internet pirates are ruining everything

i get how internet pirating can be seen as wrong. someone somewhere is putting a lot of work into a product and in return they would like some money. most wanna make a career out of it and live off their craft.

but pirating was gonna happen. with the advancement of technology, eventually those who find themselves in financially tougher places were gonna find a way to get it all for free. that doesn't make it right, but the world in principle ain't right and artists of all ilk should have seen this coming many miles away.

you can blame it on napster. but if there were no napster, someone else would've came along and figured it out. it was all just a matter of time.

a lot of the blame should go to the companies that distribute the goods. the corporations in control of your art got greedy (as many corporations are known to do).

nobody wants to pay $20 for a cd. nobody. i know so many people gotta get paid per album... but you should've figured out something. your business plan was flawed. many times we found ourselves burdened with an album full of garbage tracks except for maybe 1 or 2 gems that you jammed down our throats via radio and mtv. i give a lot of props to all those artists who put out quality records, but you were the minority. the majority of crap that surrounded you was too much to behold. we would only put up with it for so long.

so doesn't it make sense that when mp3's first burst onto the scene, one of the neater things about it was that you could go grab that one song you heard on the radio 430 times and forget about the burden of the rest of an album that you'd only suffer through once or twice?

plus, cd's were crap. they always ended up scratched up and unplayable. the sound quality was better than cassette, but you needed much more than a pen to save a cd once it was too far gone.

then there's movies. everyone knows going to the movies is a fucking rip off. most of us do it cuz it's nice to get out and do something and see something cool... but don't think we don't burn just a little every time we purchase a ticket for $10-$15. and then there's the refreshments.... $4, $5 for fucking soda!!!! $4 for some m and m's. what the fuck were you thinking? how can we not be just a little tempted to look through the stack of $5 bootlegs the dude at the laundromat is waving in our faces?

and now tv's have caught up and in some ways surpassed the movie going experience. you fucked up hollywood. i got a $5 bootleg and a whole damn box of microwave popcorn that costed me $3. that's cheaper than what it cost me to simply walk through your front door....

......and then when we get to the theater you have the audacity to show us commercials!!! you're taking money from other companies to waste our precious time all in the name of the bottom line.....

.....assholes!

cable prices are way out of control. we all love the 3 for (insert good price here) bundles... but after a year the prices go up and sooner or later we find ourselves $100 short on rent and figure, 'fuck it, the cable's gotta go.'

the point is that the companies that are in charge of putting your art in front of us got greedy. you can only get so greedy until it becomes your downfall. people pirating your stuff.... it's not personal.... it is an 'us against them' thing... but you're not the them. you're just a victim of the fallout.

hopefully this will lead to more indie releasing in the future. i'd like to see people's creations be delivered to the people at a much more affordable price. i'd love to buy a record if it cost me $5. i'd love to go to the movies more often if $10 got me a movie and a snack. i'd buy more books if i didn't feel like an asshole cuz i know i'm paying $25 for something i'm only gonna go through once.

and artists, you gotta hit the road more. take your stuff on tour. bring it to the people. we'll pay ticket prices to see you in person (although i can rant on about ticketmaster convenience charge fees, but i've probably covered that in at least 3 blog posts before). i'll go to your concert and buy your shirt cuz it's cooler to get the shirt at the show. give me an experience and i'll be more easily convinced to part ways with my money.

and i wanna feel bad... but when i gotta wake up everyday to do something that i don't feel passionate about, it's hard to have any empathy at all. i'd trade it all in for a chance to go on the road and let people hear what i gotta say... even if all my recorded product went bootleg... in fact that would just give me more incentive to hit the road longer and harder. i know shit ain't easy and i have no idea what i'm talking about... but i also know most artists who feel like they're getting ripped off by pirates wouldn't trade their life in for mine.

and don't give me this, 'we're all gonna regret when people don't have any culture anymore,' bs. money's not the only reason people create culture. i write this shit down for free. i write it for free now, i'll write it for free tomorrow, and when your whole system comes crashing down and you decide, 'fuck it, i don't wanna create no more cuz i'm not getting paid,' i'll still be writing this blog for free.

at the worst, you'd have to get a job like the rest of us and create on the side. i can't feel bad for you cuz that's how i live my life.