quote:

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I am a young and talented singer. I am
just getting started in the business and
have created my first CD. I write all of
my own music based on my personal
experiences. I am working hard to get
my name out to the public. I am starting
to perform my music and have just
signed on with a big record label. I am
starting to experience the success I have
hoped for since I started singing and
writing music. Illegal “file-swapping”
has turned my dreams into nightmares. All of my efforts and
struggles are for nothing. My CD sales are poor because
everyone is downloading my songs for free from the Internet.
Now the recording company does not want to invest in
producing a new CD of my latest songs. What people don’t
realize is that it is ruining my career. Just imagine working
your whole life for a dream and having someone ruin it. Every
time someone takes my music and file shares it, I lose money.
Talk about unfair!

---

Tell that to the many artists (Phish, Gov't Mule, The Radiators (who even give out soundboard patches to their fans), etc.) who have capitalized on the taping/trading scene and ALLOWED their fans to trade live shows (but NOT studio albums) as a way of building and keeping a fanbase. How 'poor' are they?
 

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Posted by Gracia L. Babbidge (Member # 582) on 12-14-2003, 02:12 AM:
 
It is my understanding that bands tend to only make money by going on tour. It's the record companies that make money off the artists' albums.

Oh yeah, Phish rules!
 

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Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 12-14-2003, 02:33 AM:
 
www.disrespectcopyrights.org/
 

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 12-14-2003, 04:22 AM:
 

quote:

---

www.disrespectcopyrights.org

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Although I don't completely agree with everything he has to say, I've always enjoyed Lawrence Lessig's comments. They are always, at the very least, thought provoking.
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 12-14-2003, 04:54 AM:
 
I wonder how much money has been thrown out of the window to hire advertisement agencies for those ads, how many highly paid writers they hired to write those sappy texts.
 

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Posted by Greg Anderson (Member # 235) on 12-14-2003, 07:56 AM:
 
In some of the ads out there, they show some "below the line" film crew members who say that piracy hurts them. But, since most people who work on film crews are paid up front for their work, there's no direct effect on them if the finished movie makes lots of money or not. So the only way that piracy hurts a rank-and-file film crew worker is through (drumroll, please) trickle-down economics. If the producers are losing money then they can't make as many movies and hire those rank-and-file guys as often. But try to find a Hollywood celebrity who's going to tell America that trickle-down economics is a valid concept. So, what's it going to be, Hollywood? Do you believe in trickle-down economics or not? Or does this ad campaign underscore the idealogical disagreements between the MPAA powers-that-be and the $20-million-a-pop celebrities in Hollywood?
 

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Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 12-14-2003, 11:43 AM:
 
Greg refers to an anti-piracy ad produced by an MPAA front group. The AMC Hamilton has for now stopped running that ad within the preshow.

Maybe AMC was afraid the Bad Santa would haul off on one of those below-the-line workers.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-14-2003, 01:43 PM:
 
You're right... the MPAA is out of their minds... They should've said instead that for each and every individual pirate copy of a movie that thousands lose their jobs and also that the family and children of the newly unemployed people are starving and raped twice a day. Actually I am not suprised they didn't say that.

PS - Pirates don't give a rat's ass about anything the MPAA has to say, guaranteed.
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 12-14-2003, 03:28 PM:
 

quote:

---

Just imagine working
your whole life for a dream and having someone ruin it.

---

This happens to me every day.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 12-14-2003, 04:59 PM:
 
The title of this thread contains some grammar defects. It should read:

"The MPAA is out of its mind" or perhaps "out of its collective mind" but it is simply wrong to say that the MPAA is (singular) out of their minds (plural).

ALTERNATIVELY, we might prefer the plural and go with "those people at the MPAA are out of their minds." Personally this is the direction I would go with because, after all, the MPAA doesn't have a mind of its own so it seems more logical to fault the many and various individuals involved, necessitating the use of the plural form.

Also, only one exclamation point (!) is needed. Multiple exclamation points are the mark of an amateur. Instead, why not use an adjective to add a sense of color and despair. For example:

"Those people at the MPAA are out of their freaking minds!"

I would hate for these points of grammar to remain overlooked and allowed to create "Grammar Drama" for any of the younger readers of this otherwise fine website.
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 12-14-2003, 05:44 PM:
 

quote:

---

the MPAA doesn't have a mind of its own

---

I disagree. I think the group shares a single mind. I haven't yet figured out how they keep track of whose ass it's being kept in.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-14-2003, 06:38 PM:
 
Correct grammar is not as important as finding and murdering movie pirates!
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 12-14-2003, 07:11 PM:
 
...sez Joe while holding his trusty video camera.

>>> Phil
 

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Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 12-15-2003, 05:56 AM:
 

quote:

---

Also, only one exclamation point (!) is needed.

---

while it's commonly used, i think you'll agree that "exclamation point" is an aberrant term. "exclamation line and point" would be more accurate. i prefer "exclamation mark", based on the model of "question mark". you wouldn't say "question point", would you?????

carl
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-15-2003, 01:29 PM:
 
Clearly, we need to refer this thread to "Mister Language Person," aka Dave Barry.
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 12-15-2003, 08:20 PM:
 
If we are going to rename things then I would prefer "exclamation graphic."

However, "exclamation point" would still be valid when referring to the place or "point" in the overall written work where an exclamation occurs.
 

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Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 12-16-2003, 07:30 AM:
 
And 20 years of anti-drug advertising has eliminated illegal drugs...
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-17-2003, 03:33 AM:
 
The first typewriter I ever used (when I was a kid) had no explanation point, thing, whatever. You had to type an apostrophe and then backspace and put a period under it. Let's see ya try that with a computer.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-17-2003, 06:35 AM:
 
That was because you also didn't have a "1" key you had to use the lower case "L" .

Yeah then there is the "margin release"...aka MarRel or simply M-R for when you just gotta go beyond to avoid a carriage return.

Steve
 

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Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 12-18-2003, 01:34 AM:
 

quote:

---

The first typewriter I ever used (when I was a kid) had no explanation point, thing, whatever.

---

Huh, what's a typewriter?
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 12-18-2003, 02:29 AM:
 
Huh, what's an explanation point?

>>> Phil
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 12-18-2003, 01:46 PM:
 
What's Phil's point?
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 12-18-2003, 02:49 PM:
 
My "point", Adam...for those of you that don't believe in doG, is it's *exClaMation* point, mark, or sign! DUH....

>>> Phil
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 12-18-2003, 03:26 PM:
 
This belongs over here
----------------------------------------------------------------
Twas the night before Christmas
At the MPAA
Mr. Valenti was planning
for a reason to stay

He was choosing the movies
to CAP Code tonight
He's afraid of the pirates
and that just ain't right.

From Paycheck to Timeline
to Lord of The Rings
On Hidalgo, Cold Mountain
and Love Don't Cost A Thing

He puts them all
in the worst of places
He never sees
the customers faces

When they see
the red dots
It ruins the film
from the bad spots

Jack Valenti should rape
the studio workers
They are the ones
who are lurkers

Leave the theatres
to do their work
Mr. Valenti,
Stop being a jerk

He left the office
when he was done
a disgruntled worker
came with a gun

Mr Valenti was shot
no hospital in sight
he realized his wrong
CAP Code died that night
 

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Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 12-24-2006, 12:17 AM:
 

It has been 1101 days since the last post.

 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 12-24-2006, 12:17 AM:
 
It's that time of year again
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 12-24-2006, 11:29 PM:
 
Damn Richard..

Were you BORED or what?
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 12-24-2006, 11:35 PM:
 
Kinda. I remembered making this a few years back. For some reason, I can't add it to another post or start a new topic with it...I don't know why, but the board says it has a word or phrase that has caused problems in the past
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-24-2006, 11:47 PM:
 
Probably the word "customer"
 

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