The problem with Pirates

No not the "Yarrr" kind, but the other kind.  The ones that use bit torrents or p2p networks to lay their hands on as much free music as possible.  Those ones.  The problem as I see it is it is just not necessary anymore.

Commercial music has now effectively and finally stopped being a product and started being a service.  It is not something that people go out and buy, rather something they interact with, the thing that brings it to them instead.  Be that iTunes, last fm, yahoo radio, spotify or whatever,  people just plain don't use music in the same way they used to, times have changed.  No they have, go check, I'll wait.

See? I know! it surprised a lot of other people as well!

Now perhaps I should explain my position on piracy.  My position is this:

It is bollocks.  Everything about it, both the act itself and peoples reaction to it.  I have also been guilty of both.

I grew up in the 80's, the land that taste forgot, a place that is somehow remembered with starry eyed nostalgic wonder but I can tell you the 80's was crap from beginning to end full of horrific political decisions, pointless wars, the stupidest clothes you have ever seen, awful music and this logo everywhere:

Like properly everywhere, you could not move for it at the time.  I can remember this very clearly and in 1985 I was six lets not forget!

Now just as Live Aid did not cure famine (you're right bono; i'm glad it's them and not me to!) Home taping did not kill music.  Instead it fostered thousands of music fans who grew up to be adults that bought music whilst the next generation were busy ripping it off.  Just like we were.  I know this because I was one of them.  I had boxes and boxes of tapes with which I had ripped off from friends or the radio.  And then when I grew up (stop laughing at the back there!) I went out and in the most part bought them on a multitude of formats.

Then along came the CD and everybody made uberbajillions, lived in their mansions made of cocaine and whores and when mp3 came along got the fear and hid their heads in the sand in the hope it would go away.  Didn't though.

Then a whole bunch of stuff happened that everybody is very familiar with by now and there is no point going over again and if you have no clue what I am talking about a) really? you sure? b) read THIS it is excellent and should fill you in on some of the stuff you have missed.  It is also both an informative and amusing read.  Although you really should pay more attention you know, then again you should probably read more to so either way is good.

So now we find ourselves on the cusp of a new decade and things are very different to how they were two years ago let alone ten (I say two because it's not all that different to last year, just people are aware of it now).  So what needs to change now?  You do. If you are still pirating music, if you are still using p2p etc then you have to ask yourself why.

There are now countless alternatives to p2p/bit torrents which are both free services (there's that word again) to the consumer and pay the artist and rights holders as well.  They are convenient, available online, offline, on desktop machines and mobile platforms.  The only reasons I can possibly think of to not use these services instead, and I have given it some thought, are as follows:

1. You didn't know.  Well if you are reading this, now you do.  Although I do find that hard to believe.  If you can work p2p etc out i'm sure you can work out google to.
2. You are an idiot.  Kind of self explanatory that.  Somehow you judge your own self worth by how much music you have.  Well done, have a cookie.
3. You use p2p/bit torrents to download films:  well yes there is as of yet equivalent, there is no vidify or e-drive-in and perhaps there should be.  Perhaps youtube should host films and pay money to the owners in the same way they do for music videos, personally I think they should.  I am still going to the imax to watch Avatar mind!

So to the stubborn pirates I say this:

Stop it, just stop it.  There really is no need anymore.

& To the Industry I say this:

Well done, instead of hiding your head in the sand you've got on board this time around.  About time to. But don't be complacent there is still plenty to do.  There will in the not to distant future be developed a hard drive that is portable and big enough to hold every single piece of music ever and we will all have one.  And you need to be ready for that.