--- In SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com, "vulpinemac" <vulpine@...> wrote:
>
> Jim,
>
> I've been following this thread for a few days now and all I can see
is you getting hot
> under the collar because of piracy. Honestly, I don't blame you. I
hate to say it, but the
> only way to keep your art from being 'pirated' is to just plain stop
releasing it, and that
> would upset all your fans.
>
> Unfortunately, E.E.'Doc' Smith said it a long, long time ago: "What
technology can create,
> technology can duplicate." At least, something along those lines.
Anything you do to
> prevent piracy is only going to be seen as a challenge to 'break' it
and then post the works
> to thumb their noses at you. I do know of a simple method to make
copying online images
> more difficult and guarantee a low-res copy in most cases, but your
fans aren't likely to
> settle for low-res if they purchase a CD of even your oldest works.
>
> A better choice might be to do what Nine Inch Nails and a few other
modern rock groups
> are doing--including shortly, reportedly, Metallica; who have been
the poster boys for the
> RIAA's litigation assault against downloaders. These groups are
making the works
> available for download with a "pay what you think it's worth" model.
The interesting effect
> has been that the groups have actually been making more money
through this model than
> they have going through the 'traditional' channels of the recording
companies.
>
> Ok, true, theirs is performance art, not graphical in the same sense
as your own. But what
> it proves is that people are willing to pay for the works if they
really want it and the RIAA's
> piracy claims are essentially so much bunk. It's not the little guy
that's hurting them, just
> like it's not the consumer that's pirating Microsoft's Windows. The
pirates are the ones
> who are out to make money off of their thefts by grabbing, copying
and reselling the
> works, much like that one guy now banned from fur conventions for
selling pirated art on
> CDs.
>
> The point is: quit spending your money fighting the nobodies and
market to your real
> fans. As far as I know, your portfolios pretty much sell out every
time in very short order.
> You would know this better than I. However, it should show that
people are willing to pay
> for your works and that your true fans will do what they can to
support that effort.
> I haven't been able to buy all your portfolios, but I can tell you
that, as far as I know,
> everything I have in my hard drive either has your SkunkworksAMA
banner across the
> middle or is stuff you've made available through this group in one
way or another. If I had
> a collected works CD, I could remove that collection from my hard
drive and put the disk
> in the same folder currently holding my most recent purchase from you.
>
QFT!
Received on Sun May 04 2008 - 10:01:12 CDT