Michele’s Freeminding

I think I’m currently in rant-mode, so here’s another one. ;)

We all know CDs cost money, software often costs LOTS of money, DVDs aren’t certainly cheap and on and on. Yet, this isn’t a good excuse to illegally download this stuff from the Internet.

Many of the people I know who download music, software or movies from P2P networks usually say to me they’re doing it because CDs are so expensive and they should cost less money, and Photoshop costs a lot, so it’s OK if I download it, and is Windows really for sale?
I might as well agree with them, but this is not a good reason to steal.

If you like something so much you’d like to have it, you should go out and buy it.
Is 15 Euro really that much for your favorite band’s latest CD? probably yes, even though I don’t think so.
If you think it’s not worth it, then you shouldn’t even listen to it, you should listen to something else.
I love music, so I’m happy to buy CDs and support bands I like.

No one says you HAVE TO listen to famous artists, there are lots of great artists out there that will be happy to have you download their music for free, who cares if they aren’t famous! Just go to MySpace or Purevolume or the PMN and you’ll see what I mean.
The same goes for software: you don’t want to spend the money to get Photoshop — I’m using Photoshop as an example as I think it’s the most pirated piece of software after Windows –, then don’t use it!

I’d love to have Photoshop and Illustrator, but I think, ATM, it’s not worth it for me to spend that much to get them. So I’m doing just fine with Photoshop Elements and Inkscape.
I know they’re not the same, but it’s fine, because the former is cheaper and the latter is open-source. And if I really felt like I needed the real deal, I’d take out the wallet and get a license.

Adobe is no non-profit organization: they’re here for the money, they’ve got shareholders. Why should they give away their software for free? or even for less than what it’s worth?
They really provide great value for money, if you think of it. The thing is everyone thinks they need the latest version of Photoshop because it will make him/her the best photographer on earth. Or Illustrator because then he/she’ll make outstanding logos with it.
Truth told: most of them will be just fine on one of the lighter and cheaper/free alternatives.

And it’s just the same for music. Most musicians do that for a living. They already earn a lot of money, you say? Sure, but that’s not a point.
If you steal one million dollars from Bill Gates he won’t even notice it, but would it be right? nope! Bill Gates earned his money, so there’s nothing you can do about it.
If you like an artist you should either support it and buy his/her music, or forget about it because, in the end, you don’t really care that much about it.

There are some who think it’s not right to sell software, music and other intangible things, because they’re not real, they’re something which can be reproduced an unlimited number of times, so there’s no real value. IMHO, that’s bullshit!
Think of the amount of work and money that goes into making a great album such as Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of The Moon, or an amazing app such as Adobe’s Photoshop. Those are efforts which are worth every single cent asked to buy them.

Let’s see a quick example: I’d love to get a Prius, but I don’t have the 25k Euro I need to buy one, does this entitle me to go out and steal one?
Using the same logic I could say: “Well, I think is not worth that much. It should be something like 10k. So it’s ok if I steal one, because in the end, they’re stealing our money asking that much for a car.”
And don’t say each car costs a lot to build just because you can touch every single part of it. Engineers that write code cost money and if you want to touch something you can go touch them and their families.

Overall, I think P2P can be quite helpful, too, because it allows you to try before you buy. You can listen to an album and decide that you like it and buy it. Or try an app and end up buying it, too.
But that should be it: download, try, buy or delete it.

And probably I’m not the best person to talk about it, because in the end I’ve got a bit of spare money I can spend on CDs, books, or software. But as with the Prius example, lack of money is no real excuse.
If the author is fine with giving his/her product away, then you’re free to enjoy it, otherwise you should respect the author’s decision and either pay or find an alternative.

In the end, if you find something useful and decide you need it, you should bite the bullet and pay for it.
For example, I definitely don’t like Windows, and I think it’s not worth the money Microsoft asks for it, but I needed it, so I bought a license.
Then again, feel free to do what you think is fair. :D

P.S.
To remain on topic, this post made me laugh out loud… :)

P.P.S.
One thing software companies should do: provide more student discounts!

This post was written 1 year, 3 months ago on April 7th, 2007 mid-afternoon.