Mininova announces Content Distribution

Jasper · 24-02-2008, 13:20

http://www.mininova.org/distribution

http://torrentfreak.com/mininova-lau...ervoce-071221/

I'm not sure if people will see this as debate-worthy, but I think it's very relevant to freedom of speech and action on the net as a whole. One of the things I'm very passionnate about is an open internet where people are free to express themselves in ways which don't harm others. I, very strongly, believe that piracy does not harm the industries it affects and I am very pleased to see Mininova trying to illustrate this point. What people fail to understand is that there will always be piracy - be it some dude wandering up and down the beach whilst you're on holiday, or a muso downloading gigabytes of albums; it will never stop.

What the industries also fail to realise is that it provides listeners with a decent insight into their product before splashing out their hard-earned on it. I'm not going to choose to buy an album until I've had chance to listen to it properly, on my own terms - that doesn't mean a 96kbps 10 second sample of each track on a website somewhere (or even a couple of full-length tracks off their last.fm - this is still not representative of their album!), it means on my ipod/laptop/stereo/whatever, and I should be given that choice. The fact that I am able to do this (legally or not) allows me to see whether I like a band, put their album on my to-buy list (yeah, there's a list - money's tight right now!) and probably book tickets to their show if they play close enough to me. I, for one, would not go out and spend £10-£20+ on an album on a whim - at least half of the stuff I try out is crap! Is the industry still benefitting from my borrowing music from them? Yes.

Of course, you will always have those who download without the intention to buy - and those are the damaging small minority - but they may be distributing content for others to peruse before they buy, so it's swings and roundabouts.

I've extended the music aspect of the argument as it's the side that's most relevant to me, but it also applies to software and movies in the same light.

divine · 24-02-2008, 13:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasper

Of course, you will always have those who download without the intention to buy - and those are the damaging small minority - but they may be distributing content for others to peruse before they buy, so it's swings and roundabouts.

You call them the small minority but every single person I know (IRL that is, I couldn't possibly claim anything about the hundreds i've met online) who downloads music/films/software has no intention of ever purchasing the stuff.

From personal experience i'd say people such as yourself who use piracy as a try before you buy experience are the vast minority.

edit - just read the page at mininova
The only thing that worries me is this new legit content being given 'featured' position at the top of pages. this will be HUGELY irritating if it takes off and you need to flick to the third page of results to find the stuff you actually wanted to begin with. Much like google is currently when you look for a product and get about 300 results from comparison sites.

Jasper · 24-02-2008, 13:33

I guess small minority may be an exaggeration, and you're right - I'm probably assuming that the majority are like me. Maybe not assuming - maybe hoping?

divine · 24-02-2008, 13:37

I think it'd be a tad naive to assume the majority of people are as honest as you and will actually go out and purchase an album that they already have in near CD quality working perfectly purely on the basis they like it.

24-02-2008, 13:20	#1
Jasper Simple & Red Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 535	Mininova announces Content Distribution http://www.mininova.org/distribution http://torrentfreak.com/mininova-lau...ervoce-071221/ I'm not sure if people will see this as debate-worthy, but I think it's very relevant to freedom of speech and action on the net as a whole. One of the things I'm very passionnate about is an open internet where people are free to express themselves in ways which don't harm others. I, very strongly, believe that piracy does not harm the industries it affects and I am very pleased to see Mininova trying to illustrate this point. What people fail to understand is that there will always be piracy - be it some dude wandering up and down the beach whilst you're on holiday, or a muso downloading gigabytes of albums; it will never stop. What the industries also fail to realise is that it provides listeners with a decent insight into their product before splashing out their hard-earned on it. I'm not going to choose to buy an album until I've had chance to listen to it properly, on my own terms - that doesn't mean a 96kbps 10 second sample of each track on a website somewhere (or even a couple of full-length tracks off their last.fm - this is still not representative of their album!), it means on my ipod/laptop/stereo/whatever, and I should be given that choice. The fact that I am able to do this (legally or not) allows me to see whether I like a band, put their album on my to-buy list (yeah, there's a list - money's tight right now!) and probably book tickets to their show if they play close enough to me. I, for one, would not go out and spend £10-£20+ on an album on a whim - at least half of the stuff I try out is crap! Is the industry still benefitting from my borrowing music from them? Yes. Of course, you will always have those who download without the intention to buy - and those are the damaging small minority - but they may be distributing content for others to peruse before they buy, so it's swings and roundabouts. I've extended the music aspect of the argument as it's the side that's most relevant to me, but it also applies to software and movies in the same light.

24-02-2008, 13:37	#4
divine Moonshine Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Southampton Posts: 3,201	I think it'd be a tad naive to assume the majority of people are as honest as you and will actually go out and purchase an album that they already have in near CD quality working perfectly purely on the basis they like it. __________________

24-02-2008, 13:33	#3
Jasper Simple & Red Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 535	I guess small minority may be an exaggeration, and you're right - I'm probably assuming that the majority are like me. Maybe not assuming - maybe hoping?