No sympathy for music pirates – Tuanz boss
Social networks exploded with grizzles yestrday as the first wave of infringement notices under the new copyright law were sent.
But Telecommunications Users Association chief executive Paul Brislen was having none of it.
“I’ve got no sympathy if you’re copying music and think you’ve been hard done by,” Mr Brislen told underground internet radio show Discourse last night.
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (Rianz) sent notices to Telecom, TelstraClear and Orcon alleging copyright infringement by their users.
Acts named in the notices – Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Taio Cruz – are all signed to labels owned by Universal Music.
Mr Brislen has previously noted (along with NBR) that the film and television industries often release content in New Zealand late or not at all – giving people a degree of intellectual justification for seeking it through other avenues.
But songs were a different story, he told Discourse.
“You’re not on good, solid, moral ground if you say I’m [illegally] downloading music because it isn’t available any other way - because it is from dozens of online retailers and the price is really low,” the Tuanz boss said.
Privacy, price concerns
Mr Brislen did have concerns about several aspects of the new file sharing law, however.
"We're now entering a world where the ISPs potentially get into deep packet inspection and oversight over every bit of data I send up and down the internet,” he said.
"Not only is that an abuse of my privacy but it comes in a tremendous cost in monetary terms for the ISP." Costs would likely be passed on to customers.
Another issue: Tuanz had been inundated by qeries from its corporate membership, who were confused over the legislation (which makes an account holder, such as a business, liable for the online actions of its employees or other users in most instances).
Movie, TV industries five years behind
It was interesting the first infringement notices came from the music industry, not television or music studios.
“[The] music [industry] is about five years ahead in terms of their understanding of the internet,” Mr Brislen said.
“And they’re so far ahead predominantly because of Apple. With iTunes [Apple] said, “You don’t have to steal it. We’ll make it easy for you to buy.
"Apple literally saved the music industry from themselves [and] those clowns who said we’ll do exactly what television and the movie studios are doing at the moment which is 'Screw you if you want our content you can’t have it we’ll talk to our good friends in parliament'.”
Limiting movie and TV distribution, while appealing to polticians to tighten copyright law, gave the impression rights holders were more interested in defending an outdated business model than copyright.
(NBR broadly accepts this argument, though notes that in some cases even local music acts championed during Rianz piracy campaigns are not available through iTunes. Regardless, it seems something of a PR disaster to kick off infringement notices with overseas acts rather than go in to bat for a local artist.)
The Tuanz CEO speculated that Rianz had sent infringement notices for violations’ of major artists’ copyright because it was seeking headlines. He also speculated the industry body could be targeting those who used a service like BitTorrent to upload songs for others to illegally access.
Content critical to Crown fibre update
Mr Brislen said it was important for people to get easier access to online music, movies and TV, because content and services was what drove the uptake of fast internet upgrades like New Zealand’s $1.35 billion ultrafast broadband (UFB) rollout.
“It’s hard to sell bits and bytes,” the Tuanz boss said. “It’s much easier to sell Game of Thrones or America’s Next Top Model, God help us. That you can actually package up [in services bundled with a broadband connection.
“Most people say “I want television, I want cheap phone calls but they won’t go out and buy fast internet.”
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Comments and questions18
As long as Tuanz don't turn into giant asses and start arguing that ISPs should have to review and censor all traffic going through them, the above sounds more or less reasonable.
That said, people can just as easily go off and watch Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Taio Cruz on YouTube for free, and even record what they're watching just as they can off TV with a video recorder.
Still, at least Brislen is aware of the importance of the industry having a workable business model.
Horse, you need to be careful what you do with those video recordings after you've made them.
Format shifting of video (e.g. ripping a purchased DVD to use on your iPhone) is explicitly banned in New Zealand.
You can format-shift audio, but you can only time-shift (record for later viewing via the same medium) video.
The times they are a changing...
Strikes me the entertainment business model as it has been for the last 40+ years, is finished. That is, huge profits based on the control of physical media.
Now that the average person has the knowledge to access material online it is time for the industry to work out how to make a sustainable living from the work they produce.
It's a good challenge.
Wow, Mr Brislen has done a U turn on his opinions since leaving the NZ Herald and Vodafone.
See 5m 50sec at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WYIcajZrtk
Paul's opinions have remained pretty consistent...
Specifically in this case he feels that there's no reasonably justification for downloading music given that it can be legally purchased easily via online services.
Give it up. He used to work for a company and had to toe the company line. Now he doesn't. Holding that against him for ever more is pointless.
better to assume that Vodafone said... rather than Brislen said...
@knock knock Not sure what you mean, did you watch the video? Same view expressed all the way through.
or do you have another video you meant to link to?
Mr Paul Brislen has admitted to downloading Dr Who episodes!
Pot, Kettle, Black much??
Piracy is Piracy Mr Brislen - don't try & twist it to suit yourself :-)
@ nzben, in that case, as long as YouTube videos are in flash, they can legally be recorded as flash files, from the sounds of it. That's still time-shifting of video.
TUANZ is an excellent organization and Paul makes sense to me. It needs to be easy and cheap to download content. If it is not then don't moan when people find a way to access it for free. The new law is ridiculous. Old people's response to a world already beyond them.
Grant, Paul makes the point that current episodes of Dr Who are not easily and cheaply available in New Zealand.
Rihanna is.
Hi Ben,
Yes, I understand that fully & I have communicated at length with Paul about this via Twitter.
But your missing the point - regardless of weather it's a song, or a movie or a Dr Who episode, downloading this material is illegal. It's a bit rich for Paul to say on one hand "“I’ve got no sympathy if you’re copying music and think you’ve been hard done by" - when he has also downloaded TV Programs illegally himself, after all it's all bits & bytes.....
Like Paul, I think the law is fundamentally flawed to the hilt & that Hollywood & the major television companies around the world need to "get with the program" & allow New Zealanders & other people worldwide, to access pay per view services via the Internet, with "current content" & not throttle them with BS television that arrives 6-12 months after it has screened in the USA or elsewhere & movies that we are the last in the world to receive.
Netflix is a perfect example of how a model like that can work & over half of all Americans use it & their piracy levels have dropped significantly as a result - why oh why can't we all have that?? It's totally crazy!!
New Zealand NEEDS Netflix & Hulu type services NOW & if we don't get it, then seriously - no one - is going to pay for FTTH if can't get the content that we want.
Oh, BTW, I am aware of a workaround to get Hulu & Netflix in New Zealand, but it's expensive & we shouldn't have to do it that way.
Grant, you're missing the point. The argument is not about whether it's legal or not to download this kind of content because it clearly isn't.
The argument is about whether it's acceptable to withold content from a market and then get upset when that content is copied or accessed in a manner you don't like.
Anyone can set up a secure VPN link to the US or UK (there are many companies that offer this service quite cheaply). That's perfectly legal. From there, you can legally buy a service from the likes of BBC, Netflix or Hulu. However you are breaching their terms and conditions.
But why should consumers be forced to jump through such hoops to simply watch TV? It's laughable that our country has one pay TV provider which controls most of the content. It's laughable that we have two mediocre free to air TV networks (TVNZ and TV3) that have no idea why people watch television and so screen cooking shows and "reality" TV and nothing else.
Brislen's point is that when the content is made available, customers pay for it. When content isn't available, they access it anyway and criminalising it doesn't make any difference.
Hi "Anonymous",
Going by the way you have put your point forward, you sound remarkably like Paul Brislen, so much so, you have even mentioned specific points that he discussed in his Twitter conversation with me last night, whilst desperately trying to defend himself.
Hey, I could be wrong, but I detect an uncanny resemblance to his line of thinking, huh he mentioned last night about "Cooking Shows" - yet you seemingly prefer to hide behind an "Anonymous" title - why is that????
Let me stress my points again, as clearly you have not taken anytime whatsoever to absorb or appreciate what I have written last night & today, nor what I think about the whole situation.
If you bothered to look, you would see that my line of thinking is actually very similar to yours, other than the hypocrisy behind your statement in this article.
IMHO.....
#1 The NZ Copyright Law is flawed to the hilt
#2 I agree with Paul Brislen, specifically with regards to his beliefs on the flawed model in NZ & that NZer's can't get what they want, when they want it. I have stated this MANY times & it needs to change in New Zealand, like yesterday.
#3 My issue is with Paul saying "why should you be shown any mercy, you dirty pirate" .......when HE has downloaded TV Programs ILLEGALLY - it is hypocritical for him to do so.
#4 I'm fully aware that "when is content is made available, customers pay for it" did you not read my statement on Netflix, in the post immediately above yours??
If you are Paul Brislen, then did you not read any of my tweets last night, or were you too self indulged in your own beliefs??
#5 Just like last night, when Paul Brislen sent my 32, yes 32 tweets, in a very short space of time, trying to defend the indenfsible you have come up with an "Anonymous post" regurgitating what he said last night
My goodness, whoever you are & I think you are probably Paul Brislen, you are no different from a Music Pirate, why not take it on the chin?
Yes, I saw your twitter "discussion". That's why I referenced the same points.
Hi Grant,
as I said to you last night on Twitter, my position has always been consistent and I refute your claim that I'm being hypocritical.
I have always said that I've downloaded TV to watch. I've said it on NBR and on TV and on the radio and online and I'll say it again here. Yes, I have.
I do so not because I can get the content for free but because I cannot pay for it.
Music is something that I also download, but in this instance it's readily available and cheap. I have no objection to paying $2.49 for a song and have done so many times this month alone. In fact, since getting iTunes I have bought more music than at any time in the past 20 years. It's easy, it's convenient and it's cheap.
What I cannot do is get the television I want in a timely fashion and changing the law to make me a criminal because I want to watch Doctor Who seems to me to be a tad extreme, particularly when there is a viable alternative - let me buy TV shows online. I'll pay, I'll happily pay, but I'm not allowed to.
I hope that clears it up for you.
Paul Brislen
TUANZ Chief Executive
Yes thanks Paul :-)
@Anonymous
Who ever you are pretending to be Paul Brislen© - why not man up & tell everyone your real name?
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