Have you ever downloaded a song or movie without paying for it? Maybe you thought it wasn't really stealing because when you think about it, music seems like its free right? You hear it in your car, free right? In stores while you shop, free right? At the restaurants and clubs...all free right?
Not on your life. Music is not free. Most of the music you hear is paid for whether its on the radio or in a store, you may not be aware of this because as you run around in your day, music is being gifted to you. What you don't realize is the Recording Industry is losing billions in sales because that 'gift' of music somehow actively encourages unlawful peer-to-peer file swapping. Individual sense of entitlement creeps in and Record companies are big ugly money mongers anyways, right?
A new 3-way piracy system recently implemented in France is about the change everything. This groundbreaking agreement between ISPs, the French government and the music and film industries puts France at the forefront of an intense battle on piracy. Basically, if a user has high traffic file sharing, s/he would be reported to an enforcement body, after the third warning the user would no longer have access to the web. Sound scary? It does to me. I can't imagine a life without the web.
I'd have to say one must give Kudos to President Nicolas Sarkozy who backed the plan despite getting some heat from his own parliament about infringement of civil liberties. Somehow, I can't fully understand that, so one should have right to steal music and movies? How does that infringe on civil liberties?
As an Artist myself, I want to see support from consumers of the Art that takes so much time, energy and heart to create. It's that old unquenchable appetite, that human desire for possession that turns blind to respectful, restrained consumerism. So, what does all this wanton exploitation really mean? Well, I think, that is a whole another conversation but for now thank God someone is doing something to perseve the integrity of Art.