And Justice For All (Well, Kind of)...Limewire Shuts Down

Dear Limewire,

You will be missed.  For almost a decaded you've allowed millions of cheap bastards to engage in your P2P filesharing fun and infect hardrives with porn, viruses and spyware.  What is the 30 year old dude still living in his folks basement with a playlist the size of my entire hard drive going to do now? Or how about the spoiled teen that doesn't even know what a compact disc is? 

No more free music?! Oh the injustice!!!

(Photo credit: The Playlist)

It's certainly been a good week for artists, labels, and just about anyone trying to make a living in the entertainment industry. Last week a court order was issued to shut down Limewire's service to the Gnutella peer to peer network.  Visitors to the site are met with a legal notice that informs them of the shutdown.

Limewire is just one of many P2P file-sharing services that are accountable for the millions of dollars lost in the music industry.

Of course, the lost revenue isn't all Limewire's fault - those too cheap to buy their music are just as much to blame.

But, are they?

Perhaps the dude above isn't a prime example (I'd say he's more of a gamer).  Music piracy isn't limited to any one group.  Today's entire generation have been conditioned to believe that you can get just about anything for free – especially music. It's almost seen as an insult if you ask a music fan if they paid for their music. Despite the excess of available information, most don't even realize it is illegal. Computer shops even ask if you would like to have Limewire installed on your computer.

Society is just as much to blame for the ignorance, IMHO.

I err on the side of the artist of course. I've seen artists sell their houses, increase credit cards, put their livlihood at risk just to be able to afford to record an album. One can't describe how frustrating it is to spend thousands on an album only to have your hard work given away – for free. I've seen first-hand artists selling their CDs at concerts – and the fan says “I love your music, I downloaded it last week .” - not even blinking an eye or realizing that what they just said is “I just stole your music.”

Some of us are still old school. I remember when the only way to get music was to spend my hard earned allowance and hit A&B Sound on the weekend (god rest it's soul – that was a great store). To this day, I'm still completely old school and buy hard copies. I'm actually fearful of the day CD Plus closes it's doors.

I can't say that I have never downloaded music in my life. I have – and so have musicians, producers, and everyone else that says their against it. I'm sure there are those that haven't – but for all of us in the industry to say that we have never done such a thing – would be both ludacris and hypocritical.

If there is any chance for the industry to thrive – monetization and regulation is necassary. Without it, there is little chance for artists to be compensated and music companies big and small to continue developing up-and-comers and established artists. The disabling of Limewire is a step in the right direction to help ensure there is a level playing field for legal music stores that provide affordable music, and sometimes even free.

So...one down...how many more to go?

I suspect most Limewire users will move over to Frostwire...or any other of the hundreds of alternatives. But, with any luck...it's only a matter of time before the illegal music services see the same fate...hopefully.

And for the 30 year old I mentioned above – get a job and pay up!

Comments

[Brian]

Oh oh...someone must've slipped you some of the poison that the old school industry vets are drinking. Don't worry, I'll bring you up to speed with the 21st century... ;)

It's pointless to fight and resist technology. Napster was ten years ago and getting rid of it only made the "pirates" stronger.

"Disruptive" technologies do not destroy industries, they create new ones and improve on existing, outdated ones. The music industry, like any industry, needs to be constantly challenged in order for it to improve and meet the changing needs of the customer...the music fan.

Without music fans, there is no music industry. Yet if the industry had their way, no one would be able to hear any music without paying for it...which is ridiculous.

Music should be free like water from the faucet. Yet even though water is free, it's still packaged and sold and is a multi-billion dollar industry. Music can (and is) the same thing.

By being creative and thinking outside of the box, an artist and its team can still make money. Things will never be "the way things used to be", and wasting time and money on fighting piracy is a harmful distraction from finding creative new opportunities for artists, managers, labels, publishers...and music fans.

:)

Brian
Thorny Bleeder Records
http://www.thornybleeder.com

[Tanis Macala]

Well said Brian :)

Completely agree with thinking outside the box - and of course there is still money to be made. Technology has made it one of the most exciting times right now - especially from marketing/creative stand point.

Customer implies a buyer or a purchaser. Piracy contains neither. Those with the attitude that it is perfectly fine to take as much as they want and are completely ignorant to the fact is what I am referring to.

It would be nice if my favorite songs flowed out of the tap - but water is not free - at the end of the day you are paying for it in one form or another...someone is paying for it. (Except maybe not you folks that have the luxury of living next to an ocean :)

Things may never be the same, if they were, we'd get nowhere. But for me - I still like my hard copies :)

[Chris]

Why do people pirate music? Because it's too expensive, that's why. There's a reason nobody bothers pirating apps for their iphone, because they are CHEAP.

You want to stop people from stealing your music, distribute it digitally and make it dirt cheap. Nobody is gonna waste time downloading off shitty p2p networks loaded with viruses and garbage if they can download the album from a legit source for a couple bucks, not to mention you'll sell tons more copies just because it's cheap. That's why allofmp3.com was so successful, and why the labels were so afraid of it.

[Tanis Macala]

Good point Chris, but I have to disagree somewhat. Music is affordable. There are several legit sources that offer music legally and affordably.

"Nobody is going to waste time downloading of shitty P2P networks?" They already do.

Yesterday I talked to a music fan that had downloaded the music of his favorite band for free. Well that band recently played in his city, and he was unwilling to go to the show if he had to 'buy' a ticket - which was less than 15 dollars. That kind of attitude makes me believe that it is the consumer that is cheap.

While technology has made the recording process has become much simpler, it still can cost thousands of dollars to record an album. And thousands of dollars to hit the road and tour. Given the cost that can go in to producing and promoting quality music - I don't believe that it is priced unreasonably.