Kopimist [ Copy-Me ist ]

Although a devout conservative, when it comes to intellectual property I lean libertarian. If music and movies are an art form, I can't understand why an artist wouldn't want their works to be freely distributed. Artists should be afforded quite a luxurious lifestyle if there works demand the attention of the world. Public appearances, the sale of original works, or in the case of performance arts like music and drama, all can be profitable. Even street performers get paid. As an example, if you recorded a very entertaining street performer, then put them on YouTube, if they became a famous figure online overnight, don't you think that would benefit the performer? The music industry has been ripping of the public by paying promoters to shove lipsyncing artists down the ear canals of popular radio listeners for decades. I quit buying CD's when I thought I would enjoy an album based on the hit single only to find I payed $16 for one song, and 10 tracks of garbage. The music business is on it's ear with the advent of Ipods and file sharing networks like LimeWire and now Bitorrent sites like www.ThePirateBay.org so they are on the attack. With deep pockets and tough lawyers on the side of the recording and movie industry, you can expect the winners to be the media execs and the losers to be you, me, and the artists who actually have talent.