Why is it something else?
People aren't ripping off record companies so much as they're ripping off the artists, bands and musicians who actually did the work in making the music..... just like writers, producers and performers..... so I don't see a difference.
They're all in the entertainment industry.
If you'd like something to relate to, it'd be like ripping of EMI Music Canada which is the same as ripping off Warner Brothers..... they're the big cheese companies that practically own the bands, artists, actors, movies, albums, stories, songs that are produced under their labels.
But they might eventually head to the small time individuals who trade and download pirated content once they shut down the programs, web sites and organizations responsible for the avenue individuals trade and download through...... but considering more torrent sites and P2P programs are being developed and created faster then the courts can shut them down...... they'll never stop going after them and will never get to focus on the individuals...... and they'll never switch it to hunt down individuals while these groups, programs and sites still exist, simply because they have a better chance at getting more money from these then they would from some college kid.
The reality is that they can fight this online trade and distribution of their content as they are forever and nothing will ever change except for record and film companies gradually going down the drain from spending so much of their time and resources going after something they can never defeat.
It makes far more sense to accept what's going on and adapt to counter it, not confront it and expect it to magically stop.
Bit Torrent is a program similar to a P2P program such as IMesh and Limewire, except more secure and more reliable.... since Bit Torrent came out, I haven't bothered with P2P programs.
The program and the torrent sites themselves are not illegal..... it's what you choose to download that could be considered illegal.
There are a number of torrent programs out there, but the main one and the one I use is this one:
BitTorrent
^ Download and install the program. I don't know if they added browser toolbars on the installation, but if they did, check them off and don't install them..... nobody needs that crap.
Once the program is installed, go to a torrent site such as:
isoHunt ? the BitTorrent & P2P search engine
Download music, movies, games, software! The Pirate Bay - The world's most resilient BitTorrent site
Mininova : The ultimate BitTorrent source!
These sites regulate and monitor the files being uploaded/downloaded to greatly reduce the chances of getting a virus or spyware on your computer (Where in P2P programs, it's all a guess as to what you're really downloading until you open it), plus the files themselves usually have comments from other downloaders/users who can tell you if it's a good file or if you'd be wasting your time downloading it.
The original torrent site I went to was suprnova.org, but they got shut down a few years ago..... then mininova.org popped up....
you can either browse or manually search for whatever you can think of. Anything that can be created or converted into digital format can be found on most torrent sites. Games, movies, music, programs, media, books, anything.
You find the torrent/file with the most seed and the most leeches. Seeds are servers or people's computers that have the full file available for download, while leeches are other people like yourself downloading those files who have partial sections of the full file.
How a Torrent works is that you click to download the torrent, Bit Torrent automatically opens up and asks you to confirm the torrent or parts of the file you wish to download. Once in Bit Torrent, you begin to get connected just to the other computers and servers that are offering that specific torrent file..... you begin to download sections of the torrent file from both seeders and leeches, while at the same time, other leeches like yourself can download sections of the torrent file you already have on your system....... the more seeders and leeches there are, the quicker the torrent file will download (in most cases)
If there are no seeds for a file, but a bunch of leeches, then it could be possible a couple of those leeches have the full file and you might have the chance to still download the full file..... but I just stick to files with seeds.
Once the torrent file is 100% complete, you can remove the torrent file from Bit Torrent. Go into the folder you downloaded the file into and you should see your file complete with everything that you'd normally find on the CD/DVD that you'd buy in store and it's quality is generally the same.
Sometimes Torrent files come in Zip folders, which you just unzip...... but sometimes you will get a zip file that requires a password.... if you do, just delete it and look for another torrent file, because those password protected ones generally want you to sign up to the creator's web site, post several times in their forum and eventually they'll email you the password.
^ In the time it would take you to waste your time doing that, you could have had another file already downloaded.
Though for me, I generally use torrents for downloading live concerts recorded by fans that you can't get in stores and record companies don't own...... the few bands I actually like enough to download their live concerts actually promote or have no issues with people sharing their online recordings of their concerts, because:
#1 - They're not losing out on any money and they already got their money from that concert and....
#2 - It's a very effective way of getting noticed not just by local communities you performed in, but a great way to get noticed worldwide.
The fact of the matter is that if it wasn't for internet downloads and sharing, far fewer people around the world would see your work, let alone hear about you, which means the market which could provide you with the income you live off of is much much smaller and isolated to only the people who bought your albums, went to your concerts or heard you on the radio in the limited communities that play your work.
^ Maybe that's only a couple of towns...... maybe it's only half of a country..... maybe an entire country if you're lucky...... but when it comes to getting internationally recognized, unless you're willing to burn a pile of your own money, the internet is the smartest and best way to go.
Just to prove how much affect the internet and free sharing has on someone being recognized, just look at Justin Bieber.... I can't stand the lil sh*t.... but he started off just posting himself singing on YouTube for anybody to see and listen...... he made himself more successful just by doing that then he probably would have if he went straight to a record label and tried to get them to market him.
He might have still taken off similar to what he already has...... but the fact that he only needed the internet, a video/web cam and himself to breakout as he did, just goes to show the marketing power the internet has.
Normally he would have had to spend two or three years putting out albums and touring around Canada..... then eventually he'd get picked up in the US and spend a couple of years touring and selling albums there..... and eventually he might start touring in other countries.
With what happened to him, he became almost instantly famous around the world in just a couple of days of media reports talking about how popular online he was......
He's insanely popular in Australia, to the point of having Beatles Mobs chasing after him.... and in other countries......
Like I said, I think he's a complete dork who's eventually going to loose his marbles with all the fame, girls and riches he has thrown at him every day and he's nothing but a poser....... but he's not an idiot and seemed to know exactly how to work the new system.
They're not assisting people to infringe on copyrighted products anymore then a firearms company is responsible for people killing other people with their guns...... they provide a program and a service, they do not control or regulate the content people already have on their computers or what they share.
Limewire wasn't the one's responsible for "Stealing" music..... the people who use the program to share the music they ripped on their own computers are the one's responsible...... but it's far more easier to go after "Big Tobacco" then it is to go after the scum who bought the cigarettes for the minors in the first place.
Well hell.... the Internet itself assists people in stealing and downloading all sorts of illegal content..... let's shut down the internet and just be done with it. :roll:
