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Myths about Music Software Companies
"The music software companies are
huge"
First of all, stealing from a big company is
just as bad as stealing from a small company. Many of our
members are tiny operations and the loss of income from piracy
hits them especially hard. With just a few exceptions the
vast majority of our members have less than 20 employees,
quite a few are 2 and 3 person operations. The impact of software theft
on these small companies is immense.
"Software costs nothing to make - a CD, manual,
box"
That's like saying a record costs nothing to
make - just a CD, insert and jewel case. The fact is it costs
money to make software because the companies have to pay the
developers a salary. There is also major capital investment
involved in having an establishment set up to develop software.
Anyone who can't understand that there are costs above and
beyond the physical CD is looking to justify their illicit
behavior.
"Stealing software is not the same as stealing
a bottle of Coke"
Stealing is stealing. Thou shalt not steal doesn't
come with an escape clause. Stealing software is stealing.
Because software can be copied and a bottle of Coke cannot
doesn't mean that it's somehow morally permissible to steal
software. Software is protected by law just like that bottle
of Coke is. If it came right down to it, the law sees no difference.
"Companies release buggy software anyway, I need
to use a crack to see if I like it"
We are not going to become apologists for software
companies with buggy code. However, it is not unreasonable
to expect that a program with tens of millions of lines of
code may contain a few bugs. Even cars roll off the assembly
line with bugs that are fixed with recalls. The fact that
a software program has a bug, or several bugs, doesn't justify
stealing it, anymore than stealing a car that's the subject
of a recall.
Many people do indeed use a crack for a certain
amount of time and some of them do indeed go out and buy the
program but the vast majority do not. Let's face facts - a
musician using a pirated copy of a software program, especially
to make music [intellectual property], for any significant
period of time is a sign of moral bankruptcy.
"My one crack copy doesn't add up to a hill of
beans in the grand scheme of things"
Let's extend this kind of thinking to the entire
potential customer base. The software that you are stealing
is financially supported exclusively by people who pay for
it. These people feel, correctly, that they should pay for
the software that they use and choose to buy. Why not make
your contribution instead of getting a free ride? If everyone
thought this way the music software industry would fold up
and dissappear.
"Everybody is using cracks, why shouldn't
I? "
Just because everyone is stealing something makes
it right. There was a time when just about everyone was OK
with drunk driving, did that make it right? 20 years ago no
one was recycling garbage - did that make it OK? Ike is famous
for saying he beat his wife no more or no less than the average
man. Does that make it right? 200 years ago slavery was OK
too, right? Software theft is a damaging social ill - the fact that
everyone is not educated and not socially aware of the negative
consequences doesn't make it right.
"The software companies are charging too much"
Every manufacturer has a right to set prices.
To justify stealing software because the manufacturer
is "charging too much" is yet another sign of moral
bankruptcy. Is it OK to steal a Ferrari or Mercedes Benz because,
in your opinion, the manufacturer is "charging too much"?
The fact is there is a vast selection of cars out there. If
you can't afford a Mercedes then buy a Ford. Similarly, there
is a vast selection of software tools ranging along a full
pricing spectrum. If you cannot afford the "expensive"
programs buy something you can afford. If you can't afford
anything at all then you should do without and not resort
to stealing.
A sequencer replaces a recording studio costing
tens of thousands of dollars. It brings music making technology
to a price point where the vast majority of creative people
can have access to it. It once required hundreds of thousands
of dollars to make a professional quality recording. Today
the average working musician can access this technology at
unprecedented and affordable prices - something musicians
just 10-15 years ago could only dream of.
The vast array of virtual instrument costs 5-15%
of the actual hardware equivalents just a few years ago. How
can anyone claim that software is expensive? It is actually
inexpensive by ever comparative analysis. An FM7 retails for
10% of what a DX7 did.
Do the right thing - buy the software
you use.
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