[Free-sklyarov-uk] "Attack of the Cyber Pirates" - first impressions

[Jim Peters]

Andrew Rendle wrote:
> I watched (and recorded, so I can check quotes from it) the Money 
> Programme "Attack of the cyber Pirates" that's just finished on BBC2, 
> and I'll give my first impressions of it.

It didn't seem quite so one-sided to me.  To me it seems that they
obviously took pains to try to be neutral and get balance -- to find
good case-studies for both sides.  They showed positive models of
'pirates', for example:

- The industrious Scottish club DJs who were mixing all their own
  stuff using material from everywhere, including the 'net, and who
  saw no problem with that.  These guys also released their own
  material, making them certainly not 'thieves', but more valid
  'creators', making a contribution to society.

- The music downloader who also spent 100 pounds a month on physical
  records, also obviously not a 'thief' as the industry would have it.

They also featured a guy from Public Enemy talking coherently about
why big business is reacting this way to the internet, and some film
producer backing up movie 'pirates', noting that they are really the
kinds of people that are so into it that they would buy the DVD *as
well* as downloading the movie.

I'm glad they got the aspect of creativity into the whole thing.
Obviously they could have gone a lot further, but not in half an hour.

I also quite liked the guy from Universal countering the idea that
listening to more music actually causes people to buy more music when
he said that people quote opinion polls to support that, but he didn't
believe in opinion polls ... (and this just after the music downloader
said that she spent 100 pounds a month on music).

He also commented on the dilemma of having to treat the customer as
the enemy, but then he said that when people copy music, they are not
paying any money, so they don't want those customers anyway.  Great!
I really felt that he had drawn a line with me (and 90% of the
population) on the other side of it.  My immediate feeling was -- if
you don't want customers who copy music, no problem.  I don't have to
buy any of your CDs in future.

The flaws in the arguments put forward by all the industry side -- the
Disney woman, the Universal guy and Pete Waterman -- were right there
for anyone to see if they were watching carefully.  I mean, they were
using comparisons like: this is the same as the artist coming into
your place and walking away with your computer, which obviously didn't
hold up in any everyday kind of reasoning.

To me it seemed like a gentle introduction to the issue.  They didn't
get Hilary Rosen on spouting raw prejudice, and neither did they get
anyone venting their spleen in the other direction.  Each point in the
programme, even each sentence, could probably be expanded into a whole
new programme.  They got a lot in there.

Well, I wonder how the programme seemed to someone who has not been
immersed in the issues for the last XX months ... ?

I am getting increasing respect for the people at the BBC who put
together programmes like this.  When they did the WatchDog feature,
the feeling was the same -- condensing down an immense argument so
that all the main aspects get covered (even if only as a mention) in
the limited time available.

By the way, the page is up in the Money Programme section on the BBC
site, but it says almost nothing, and there is no transcript available
that I can see.

Jim

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