TV ad against pirates in Quebec

[Tom|420]

There is an new ad against music pirates which just started to run in Quebec (Canada). The ad is in French and concentrates on the fact that most pirates do not actually realize they are not only breaking the law but also breaking carrers. I thought this could be of interest to you.

At the beginning there is a musician/singer on stage playing a song. Then some of the musicians are stopping playing and are going out of view. Then, once the singer is alone on the stage which its guitar the sound goes off. He stops playing and starts looking around him, looking like he doesn't understand what's happenning. Then the lights go off. A written message than appears on the black screen explaining that music pirates are destroying music.

This is just the first of several messages that have been created recently. Several popular (and some not so popular) Quebec artists have worked on those messages.

This ad touched me in a very strange way. I was one of those fighting for changes in the music industry, in particular about the fact that artists were getting only about 50¢ out of the disc I paid $20 for. The message made me realize I wasn't fighting in the right way, actually hurting the whole industry and not just the disc makers.

Yes I (and possibly some of you) want some changes in the industry in favor of the artists, but I think I just realized I was pushing the changes the wrong way.

[sh0dan]

:goodpost:

First of all, I believe many people agree with you here. I personally have no problems paying for a good experiences.

I think the entertainment industry has completely lost touch with the rest of the world. Times are changing - economics are changing. It seems like all other industries are coping with the fact that they cannot increase their profits every year. The entertainment industry has been raising their profits by:

1) Increasing consumer prices.
2) Decreasing artist payment.
3) Decreasing risks.

1) Leads to "piracy". I watch more than 15 movies per month - and if I didn't have a bunch of good friends to share the cost of bying/renting, I wouldn't have nearly enough for that. When I find a good music album, I buy it - no matter if I have it in some other form already.

2) & 3) are closely related. Entertainment companies are more and more rarely releasing interesting/groundbreaking stuff. They go for full promotion of the next Britney Spears album because they are sure their investment pays off. I don't (only) want Britney Spears stuff, but also some stuff that rocks my world.

The entertainment industry blaims piracy that they don't sell as many copies of BS (funny acronym, btw), but they should blaim themselves. They are not producing nearly as much interesting stuff as they should have. They go for the short-term money, and not for creating new markets by promoting new and interesting (read: not commercially created) bands.

The size of the current recording labels makes it very hard for good initiatives (http://magnatune.com/) to get started. If the recording labels wasn't as big, it might have been easier for smaller labels to get proper funding for promotion and distribution (if necessary).

I think the movie industry is a bit better at releasing interesting stuff and taking risks. Is still think there is much good stuff coming from them. OTOH, they also whine about the "new age". They are no longer able to fool massive amounts of people into watching cr*p. "Charlies Angels 2" for instance flopped big time in spite of massive advertising - simply because people were able to tell eachother not to watch the movie. They can blame the internet - mobile communication or whatever for their big losses - but they should take a look at themselves, and ask themselves why they released such bad movies and spent so much money on promoting it.


PS. I appologize in advance for fans of BS and/or people who liked Charlies Angels two - I know you are out there - somewhere. ;)

[The Edge]

I had to leave the cinema halfway through Charlies Angels 2 it was that bad :mad: Stayed until I saw Demi Moore in her bikini though *cough*

I'll admit to downloading the odd song but if the song/album is good, I'll buy it. Gives me a way to sample what I may or may not buy.
I have bought plenty of cds due to being able to hear the songs first.
Sure if the industry puts their thinking caps on there is money (http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/8728) with selling music online. Though I would like to see the artist's get a bigger share in the profits.

Nice post Tom

Edge

[mpucoder]

I want to say at the top that I do not advocate piracy, or file sharing, or whatever euphemism you use to convince yourself it's not illegal.

But, these ads would be as laughable as the egg and skillet analogy to drug use if not for the fact that they are so misleading.

The ad wants you to believe that without the meager royalty from the sale of a recording that the musicians will suffer greatly and stop playing. It does not tell you that the musicians make the greatest money in after-sales markets, which are not affected by piracy. These markets include royalties collected by ASCAP and BMI from radio stations and legitimately operating clubs, bars, and restaurants. It also includes touring and personal appearances.

The recording industry gives artists a way to increase exposure, and therfore their fame (and ultimately fortune), but it is neither required for survival nor the only means to fame. There are far more unsigned bands than those with contracts, and most, while not famous, are surviving by performing live. (History lesson - remember the Grateful Dead? Record sales never were a factor to them). And finally, the internet is creating an alternative to the system, releasing the stranglehold of the studios.

The musicians aren't as endangered as the fat studio executives. It would be amusing to make a parody showing cigar smoking "suits" disappearing intead of the musicians.

[wmansir]

It would be funny if you could setup a "artists reparations" fund, where for every whole album a person pirates they would donate $1, with the name of the artists attached to that donation. Then we wouldn't have to see these lame ads, who's purpose (much like the profit ratios) is 99% to help the recording industry and 1% to help the artist.

Personally, I don't feel much for the artists regardless. I wouldn't mind seeing the total collapse of the music industry. If you make good music you can make a living off it, by playing music. Musicians have done if for thousands of years before the phonograph was invented. Does being a good musician entitle you to being a multi-millionaire now?

[Neo Neko]

It's all about spin. Unfortunatly the music and movie companies also have a slight bit of legality on their side as well. The claims of the RIAA and the MPAA or other groups like them are very much like the story of chicken little. "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!". This (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=67047) post has something pertinant to say. The MPAA claims movie piracy is not only threatening CEO and shareholders bottom lines but the jobs of all those who work on the sets. Last I saw the jobs of those who work on movie sets were most threatened by the CEOs and shareholders. It is a fact that many movies produced and released in the US by domestic companies these days are actually filmed over seas in countries like Prague. It does not do alot for these companies credability. Brfore they expect anyone else to change they need to stop being hypocritical. And all this is happening while DVD and theater sales have remained constant or even increased. The RIAA and friends are no better. I dare say they are worse. The record companies produce less albums now than a decade ago. Not only that they also sign less artists as well. Yet they have the guall to lay all the blame on piracy or fair use. Most of the music and artists I listen to can't be found on any "major" label simply because they don't sign acts they did not create anymore. Moonshine, Astralwerks, and a few other small companies or loosely tied subsidiaries are the only ones pushing the envelope and actively seeking new artists and new music. Nothing ventured nothing gained. And untill they start venturing they will not gain irregardless of piracy or fair use.

[Kedirekin]

Originally posted by Tom|420
...
The message made me realize I wasn't fighting in the right way, actually hurting the whole industry and not just the disc makers.

Yes I (and possibly some of you) want some changes in the industry in favor of the artists, but I think I just realized I was pushing the changes the wrong way.

I don't think anyone is fighting this in the wrong way. In my opinion, the bottom line is that we need to send a message to the industry that they won't ignore. The only message they won't ignore is $$$ - we need to speak with our wallets.

One way to achieve this is a simple boycott, but we all know that will never happen (it is fun to think about though - I wonder what the RIAA would sue people for).

P2P is another option, though ethically questionable. In a lot of ways I consider P2P a modern form of boycott.

Another option is to purchase from any of the innovative online sellers; ones that charge less and give the artist more. There aren't many of them yet, and big names are hard to find (which might be a good thing), but they are out there.

And I think it's time to accept that, no matter what route we take, some artist are going to be hurt. On the other hand, plenty of artists (the majority) are already being hurt badly by the current system, and in the long run change is going to be good for all the artists, hurt and unhurt alike. After all (for example), 50% of $6 is more than 3% of $20, especially when you consider that unit sales will probably be much greater at $6 than at $20.

[Tom|420]

I was actually doing my boycott by using P2P... not so sure if I was doing right, as I started to question myself after I saw the ad I described.

Actually this series of ad was created by one of the large disc producer in Quebec, but the actual ads are played by some famous (and some less famous) quebec artists. Unless they prefer cash to putting in their real opinion, it seems that artists agree on the ad campaign.

This doesn't seem to be the case for everybody though, as we can remember Offspring (to name one I could think of) had released a song (the one which was playing on the radio) for free on www.mp3.com.


by wmansir
If you make good music you can make a living off it, by playing music. Musicians have done if for thousands of years before the phonograph was invented.


Actually it's the first time in history where artists are doing any money from their art. Previously those who did were those who played for the King (and let's admit it, they did it for the King for the exposure and money, not for the King).

I can only cite as example a French writter name La Fontaine, he was writting some kind of short stories for kids in the form of poems in the 1700s (today his texts are studied at high school and college levels, not much by kids). He was writting (supposedly) for the son of the King (called the Dauphin), but admittedly he was doing it for the exposure and for the good impression, because in fact in my opinion the King and the Daupin were the last of his interest. He did just enough for a living but he were probably not rich.

There are not much examples in music before the invention of the recording (and I have very little knowledge of Beethoven and the others of the old times), so I must stick to other arts as example.

[Sirber]

I never seen that ad... I don't watch TV :D. OMHO Québec "cultural production" is BS. I listen more Irish music (Kila (http://www.kila.ie/)) than Québec music. The same apply to movies :) Half of the movies I watch can't be bought on DVD or tapes (Chinies, Korean and Japanies movies).

[Tom|420]

Don't say those are BS, say you don't like those. I like a lot, but not *all* of the Quebec artists, including music, TV and movies.

About the ad it hasn't run a lot yet, sincerly I seen it more often in the news a few weeks ago when they talked about the series than as a real ad during a show.

Merry X-Mas :)

[crahak]

Most of what is produced nowadays is very close to garbage imho. Not too many groups that make decent music to buy anymore (I mainly listen to metal). Music and movies wise, it's like if everything has already been done before, too many times. I look at the new movies coming out and I wouldn't watch most for free. It's pretty pathetic when most of my DVDs are PAL imports for my kids... (I live in NTSC world) As for the quebec culture, it's a tiny market, and altough french is my mother tongue, there's no way I'm listening/watching any of it.