inignoct wrote:
] yeah, i agree that this guy got it right... for all it's good
] deeds and motives, the EFF comes off a bit scatterbrained
] sometimes. i don't think they're doing anything improper,
] just weakening themselves by not having a clear voice on these
] issues.

Yeah, I think when they said "sue the file sharers" they were playing a little fast and loose with their rhetoric. I don't think they really meant that. I'm glad, however, that people in this community are critical of them. They need constructive criticism.

] In my opinion, the only way we're going to get the
] organization you mention is for the artists to create it
] themselves.

I recall having this conversation about the issue with a friend of a friend in Sacramento whose husband is a musician. Its like she expected her husband to be taken care of from a business perspective while simultaneously arguing that her husband could not understand business. "He's an artist."

So much of business has to do with connecting people who are creative: Scientists, engineers, musicians... with the networks of people needed to bring their products to market. As long a musicians remain clueless about this stuff they are going to need some slick pimp to come turn them out, and they are going to continue to get taken advantage of. I think that they have to become more savvy, but someone is going to have to lead that movement, and those that understand how to use this medium to do this stuff right are going to have to educate them.

Musicians, and also engineers and other creators, ultimately need to become more like consultants. People who can bargain as well as create.

Unfortunately, its a really hard game to play. A lot of the really really good artists are also the ones that are really really serious. Those people are looking to pay rent and they aren't fucking around. They usually don't seem to be into experimenting with business models even if it seems to make sense. Once these people make it, if they do, it seems like they just join the ranks of the pimps. Who is altruistic? The only reason we care is because we see this problem getting to the point where it is screwing up our culture. (Man, I am really getting jaded lately...)

] The key point in all this is that
] the artists get to keep the rights, agreeing only to allow the
] organization they join to manage those rights for as long as
] they appear to be doing a good job.

IP contracts take as much IP rights away from creators as allowed by law. This occurs in music, engineering... Every field. This is because IP creators don't hire lawyers. Businessmen hire lawyers. Contracts reflect the perspective of those who are writing them. You gunna argue with it? Everyone else signed it! Its industry standard!

Again the real issue is that the creators need to learn to be business savvy...

Another thing that concerns me, though, is that artists usually don't respect the public domain. They believe in perpetual copyright too... Even if you get the artists free from the pimps, you've got another fight to get the people free from the artists...

RE: [Politech] Reply to EFF over its position on RIAA, file swapping [ip]