Posted by
The New THOMA$ REPORT on Monday, May 26, 2008 12:58:07 PM
There's a discussion going on, on a discussion List
for writers I'm on about a teenager who was bragging about his free music
downloads, saying, "Music is art. Why should I pay for art?" What
ignorance this shows on the part of this teenager, AND on the part of society
that agrees with him. Art is property. The property of the artist. It took time
and effort, and most of all, TALENT to produce, and that "artist,"
like a workman building a brick wall, is ENTITLED to be PAID for his/her
efforts. That teenager who downloads it for free is STEALING, just as if he/she
had broken into a warehouse and stolen physical property. There is controversy
about music companies "coming down hard" on such ignorant teens for
downloading their music for free by suing them for "big bucks." This should not be "controversial." These kids need to be taught what society these days does not teach them.
Everything that is someone's PROPERTY must be PAID FOR, "Art," no matter
how "non-physical" it may be, had to be PRODUCED, by SOMEONE and is their PROPERTY. Music
is art. Yes. Paintings are "art." Sculpture is "art."
Someone with TALENT must PRODUCE the art, and they don't need to do it for the
pleasure of this teen, for free. Nobody would think of just "taking"
a painting or sculpture without paying for it. Why should they consider music
any different? If the producer doesn't get paid for his/her efforts, soon there will be no one left to produce anything new. But today, people are taught that "property" is something
that can be taken at will in certain circumstances. I say there ARE no
circumstances in which a person's property can be taken at will. To think so is
abysmal IGNORANCE, and this teenager is a "glittering jewel of abysmal
ignorance." The whole idea that extending copyright protection would cause
"stagnation" is silly. It's just "cover" for people who
want to profit from the work of OTHERS without the trouble of producing it
themselves. (Christian Science Monitor)