4 ms·

I want to support artists and stuff, but the music industry is making it so hard for me to do that in good conscience with their anti-consumer stances.

anigbrowl 11y ago
No they're not. They're making it hard for the government to postpone addressing the fundamental economic changes imposed by zero marginal-cost distribution. Since entertainment media production is a substantial chunk of the UK economy at about £65 billion a year, it's not unreasonable to ask government to come up with a policy on it. Entertainment is cultural capital, and it brings in both direct revenue and indirect (eg tourism). So the industry is saying 'you're going to allow something that you know will facilitate copyright infringement and thus destroy sales, what is your policy to ensure that the creative people don't end bearing all the economic loss?' The answer might be a change in copyright rules, a tax on entertainment media (probably a bad idea) some sort subsidy for people who work in the arts (like France), favorable tax treatment for people who work in the arts (like Ireland, where artists are exempt from paying income taxes - yes really), or whatever. As I have explained over and over again here on HN, changes in the marginal cost of distribution have no bearing on the cost of creation, ie making the original work. People still want to consume music, movies, books etc. as much as they ever did, and it takes creative people just as much effort to create such works as it always did, but the value of their property right has been eroded by forces outside their control or competence. So anyone who makes intellectual property is stuck with a completely different economic calculus from anyone engaged in creating physical property, and the government has so far failed to address this.
- Oletros 11y ago
  > So the industry is saying 'you're going to allow something that you know will facilitate copyright infringement and thus destroy sales What? And this is why the media industry is seeing as anti consumers.
  - anigbrowl 11y ago
    I can't work out what it is you're trying to say, sorry.

anigbrowl 11y ago

No they're not. They're making it hard for the government to postpone addressing the fundamental economic changes imposed by zero marginal-cost distribution. Since entertainment media production is a substantial chunk of the UK economy at about £65 billion a year, it's not unreasonable to ask government to come up with a policy on it. Entertainment is cultural capital, and it brings in both direct revenue and indirect (eg tourism). So the industry is saying 'you're going to allow something that you know will facilitate copyright infringement and thus destroy sales, what is your policy to ensure that the creative people don't end bearing all the economic loss?' The answer might be a change in copyright rules, a tax on entertainment media (probably a bad idea) some sort subsidy for people who work in the arts (like France), favorable tax treatment for people who work in the arts (like Ireland, where artists are exempt from paying income taxes - yes really), or whatever. As I have explained over and over again here on HN, changes in the marginal cost of distribution have no bearing on the cost of creation, ie making the original work. People still want to consume music, movies, books etc. as much as they ever did, and it takes creative people just as much effort to create such works as it always did, but the value of their property right has been eroded by forces outside their control or competence. So anyone who makes intellectual property is stuck with a completely different economic calculus from anyone engaged in creating physical property, and the government has so far failed to address this.

Oletros 11y ago
> So the industry is saying 'you're going to allow something that you know will facilitate copyright infringement and thus destroy sales What? And this is why the media industry is seeing as anti consumers.
- anigbrowl 11y ago
  I can't work out what it is you're trying to say, sorry.