05 July 2011: Pirated CDs are dropped into a shredding machine as part of Manila City government's anti-piracy …(UPDATE) When drummer Gep Macadaeg of Y! Rocks breakthrough act Stereodeal declared in a Yahoo! Philippines OMG! story I wrote that "we haven’t understood piracy completely” and that “we’re in a phase where we only see [piracy’s] negative consequences,” he triggered a firestorm of comments.
Some couldn't comprehend the idea of a musician supporting an activity that robs them of potential revenues.
Others, like reader "SeVen" concede, "Sure, piracy might help an unknown band be heard by more people. Some famous bands have also said that they do not mind if people bring small personal recorders to their concerts."
But "SeVen" was concerned about having professionally recorded albums copied or perhaps downloaded. "It is common sense that the people who spend their money to make a product (studios, artists, packaging, promotions) should be the ones to reap the rewards for their efforts. Stealing is stealing..it does not matter what it is that is stolen..it is wrong."
"NOR" conveyed a similar sentiment: "this goes to show how some people are so simple minded...how can they earn a living if their music will be distributed for free thru piracy/sharing?"
Do old models still work?
This prompted Stereodeal guitarist and Yahoo! OMG contributing writer Adrian Arcega to reply: "That's assuming the old business paradigms are still valid in this age."
Those models were best articulated by former Sugarfree bassist and UP professor Jalton "Jal" Taguibao, who threw in his few cents' worth when Adrian posted a link of the story on his Facebook.
"Piracy only applies to those who see the scene as an industry, where everything is measured by profits and losses. To others (and I share this sentiment), there are more valuable things like craft, authenticity, and being better," he said.
The debate prompted Jal to write an essay about piracy in his personal blog, "Blogging from the B-Side." He pointed out that creativity and making music are not "causally dependent on the state of the music industry."
Even if the so-called industry dies, musicians will continue writing music, artists will still do art, and writers will write.
Neil Gaiman thinks piracy is 'incredibly good'
In an interview that appeared in 2011 called "How Neil Gaiman Went From Fearing 'Piracy' To Believing It's 'An Incredibly Good Thing,'" the author said he noticed that in Russia, where his books are bootlegged, he would actually sell more legitimate copies.
"People were discovering me through being pirated," he said. "And then they were going out and buying the real books, and when a new book would come out in Russia it would sell more and more copies."
It's the same point of view that Yahoo! reader "Leelo" takes with the observation: "The reason new or young bands resort to peer-to-peer sharing is they see the reality that it's hard to get their sounds heard in this industry. They seek the help of peers to spread their music."
The difference between giving and taking
Adrian sees another benefit of sharing. "Piracy in its own way has also become an archive of material (films, albums) which otherwise won't be easily accessible to the public. The war on piracy should be about making your material accessible, and worth the people's money."
Indeed, during Wolfgang's live performance in Bicol last year, vocalist Basti Artadi was giving away the band's old CDs to the audience. He was heard calling out, "Make a copy for your friends. Upload it on the Internet. Do whatever you want with it!"
Wolfgang manager Lizza Nakpil explains, "There is a difference between 'giving' and 'taking.' In this case, Wolfgang chose to give away their music as a thank-you to the monster crowds who turned out to watch them despite the band's being away all these years."
Clearly, there are many, many sides to the piracy debate.
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