Alternatives to Piracy

Posted December 2nd, 2009 by Robert

All of my media consumption is legal, whether it be music, software, TV shows, movies, or video games. I believe that as a producer/engineer, a software developer, and a musician, my support of the industries that support me is imperative. I did not always have this attitude. I used to get a kick out of finding and downloading the latest album release or piece of software, often before the official release date. Why the change?

I am making a living as a record producer and engineer and as a software developer. Ripping off records and software would be biting the hands that feed me. Yes, our studio puts out a lot of records that artists give away for free, and the software company I work for sells “software-as-a-service”. Both of these models make piracy a lot less significant, but there is still plenty of music and software being sold, and pirated.

I must be clear that I am not going out buying tons of CDs at $10 or $15 a piece, nor am I spending hundreds of dollars on the latest computer operating system, office software, development tools or games. I’ve made adjustments to the way I enjoy music and work so I don’t have to shell out my whole paycheck to keep up with the latest and greatest.

Music

I don’t really listen to CDs anymore. I almost exclusively use Lala. With Lala you can choose to purchase regular mp3s, or you can purchase “web only” versions of songs, which means you listen to them on their website only. For most of my new music, I buy their web albums for 80 cents a piece. You can also upload your existing iTunes library, and I’ve done this with quite a few of my CDs so I can listen to them online. In total, between me and Dan we’ve bought almost 1,000 songs, most of them making up full albums. To get an idea of the savings, let’s assume the average album has twelve songs. At eighty cents an album, each song costs less than seven cents. In round figures, that’s way under $100 for 100 albums. Sure I can’t transfer them to my iPod or listen to them in the car, but those are conveniences I’m willing to sacrifice, especially since I’m at my computer most of the day. Plus, supposedly there’s a Lala iPhone app coming soon, which means you can listen anywhere there’s net access.

Software

Several months ago I had a tough decision to make when the software development team I work with upgraded our project to use a version of a programming language (Java) that my computer did not support. I have a first generation MacBook Pro, which only supports 32-bit architecture. There was a software alternative, but it wasn’t ideal, and I felt left out in the cold by Apple. From what I can gather it was purely a business decision to prevent a laptop as old as mine from being able to run the latest software. So, what to do? Buy a new laptop? Or, switch operating systems? I’ve been using Arch Linux for several months now, and have no intention of going back to OSX, even when I get a new laptop. OSX is great, but it wasn’t worth shelling out two grand to get a new laptop when mine is adequate for my development needs. So, my OS is free. Arch isn’t for everyone, but Ubuntu is getting to a point where it might be.

As for the software we use at the studio, my partner Dan works at Atlanta Pro Audio, and he gets NFR (not-for-resale) copies of most of the software we use day-to-day. This translates into huge savings for the studio. If we didn’t have NFRs, we’d find alternatives.  One extremely powerful alternative to Pro Tools (some may say superior choice) is Apple’s Logic Studio, which costs under $500 and has most of the tools you’d need to create a professional recording. Another option is Pro Tools LE, which I used for several years before upgrading to HD. You can purchase an Mbox Mini for $295, which includes Pro Tools, a bunch of plugins and content. You can also check out open source recording software like Reaper and Ardour, and online DAWs like Aviary’s Myna and Digimix. Also, consider GarageBand, included with new Macs and available standalone. By the time you’re ready to upgrade to something more powerful, you’ll probably be able to command a price for your work that will make it more cost-effective to move up.

What about other software? Well, the company I work for provided me with a license for the software we use every day, and the rest of the software I use is open source or free. I use Google Docs for my word-processing and spreadsheet needs, several free tools for running the business side of the studio, and free web-based software for pretty much everything else.

TV, Movies, Books, Video Games, etc.

As for other media, I watch videos on Youtube and Vimeo, and TV shows on Hulu or the network websites. I have a TV with an antenna at home, so I can catch the latest episodes of the network shows if I want to, but I often watch them online after the fact. If I was an avid TV watcher, or really into a particular show, I’d get cable and a DVR. As for movies, well, I don’t watch movies very often. Perhaps once or twice a month, usually at the theater or at a friend’s house. If I watched more movies, I’d get Netflix.

Video games? I’ve bought a few games for my Wii, and a couple on the iPhone. I occasionally borrow games from friends. What about books? I borrow them from the library. Atlanta’s library system has a website where you can reserve books and have them transferred to your nearest library branch. They’ve had the majority of the books I’ve wanted to check out, even if it meant waiting a couple of weeks for someone else to finish with a copy.

Rationalizing Piracy

People (including myself) rationalize their piracy. When it comes to music, a lot of people claim the record labels are making all the money, and that the bands only profit from shows and merchandise purchases. I’m not here to debate that. Most people who pirate music, software, and movies are not morally opposed to the media and software industries. They just don’t want to pay. Sure, they’d like to think they’re making a statement about album sales being too high or software prices being absurd, but they’re quietly downloading illegal music or software and doing nothing more about it. There is plenty of discussion about the high price of media, so if you feel the need to pirate, contribute to the debate, too.

Value

An obvious benefit to purchasing the media you consume or the software you use day-to-day is the value you place on your purchases. This isn’t necessarily an argument against piracy, but I certainly enjoy being confident about what I spend my time listening to, watching, or working with. Lala allows you to listen to any song once before having to purchase. That means I can listen to a whole album all the way through before spending a dime (or eight). If I like the album, I’ve placed value on it and decide whether it’s worth eighty cents to me. Most paid software comes with a free trial. I must admit that working with an open-source operating system I’m presented with an overwhelming number of choices when it comes to even the most basic of tools, but this has led me to do research and seek out others’ opinions.

You don’t get any of this with pirated media. If you’ve downloaded the twenty latest albums in a given genre, where do you start? Whether you enjoy a pirated album or not, it has still cost you nothing, which means you’ve invested nothing. When I buy an album, even though I’m spending a tiny amount on each Lala purchase, I feel I’ve invested more than just listening-time into it. I’ve committed myself to enjoying the work.

Summing Up

With some adjustment and exploring, you can support media producers legally. I’ll sum up, in list form, how to not be a pirate.

Do you really need Windows 7 Ultimate or the first four seasons of Lost? If so, you should probably save up and support the people who make those products possible, though I’m sure you’d do fine with watching Lost at a friend’s house and sticking with Vista.

While I haven’t gotten into the piracy debate, I would like to hear your thoughts. Through these alternatives to privacy, I’ve circumvented the normal arguments, because I’m not shelling out tons of cash to enjoy the media and software I want.

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  • Apparently New Zealanders think watching porn online is worse than pirating music. Interesting. http://torrentfreak.com/watching-porn-online-more-acceptable-than-pirating-music-100113/
  • pimpfresh
    That is one of the ridiculous paradoxes that our currently bizarre laws on music "ownership" create. How is it possible to simultaneously "own" a copy of something while it is ultimately owned by someone else (the copyright holder and/or the master recording owner)? CDs masked this conflict because you were being sold a physical thing, and the idea was that you owned that physical thing and a non-exclusive limited license to use the property on it. The issue becomes murky with MP3s because though there is no physical product, people still consider MP3s as something they "own."

    I think the best solution to this problem is to pay a small fee every time you listen or "enjoy" the music, without the complications of owning it. This is in essence what streaming services are offering.
  • robkischuk
    "Piracy" is becoming an increasingly interesting word. Consider my Rhapsody subscription. I pay not just for Rhapsody, but an extra couple of bucks a month for the "to go" edition. I have a Rhapsody compliant MP3 player that lets me listen to any Rhapsody music I want anywhere at no additional charge. My car doesn't have an aux input I can plug that MP3 player into - if it did, I could listen to Rhapsody music anywhere. I could add an aux input for a couple hundred bucks in aftermarket equipment plus labor. Rumor has it there's an Android app coming that would let me stream Rhapsody to my phone.

    So the question is, is it piracy if I burn a copy of someone else's CD that's available on Rhapsody so I can listen in my car? Sure it's a problem if I cancel my Rhapsody subscription, but apart from that, does the tool I use to listen to music I have rights to listen to in my car matter?
  • Currently, yes, it is piracy. Rhapsody pays royalties based on plays...you burning a copy of someone else's CD but using the excuse that it's available on Rhapsody circumvents the royalty payment. Is this ridiculous? I think so. As we move towards streaming and "music as a service" the problem of you burning a cd will become less and less relevant because your next car will have Rhapsody or Lala or Apple On-The-Go built in and you want want to fuss with CDs.

    Thanks for the feedback. Sorry for the delay, that tofurkey sure packs a mean tryptophan punch.
  • robkischuk
    What does Rhapsody do when I use Rhapsody To Go and sync the song onto my Sandisk Sansa player? Does the Sandisk player somehow count plays and then phone home when I sync? Or does the act of synching a song credit the artist? If the latter, am I then playing fair if I periodically synch the songs I've burned to my player to compensate the artist even as I listen to them on a burned CD?

    Also, how much of this is relevant when this is the state of streaming royalties compensation: http://www.toomuchjoy.com/?p=1397
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