There is something undeniably pleasurable about downloading a torrent. Never having done it myself (LÖL), I suspect that the pleasure is exponentially sweeter if the torrent is of the “illegal” kind. But why?
Since early childhood, we are constantly fed one of the most fundamental truths of modern society: time is money.
Although I personally disagree with this outlook on life (I’m more of a time is knowledge type of guy), I do believe that this is the main cause of guilt-free pirating.
Without even realizing it, people feel that the time invested in waiting for that album, movie, or shiny new copy of Adobe Photoshop to complete downloading covers its actual cost!
Well, maybe not Photoshop. At 630 dollars a pop, that shit would cost a few weeks of your time, assuming minimum wage.
Crazy thought? Maybe. But it sure would help explain the mainstream consensus that stealing intellectual property is simply not wrong and thus, by default, right.
“Its not really pirating unless you’re wearing an eye patch while you do it,” says I, the author of such acclaimed articles as the one you’re currently reading and Babies and Other Hazards of Sex: How to Make a Tiny Person in Only 9 Months, with Tools You Probably Have Around the Home.
I may not be able to fully explain why you pirate, nor do I have a remedy to get you to stop because that would be mighty hypocritical of me. What I would like to do is guide your pirate ship into the less crowded and safer seas. Because for every successful pirate, there is another pirate who can’t wait to loot his gold.
There are tons of great bands out there who actually encourage your pirating habits by giving their music away for free.
Demonoid, a semi-private torrent site/tracker has been greatly supportive of such artists ever since coming back online in early 2008. Many bands receive an honorable mention (and a link to their album) on demonoid’s front page.
One such band, the Naked Empire was brought to my attention in late September. Its unique vocals, haunting and original guitar lines, and powerful, yet subtle piano pieces are slightly reminiscent of Muse and have been growing on me in the past few months.
I feel that further spreading Naked Empire’s name is the least I can do to show my appreciation of their free gift to the masses. Nonetheless, something tells me that the publicity surrounding their album’s release was worth the pennies they would have made off of individual CD sales had they gone with a more traditional distribution model.
With no further adieu, I give you the Naked Empire.
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are you a fan of any indie bands that openly support bitTorrent? Why do you think pirating has become so main stream? fuck the RIAA? Let us know!
