Megaupload shut down

Moz · #1 01-19-2012, 03:49 PM

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2308295/

I hope you guys didn't keep your bootlegs and demos on that site.

Macfanforever · #2 01-19-2012, 04:08 PM

I dont store files on cloud drive sites.Thats only one .This is right after the SOPA thing yesterday.I wonder how much money is going into the politicains pockets on lobbying.
I think this country need to boycott the industry.Call out the Occupy Hollywood.

Tango · #3 01-19-2012, 04:16 PM

youtube may be next:

http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/17/tech...ined/index.htm

Moz · #4 01-19-2012, 04:24 PM

Seriously, hasn't piracy been going on for decades? Isn't this why Tusk had low sales - in 1979? Were radios and cassette recorders outlawed? No.

Macfanforever · #5 01-19-2012, 04:27 PM

So the others like Megaupload will get the ax soon.Again Boycott the industry.Sorry about the lost jobs of the normal people that work in the industry.These big corrupt corps with their 6 figure wages should go to jail for screwing their employees and the public.

Macfanforever · #6 01-19-2012, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moz

Seriously, hasn't piracy been going on for decades? Isn't this why Tusk had low sales - in 1979? Were radios and cassette recorders outlawed? No.

Yes recording off the radio with cassettes,8 track,reel to reel.

VCR's in the 1980's MPAA wanted to ban on VCR's and lost the battle.

Tango · #7 01-19-2012, 04:32 PM

Google bought youtube in 2006. YouTube says that over 48 hours of new videos are uploaded to the site every minute, and that around three quarters of the material comes from outside the U.S.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...ry-minute.html

KarmaContestant · #8 01-19-2012, 04:33 PM

Megaupload is a haven of criminals for the most part, sharing bootlegged movies, music and games. No surprise to see it getting targeted. It's worse than the original Napster.

No offense to anyone, but I buy my music legally. I pay to see movies. I buy books. I purchase my video games. I think I'm a minority with these habits and that's the problem.

Macfanforever · #9 01-19-2012, 04:44 PM

The only cds I've purchased was Stevie's IYD last springAnd the most of DVD/cds that I buy are FM and Stevie. in recent years and some classic rock and classic country cd's in the cheap bin at Walmart.Movies I get on tv.Music sucks on the radio.So that leaves me no need to buy cd's.

Oh most of those sites that lead to Megaupload are infested with spyware viruses.

Artemis · #10 01-19-2012, 04:53 PM

My friend's absolutely gutted, she's had a lot of hardware problems recently, and she backed up a lot of files on megaupload, out of necessity, and now they're gone...

Piracy has always happened, and will always happen. For every megaupload they close down, 5 more will appear, it's like fighting a hydra.

Macfanforever · #11 01-19-2012, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artemis

My friend's absolutely gutted, she's had a lot of hardware problems recently, and she backed up a lot of files on megaupload, out of necessity, and now they're gone...

Piracy has always happened, and will always happen. For every megaupload they close down, 5 more will appear, it's like fighting a hydra.

That really sucks that your friend lost her files.I do agree these sites pop up every day.If the people that own /run thenm use their heads.Dont run them in the USA.

Moz · #12 01-19-2012, 04:58 PM

I know Megaupload and other file-sharing sites are most often used for piracy, but sometimes it's easier to download in certain circumstances.

I downloaded a vinyl rip of an album that would cost me up to $500 if I bought it from eBay or GEMM. Less than 500 copies were released in Indiana in the mid-1970s. I live in the middle of Canada. What are the chances of me finding that record? Slim to none, so I downloaded it. That $500 wouldn't even go to the artist. Of course I could listen to it on YouTube, but still, I wouldn't be paying the original artist. Should YouTube be shut down too?

What if I want to share a large folder of photos? What if I want to share a concert recording? I upload it on a file sharing site, which is much easier than sending 100+ photos or dozens of mp3s in an email. I don't see what's wrong with using a site for purposes like that.

KarmaContestant · #13 01-19-2012, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moz

What if I want to share a large folder of photos? What if I want to share a concert recording? I upload it on a file sharing site, which is much easier than sending 100+ photos or dozens of mp3s in an email. I don't see what's wrong with using a site for purposes like that.

I agree wholeheartedly, but can people really police their own behavior? Clearly not or we wouldn't be seeing RIAA lawsuits, bills like SOPA and PIPA or the shutdown of sites like MegaUpload.

For anyone in doubt, consider some math. We'll look at music for this example.

A quick search of Google shows me that between 35,000 and 45,000 albums are released in the U.S and Canada each year, with a staggering 75,000 in 2010! (We'll keep Europe out of this particular example)

Now, let's presume that for each of these releases, about 5,000 copies are obtained via illegal means - that could be a torrent download, a CD copy given by a friend, a download from one of the sites like MegaUpload - and then there's those people who want to come over and put a flash drive in your computer and "share" your music. I think 5,000 pirated copies is a very conservative number.

So, if the average album is $9.99, and we estimate that 5,000 copies of that album will be obtained without purchase, that's about $49,950 in sales that the artist/label will not earn. Not so much money, really, to a record label.

But - when you extrapolate that over 35,000 album releases each year, that jumps to 1.7 BILLION dollars annually. Carry that out over the past 14 years (back to 1999 when Napster really got moving) and you're looking at 24 and-a-half BILLION dollars that the music industry was essentially robbed of. That's record store jobs, studio jobs, promotional staff jobs, musician jobs, corporate staff, agents, managers - that's a lot of people getting laid off - or not hired at all - and I won't even bring the State or Federal tax impact into this, let alone the impact on related industry like shipping/construction/catering, etc...

When you consider just how many dollars are being siphoned out of the entertainment industry in general, it's no wonder that studios and labels are reluctant to sign new artists, reluctant to make risky movies, reluctant to keep a TV sitcom going for more than one season, reluctant to release albums by established artists, reluctant to sell CD singles, reluctant to contribute to our culture and economy.

It all comes down to economy. Every time someone thinks their "sticking it to the man" they are really sticking it to the guys and gals at the bottom. Me, you - the people who depend on a paycheck for a living. Money (and gravity, of course) makes the world go 'round.

Macfanforever · #14 01-19-2012, 05:21 PM

Check this promo out.

Silver Springs · #15 01-19-2012, 05:35 PM

I still purchase my media honestly. I would never use a site like Pirate Bay or any of the others to fraudulently acquire it. Because, aside from cheating the artist out of the money they've earned with their work (as an artists I can complete understand how even the small purchase matters), it would be cheating myself out of an experience. The experience of taking off the security stickers or peeling away the cellophane. Opening the box for the first time and getting to look over the inserts. Having that solid matter in my hand for the first time, encompassing the promise of wonderful things. Even the small, seemingly mundane rituals mean so much because you know you're getting ready to experience something special. You can't get that from a flimsy MP3 or other body-less file.