One thing that I do not hear discussed is the reasons why you even need a website. In my consulting work, I will frequently ask if the client is sure that they need a website.
RSS FeedsNext: Creative Commons Music - JamendoGoogle Calendar & SMS :Previous
AARGH, There Be Pirates in the Church…
written by Blake Atwood
Thursday, October 12, 2006
“Surveys show that born-again Christian teens are just as active in stealing and swapping music as their secular peers who pinch the latest Eminem rap hit or Kelly Clarkson power ballad.” By contrast, “…no other genre has a 2006 sales jump anywhere near the level of the Christian sector.”
Both quotes are taken from this Los Angeles Times article, which is well worth the read for the questions it raises regarding pirates in the church.
According to the article, it would seem that the rationale for downloading Christian music illegally is one of two options: the naive choice wherein the downloader assumes the artist is already rolling in cash, or the thoughtful and ‘moral’ choice that it’s Christian music that should be free because the message needs to be heard and distributed as widely as possible.
As most Christian artists are not millionaires, one stark contrast is Derek Webb, who has released his most recent album on the web for free, although you have to give up five friends’ email addresses to download it. (I heartily recommend the album by the way). The LA Times article makes mention of Derek as well. After attending one of his concerts recently, he spoke about this free distribution of his music, even saying he has plans to release all of his albums for free on the internet at some point in time. He went so far as to tell anyone to freely make copies of his CDs to distribute to friends. His is an example that is far from the norm.
Piracy affects the music industry, the movie industry, and the software industry, all of which are avenues that Christians are involved in and should use to their utmost potential to spread the word about the Word. But at what point should Christians attempt to profit from an artistic endeavor meant to persuade people to “buy into” something that is intrinsically free?
What are your thoughts on this pandemic?
First, let me make clear. Copying other peoples content outside what is legally allowed is wrong.
When I read the article, and the question that is suggested by the survey is a little misleading. From the article:
“In a Times entertainment poll this summer, teens were asked about downloading songs from an unauthorized file-sharing network. Among those who identified themselves as religious (of any faith), 63% said they would never do it. Among teens who did not describe themselves as religious, it was a similar proportion at 61%.”
First “unauthorized file-sharing network”, equating all (or any) P2P networks as unauthorized file-sharing networks is not correct. P2P networks are used for a lot more than that. There is legitimate traffic as well. There IS free music that CAN be distributed freely. Look at the content at http://creativecommons.org/. Did they just ask the question, have you traded music online? This would skew the results (possibly badly).
I am not saying that there is not a problem, but I am getting tired of equating ANY downloading as BAD. ANY P2P is BAD. Also, that ANY copying is BAD.
As Christians, we need to respect the author’s decision to sell a particular product, and limit the copyright. We need to tell these teens that if they want free content, well then they need to create it and distribute it free. (Possibly under a CC license.)
We DO have choices.
Michael Calabrese October 16th, 2006 at 12:17 am[…] AARGH, There Be Pirates in the Church…
revious […]
BetaChurch » Blog Archive » Creative Commons Music -Jemando October 18th, 2006 at 6:18 pmInteresting. I think the problem doesn’t lie necessarily with the stealers as much as it does the music industry in general. Taking a medium such as art or music and making a profit off of it, while necessary for the service of career building, denegrates the nature of asthetics in music. I understand how it can be very destructive for anyone to steal anything, and in our American law system, it is wrong to steal such music. BUT…it would be nice if music returned to the good ole days of make it “for the fun of it”. This whole deal puts not only a bad stamp on the theifs (which it should), but also makes amazing artists look greedy.
I am thankful God doesn’t charge to look at the sunset.
AJ February 14th, 2007 at 2:43 amYes, I think it’s the idea that “well if everyone else does it, it is okay”. As Christians, and I’m talking to myself, we should stand out from among the world. Sometimes I think if we pirate Christian music, we might also think, “oh well, they’d give it to us anyways”.
I think too, most churches do not pay royalties like they are supposed to for singing Christian songs. I know this for a fact. Each song performed in worship has fees for playing it live, and I bet 75% of churches do not pay those fees.
Powerful Church Website Design
Church Website Design March 19th, 2007 at 12:34 pm