Feds Shut Down Popular File-sharing Website Megaupload!

I think part of the problem with piracy has been availability of legit ways to acquire content which is finally catching up with pirated content. Before if I wanted a CD for example, I would download it for free because it was easier than going to the store to purchase it. Now it's just as easy to buy that CD on iTunes so I do that instead. Technology and times change, so it's up to everybody participating to innovate and stay ahead. I don't think for example music piracy is a bad thing as it forces artists to engage more with fans. You can't download the experience of going to a concert.

 

 

When I was young they introduced the CD. And the AUDIOPHILES went NUTS. The purity and the quality of the material was unmatched by ANY medium to that point. It seemed like overnight, everybody became a music snob. The entertainment industry was scared. Because the original material was so pure, it made 2nd generation copies (even though home CD recording wouldn't come along for another decade) that much better. Before, if you copied a tape, it sounded like a crappy copy- Nearly impossible to listen to. Now, you could do it and the quality was as good as what you could previously buy in a store.

 

What happened? People BOUGHT MORE CDS than they ever bought tapes. And yes, they made mix tapes (What we in the business call "Time and Medium shifting") and such, but it didnt really harm the bottom line, because MOST PEOPLE wanted that QUALITY. The same thing happened with the VCR. People didnt want to watch a copy of STAR WARS some jackass recorded off of HBO. They wanted the high quality VHS they could buy from a store, and then it was DVD, and then it was DVD with SURROUND SOUND, and then BLUE RAY.... The HIGHER QUALITY was always sought after.

 

Now, weve gone the other way. An MP3s quality SUCKS compared to what used to be delivered on a CD. Ive bought shit off of ITUNES, that I can barely stand to listen to. I tried to buy a CD a few years ago... The record stores have all gone out of business.... Which says that people are settling for shitty quality in exchange for cheap shit. I cant watch a downloaded movie.... The quality even if I toss it to my big screen isnt up to what I want. The younger generation (who are the predominate consumers of entertainment) doesnt seem to give a shit.

I'm not going to defend him, but if they have a case against Megaupload it should be really easy to take down rapidshare and other sites.

Again, the serious charges are EXTORTION and MONEY LAUNDERING. Piracy is a part of the accusations as well, but the first two are far more serious and probably triggered it all.

Again, the serious charges are EXTORTION and MONEY LAUNDERING. Piracy is a part of the accusations as well, but the first too are far more serious and probably triggered it all.

I've read your post Flaccid but only after I replied to Roman. Thanks.

 

 

I also think if Kim didn't live like a king, more on the down low and in China/Japan he would be hard to find. Well maybe not, he's a 6"11 400lbs white guy in Asia LOL.

Again, the serious charges are EXTORTION and MONEY LAUNDERING. Piracy is a part of the accusations as well, but the first two are far more serious and probably triggered it all.

 

Thats not the exception... Thats the rule.... MOST people who engage in wholesale IP infringment, are involved in a whole host of other criminal activity like money laundering, RICO, Tax Evasion, Extortion, and often a LOT WORSE....

 

One of the things the copyright laws allow is for the copyright holder to seize the infringing materials, and the means of production. That is usually accomplished via the cooperation of Local Law Enforcement authorities. And the way that works is, a young attorney will go with the FBI, strap on a bullet proof vest, the SWAT team will hit the location full fcuking force, and the attorney will then walk through the building pointing at stuff saying "Yep, we're taking that, and that, and that." Its not unusual to find guns, drugs, and other illegal stuff in the same places as pirated materials.

Now, weve gone the other way. An MP3s quality SUCKS compared to what used to be delivered on a CD. Ive bought shit off of ITUNES, that I can barely stand to listen to. I tried to buy a CD a few years ago... The record stores have all gone out of business.... Which says that people are settling for shitty quality in exchange for cheap shit. I cant watch a downloaded movie.... The quality even if I toss it to my big screen isnt up to what I want. The younger generation (who are the predominate consumers of entertainment) doesnt seem to give a shit.

Major, major +1. This is the true problem here. When consumers decided that convenience was acceptable over good quality (aka the MP3, which at first was bit rates of 64 and 128 kbs, radio quality or worse) things instantly went downhill. We've been unable to recover since.

 

Subsequently quality has suffered. Radio and ring tone hits (not as much anymore with smart phones) are now what sells because no one cares about the quality of the recording. All they want is something catchy and that feels good (and maybe that is a product of the wars, terror and economy over the same time frame). When the quality is no longer important then all of a sudden your major label artist no longer has to sound good. When the major label artists lack basic talent there is no need to invest in high quality recordings/mastering/etc. Then we end up where we are today, with crappy quality and no one wanting to pay for it.

 

It is weird at age 25 to feel archaic because I still buy the actual CD from the store. People my age laugh my wife and me, even the music loving 'heads'. The main reason I buy it though is for my digital media use (we like Zune) I control the quality. As cheap as storage is these days it is a real shame that lossless encoding never took off. Had storage been cheaper before music jumped to hard drive and flash storage, and broadband internet connections been fast enough to download reasonably fast, then it is likely lossless media could have bridged that gap.

I wish the general public could have been rallied like this over the light bulb ban

 

The word is COPYright. Yes performance and use are ancillary rights within the scope of it, but the big one is COPYING. You said it yourself.... THERE ARE "ADD-ONS" that allow you to copy the work. When you use those "add-ons" to copy it, you are violating the law. Its no different than saying "Why should I buy a book, when I can Xerox a copy I got free from the library? They've made it so easy with the invention of these copy machines!" "or "Why should I buy an album when I can record it off the radio with my tape player? They're just putting it out there!" Because its illegal. Thats why.

 

Roman, just a bit confused here, but are you saying it is illegal to record music off the radio? If so, how is it legal to record programs off the television, but not legal to record something off the radio? The impression I had was recording things are fine so long as one doesn't try to sell them...?

 

When I was young they introduced the CD. And the AUDIOPHILES went NUTS. The purity and the quality of the material was unmatched by ANY medium to that point. It seemed like overnight, everybody became a music snob. The entertainment industry was scared. Because the original material was so pure, it made 2nd generation copies (even though home CD recording wouldn't come along for another decade) that much better. Before, if you copied a tape, it sounded like a crappy copy- Nearly impossible to listen to. Now, you could do it and the quality was as good as what you could previously buy in a store.

 

What happened? People BOUGHT MORE CDS than they ever bought tapes. And yes, they made mix tapes (What we in the business call "Time and Medium shifting") and such, but it didnt really harm the bottom line, because MOST PEOPLE wanted that QUALITY. The same thing happened with the VCR. People didnt want to watch a copy of STAR WARS some jackass recorded off of HBO. They wanted the high quality VHS they could buy from a store, and then it was DVD, and then it was DVD with SURROUND SOUND, and then BLUE RAY.... The HIGHER QUALITY was always sought after.

 

Now, weve gone the other way. An MP3s quality SUCKS compared to what used to be delivered on a CD. Ive bought shit off of ITUNES, that I can barely stand to listen to. I tried to buy a CD a few years ago... The record stores have all gone out of business.... Which says that people are settling for shitty quality in exchange for cheap shit. I cant watch a downloaded movie.... The quality even if I toss it to my big screen isnt up to what I want. The younger generation (who are the predominate consumers of entertainment) doesnt seem to give a shit.

 

It could be that they don't notice the difference. My understanding was that the purists in music complained about the quality of the music on the CDs in comparison to the record albums when CDs first came out. But people preferred CDs anyhow because of how much more convenient they are. Myself, I never really noticed the difference between mp3's and CD music, both sound pretty much the same to me. If that's the case with lots of others, it wouldn't be that people are okay with crappy quality for a cheap price, it's that they don't notice the difference in the sound.

The answer to quality is lossless audio - essentially pouring everything from a CD onto a file. You guys in hi-fi know that when you used to record reel-to-reel you picked up EVERYTHING. Then digital would essentially take a pair of hedge trimmers to the audio. Digital quality has come leaps and bounds - in a very short time span. When MP3's became popular, many thought it was the end of music as we know it. But it just made previously unavailable and hard-to-find music readily available - as well as open up new listeners to whole new realms of music. I once had a friend ask me (seriously) "Why I would want better headphones - the ones that come with the iPod work just fine - how does it work better?"

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that individual, not-for-profit piracy really isn't THAT big of deal. I'm sure I'll take some shit for saying this - but I really don't think it's that bad. Most people I know download songs off iTunes or use Pandora. Very few do massive downloading. Some will download one or two songs illegally, then buy the whole album (in whatever medium they choose). I've bought a few songs off iTunes, but I still cannot see myself buying an entire album off there - I still want a physical copy in my hands that is pure "99.999%"

 

And the only solutions I see are 1) Stop people from doing it by attempting to shut down the sites - which won't work 2) Convince people to NOT illegally download music - morally or legally. 3) Offer something better, cheaper, easier than illegally downloading - (iTunes really ratcheted down on this). 4) Create a new medium that makes copying next-to-impossible.

I find it odd that music celebrities would have to be okay with piracy. Talk about a spoiled self-righteous fanbase!

 

One question, if you burn an mp3 onto a music CD, is it still the same mp3 quality?

I find it odd that music celebrities would have to be okay with piracy. Talk about a spoiled self-righteous fanbase!

 

One question, if you burn an mp3 onto a music CD, is it still the same mp3 quality?

It's not that they have to be okay with piracy, but being okay with new forms of distribution. Youtube, Spotify, iTunes etc makes the artists reach people they would never otherwise have reached. Some artists do actually directly support piracy too (like Tiesto IIRC) because they realize they reach a larger audience that would never otherwise have bought their music anyway.

Just like the creator of the game Minecraft; he says "piracy is not theft" and is totally okay with people pirating his game. Still it's one of the best selling PC games of all time with almost 5 million copies sold so far.

 

Are you an artists just to make shitloads of money, or are you an artist to reach as many people as possible with your work?

 

And yes, if you burn an mp3 to a CD the quality remains that of the mp3, it does not magically increase the quality

The word is COPYright. Yes performance and use are ancillary rights within the scope of it, but the big one is COPYING. You said it yourself.... THERE ARE "ADD-ONS" that allow you to copy the work. When you use those "add-ons" to copy it, you are violating the law. Its no different than saying "Why should I buy a book, when I can Xerox a copy I got free from the library? They've made it so easy with the invention of these copy machines!" "or "Why should I buy an album when I can record it off the radio with my tape player? They're just putting it out there!" Because its illegal. Thats why.

 

YOUTUBE PAYS the owners of copyright material for the number of hits they get (just like radio stations pay record companies). The fact that you, the viewer, dont actually PAY them yourself, is irrelevant to the equation.

 

 

Hey RD,

 

i get what you're saying, i wasnt saying that i do it, but i was suggesting its actually easier than it ever has been in past.

 

as i say, i can listen to any song i like for free on youtube so i get on there and just listen to songs i like. I understand that they are getting their ad revenue which is fine by me, but i guess i was eluding to the fact that there is no need to pirate music anymore as you can get it for free anyway. and as i mention, if you get an add on then it goes straight to hard drive anyway.

 

but this is most definitely one of the most interesting threads so far this year

Which says that people are settling for shitty quality in exchange for cheap shit. I cant watch a downloaded movie.... The quality even if I toss it to my big screen isnt up to what I want.

I find this weird, what kind of TV do you own? I recently watched Lord of the rings 3 and Avatar in 1080 and the quality is amazing, like it's supposed to be. It can't be any better.

I say those multi billion dollar corporations get on with the times. Instead of spending billions on lobbying and counsel they should concentrate on new approaches and new tech to help deliver their content to the consumer in a way that'll still be profitable for them and the end user will still get high quality material to enjoy... sites like Hulu come to mind... I don't think there are as many people looking to download copies of Modern Family from Piratebay or Megaupload when they can just go to Hulu, watch a couple of short ads here and there, enjoy high quality and not break the law.

 

Educating the public and giving them options is the way forward.

 

Those corporations might also need to reimagine and restructure their traditional expectations and formulas of profit.

 

 

I say those multi billion dollar corporations get on with the times. Instead of spending billions on lobbying and counsel they should concentrate on new approaches and new tech to help deliver their content to the consumer in a way that'll still be profitable for them and the end user will still get high quality material to enjoy... sites like Hulu come to mind... I don't think there are as many people looking to download copies of Modern Family from Piratebay or Megaupload when they can just go to Hulu, watch a couple of short ads here and there, enjoy high quality and not break the law.

 

Educating the public and giving them options is the way forward.

 

Those corporations might also need to reimagine and restructure their traditional expectations and formulas of profit.

 

Consumers take the path of least resistance.

.....Tiesto.....

 

Are you an artists just to make shitloads of money, or are you an artist to reach as many people as possible with your work?

 

I wouldn't mention Tiesto then talk about art for arts sake. That guy has been around for at least 15 years and follows every music trend to be as popular and profitable as possible.

 

I wouldn't mention Tiesto then talk about art for arts sake. That guy has been around for at least 15 years and follows every music trend to be as popular and profitable as possible.

Tiesto is more original than a lot of artists out there, you just don't like him but to each him own. Since dubstep is the new thing even Britney Spears used it in her songs. Go with the flow and make money.

I wouldn't mention Tiesto then talk about art for arts sake. That guy has been around for at least 15 years and follows every music trend to be as popular and profitable as possible.

I'm pretty sure he has created trends as much as he has followed them. But the point was not whether or not he's an artist, a trendsetter or a commercial sellout, but the fact that he acknowledge that piracy makes him reach out to more people, creating a larger audience resulting in more concerts and more profit. This was before Spotify etc though.

 

He may have missed the point a little, but its an interesting view...

So, file-sharing website is really a good business. He earned a lot.

Hi... You dont know what the fcuk youre talking about.

 

IP means "Intellectual property". Copyright IS Intellectual property. The whole point is that websites can be hosted in countries that we dont have Copyright treaties with and who have the latent support of their own governments. The big billion person dog in that park has ALWAYS been CHINA. Listen... We're at a point where I dont thing anybody still gives a shit if the Chinese are bootlegging DVDs and selling them IN CHINA. Its when they rip off that product and try to sell it BACK HERE VIA BROADBAND, undermining the legitimate western markets, and undercutting the commercial value of the industry that people get freaked out.

 

Huh? I think you're very misinformed about the piracy scene, or at least where it's at. Where do you see China in all this? Most sites are not hosted in China. I can't think of a single one hosted in China. Believe it or not, you actually have to file a lot of paperwork with the government to host in China and register domains. It's very regulated and Chinese servers are sloooooooooooooooooooow for people outside China usually. No one in their right mind would host in China unless that absolutely had to and it would probably be pretty damn hard for a foreigner to pursue hosting for such sites in China. You can easily just host your stuff in liberal countries like Sweden or in eastern Europe. I also don't know anyone other than Chinese people who use the Chinese sites that cater to piracy. I mean, why would they use a site that's in Chinese when they can use sites in English that are way better?

 

Thepiratebay.com is hosted in Sweden.

RapidShare.com is hosted in Germany.

Xhamster.com is hosted in the Netherlands.

Demonoid is hosted in the Ukraine.

 

When it comes to piracy of media and software, China is definitely not the source of the problem for the rest of the world. Hell, most traffic is peer-to-peer these days anyway. I'm surprised people even used shit like MegaUpload when torrents are a million times better.

 

While you're correct about IP I guess, I was merely talking about IP in the most common usage of the word these days -- technology and patents. The big problems are not associated with consumer goods and products in the domestic markets, but rather 'sharing' technology through forced joint ventures and flat out stealing/infringement in the Chinese markets. I believe the government really dislikes foreign companies using their IP to stifle Chinese competition. It's bullshit, but that's just how they seem to operate.

Hi... You dont know what the fcuk youre talking about.

 

Ok, I lol'ed hard.

 

Thepiratebay.com is hosted in Sweden.

 

Yeah, but there is a long story to go with that...

Yeah, but there is a long story to go with that...

It's not hosted in Sweden either...

It's not hosted in Sweden either...

 

Yeah it is. Do a whois on it. It's definitely hosted in Sweden.

 

I'm guessing they have hosting in more than just Sweden though. I believe Russia and the Ukraine as well -- probably just to be safe haha.

Yeah it is. Do a whois on it. It's definitely hosted in Sweden.

Whois tells you who the registrar is, not where it's hosted. This is where it's hosted.

Whois tells you who the registrar is, not where it's hosted. This is where it's hosted.

 

Yeah, I know, but most sites that do whois look ups also can tell you the server information.

 

http://whois.domaintools.com/thepiratebay.com --> go to server stats. It's in Sweden, not Germany. MaxMind GeoIP is not always accurate.

As I said, a long story..