Online Opinion

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Illegal/Illogical

Last night, a friend was bemoaning the cancellation of a TV series he enjoyed. He couldn't understand it, when everyone enjoyed it so much. After all, he'd downloaded it from the Internet, and passed those episodes to everyone he could think of. When I pointed out that if he'd instead bought the DVDs (for all of about £30) the show might still be going, he replied that he couldn't afford DVDs.

This is a common lie people tell themselves. They can afford to go to the pub, rent broadband access to the Internet, go on holiday, travel to other cities every weekend to visit friends, but spend a few quid on a CD or DVD? Can't afford it. What they mean is, of course, that while they can get music and films for free, they aren't a priority for their money. There are many, similar lies : "It's good advertising (to people who don't buy CDs)." "Musicians make too much money (apart from the vast majority who don't)." "All the money goes to the record/film companies (even for those on independent or their own labels)." "Information wants to be free (which is why it costs so much to create in the first place)."

The simple truth is that artists who are happy to be penniless but make others happy are few and far between. Most of those that do exist produce relatively little work, and that of lower quality, as they struggle to balance day-job, family, social, and artistic commitments. For most artists, and especially for the companies that finance and distribute their creations, money is a necessary part of the deal. If you want to watch a film or listen to a song, paying a small amount for the privilege helps ensure that the next one will be possible. Surely that's just common sense?

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