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You're looking at this completely wrong. Imagine you write a song. I take that song and I turn it in to a bunch of holes punched in a big long reel of paper. N

You're looking at this completely wrong. Imagine you write a song. I take that song and I turn it in to a bunch of holes punched in a big long reel of paper. Now I put that reel in to a specially designed piano that will read the sequence of holes and use it to trigger notes. Now I sell that roll of punched holes. Do I need to give you any money? Imagine you write a song. I take that song and I record it on to thin plastic disc. I sell these plastic discs. Do I need to give you any money? Imagine you write a song. Someone else records it and I play that recording over a radio broadcast. I sell spots in the broadcast to advertisers and make a profit. Do I need to give you any money? Imagine you write a song. Someone else records it and puts that song on a website I run. I sell spots on the website to advertisers and make a profit. Do I need to give you any money? Imagine you write a song. Someone else records it and uploads it to their own website. They don't have ads. However, I have a website that indexes every other website on the Internet. I sell ads around the content that is returned in these search results, including your song. Do I need to give you any money? This has nothing to do with supply and demand. It has everything to do with people like me making money off of things that people like you made and if that is or isn't how we expect a lawful and just society to work.

morgante 11y ago
Who are people "like me" and people "like you?" Your entire comment is completely nonsensical and frankly insulting. Being a musician was an unprofitable pursuit long before digitalization.
- williamcotton 11y ago
  In case it isn't clear, "people like me" and "people like you" refer to the hypothetical characters in the above paragraphs. I made you the "songwriter character" in order to try and get you to empathize with their position. As for the examples, the first three scenarios are based on the actual history of intellectual property as it pertains to music in the United States. The invention of player pianos led to the foundation of what is known as "mechanical royalties" in the music industry. That is, you can't say that you're just selling a roll of paper with holes in it and that you have the rights to all the profits, rather you have to license that song from the rights-holders. While my rhetorical approach might not have been the best choice, the points I'm making are not at all nonsensical and were not intended to be insulting.
  - morgante 11y ago
    If you want to make an argument, try to make it cogently and clearly instead of insulting your audience with ad hominem attacks. Either way, I have very little sympathy for songwriters or musicians. They knew it's a terrible business to get into (there's a reason that the starving musician is a common trope) and frankly nobody really needs their music.
- dang 11y ago
  > Your entire comment is completely nonsensical and frankly insulting. This comment breaks the HN guidelines, which say: When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. E.g. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." Similarly, this comment could be shortened (and considerably improved) by deleting the above sentence.
  - morgante 11y ago
    I should have redacted the "nonsensical" part, but I did find the comment very insulting. It was quite insulting to say that my work is unfairly yielding some other group profit, thereby implying that I'm some naive dunce. (To be clear, this is the line I object to: "people like me making money off of things that people like you made.")
    - dang 11y ago
      I hear you, but that's a really specific interpretation. It's easier and less annoying just to look for a different possible meaning in the OP. Most of the time no insult was intended, and even if one was, it's rarely really about you. (This is not a criticism. I'm just reflecting.)

morgante 11y ago

Who are people "like me" and people "like you?" Your entire comment is completely nonsensical and frankly insulting. Being a musician was an unprofitable pursuit long before digitalization.

williamcotton 11y ago
In case it isn't clear, "people like me" and "people like you" refer to the hypothetical characters in the above paragraphs. I made you the "songwriter character" in order to try and get you to empathize with their position. As for the examples, the first three scenarios are based on the actual history of intellectual property as it pertains to music in the United States. The invention of player pianos led to the foundation of what is known as "mechanical royalties" in the music industry. That is, you can't say that you're just selling a roll of paper with holes in it and that you have the rights to all the profits, rather you have to license that song from the rights-holders. While my rhetorical approach might not have been the best choice, the points I'm making are not at all nonsensical and were not intended to be insulting.
- morgante 11y ago
  If you want to make an argument, try to make it cogently and clearly instead of insulting your audience with ad hominem attacks. Either way, I have very little sympathy for songwriters or musicians. They knew it's a terrible business to get into (there's a reason that the starving musician is a common trope) and frankly nobody really needs their music.
dang 11y ago
> Your entire comment is completely nonsensical and frankly insulting. This comment breaks the HN guidelines, which say: When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. E.g. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." Similarly, this comment could be shortened (and considerably improved) by deleting the above sentence.
- morgante 11y ago
  I should have redacted the "nonsensical" part, but I did find the comment very insulting. It was quite insulting to say that my work is unfairly yielding some other group profit, thereby implying that I'm some naive dunce. (To be clear, this is the line I object to: "people like me making money off of things that people like you made.")
  - dang 11y ago
    I hear you, but that's a really specific interpretation. It's easier and less annoying just to look for a different possible meaning in the OP. Most of the time no insult was intended, and even if one was, it's rarely really about you. (This is not a criticism. I'm just reflecting.)