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Random IP rant
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Date Posted: 14:53:11 06/11/03 Wed
In reply to:
Jake
's message, "Re: Fansubs" on 09:48:06 06/11/03 Wed
>>I'd like to chip in my two cents as someone who's part
>>of the syndrome you're talking about. My parents
>>aren't all that computer literate, so as I grew up I
>>had a big gap where I was (theoretically) supposed to
>>have "respect for intellectual property." Nowadays I
>>have zero moral qualms about downloading an album off
>>the net, although I would never even _consider_
>>stealing the same album form a store, because that
>>would be stealing. (If you think that statement is
>>ridiculous, I mean it in all seriousness.)
>
>I'm confused. Is this because you don't think
>creators should be able to make money off of their
>artistic creations? But then below you say you're
>honor-bound to buy stuff you download and like?
It's a complicated philosophy, and only recently have I gotten it all straight, myself. :) My stance on intellectual property is basically that it can be copied and shared with no harm to the original, and that makes it fundamentally different from normal, physical property. If you had a chair, and I came in and made a copy of that chair without harming yours, and then left with my copy of the chair, would I be stealing your chair? I don't think so. You can't actually do that with physical stuff, but thoughts, ideas, and digital patterns are different.
So what does this mean for software developers and artists and the like? It means they shouldn't expect to sell their thoughts and ideas, but should market themselves in another way. People who understand this are making a lot of money right now. The best example I can think of is Fred Gallager of Megatokyo fame. He current works full-time to put out three webcomics a week, which are viewable to anyone at no charge. He also pays for the webhosting that makes his art viewable to everyone. Despite these two facts, Fred has been making a comfortable living, and Megatokyo is his only job. How? Merchandise. He refuses to put up any sort of PayPal-like donation ssytem, but he does have Megatokyo shirts, blankets, etc., which the fans buy in droves, because they like Megatokyo and want to support Fred.
Anime works much the same way, in Japan. A normal anime TV series is on TV - anyone can watch it for free. Some money comes from the advertising that accompanies the show, but I suspect most, if not all of that money goes to the TV companies. The money that the studio gets comes from the merchandise that loyal fans are willing to buy to show their support. (Or they buy it because it's just so cuuuuute. ;) ) In both cases, the trend is clear: Don't try to sell the content, which is easily copied. Sell the merchandise, and/or get money from the fans that are devoted to you precisely because the content is free.
Finally, to clarify my stance on stealing: I would never steal a CD (or anything else) from a store because that would be stealing, which is wrong. However, when I download an album off the net, I have not deprived anyone of their copy of the album. I buy albums soley to support the artists who make the music; if anyone released a good album for free, I would download it and send them a check for $10. Heck, I would do the same for artists that don't release for free, except that I'm afraid some would be offended by the gesture.
--
=D ave
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