Would be interesting to know what other countries have restrictions when watching videos on youtube...?
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Maybe it's a good time to start a discussion about copyrights.(?)
My opinion:
In general: if you work, you should get paid!
I think the most important thing for musicians is that people listen to their music. Probably nobody (no musician) cares about copies that are made for private use.
But it's a different thing when somebody else is making money with your work. You put a lot of time, passion and money in producing a song, and that should be valued. Google is making millions of Dollars with Youtube and refuses to honor the work others have done, with which they make money. That's hardly fair to me.
From a fan's standpoint you should support the music you like. Most musicians
can't live from their music. And I also think that most musicians are happy when they get back the money they invested in making a record.
So when you pay for the music you like, you show the record company (if there is one) that there's a demand for that music and hopefully they support the musicians in making a new record (and that's what you want as a fan).
If a musician cannot live from the music, you need some other income. But with a steady job, making music gets harder: You have less time for making music, you have to spent your holidays to get on tour...
I would like to see my favourite bands working on a new album, than carrying rocks on a construction site.
What do you think?
@Nimrod: Why do you hate the GEMA?
(What's the GEMA? It's the german organisation for collecting money for musicians. F.e. if a song gets played on the radio, the station gives money to the GEMA for airing the song and the GEMA gives the money to the musican. It's
not as simple as that; just to give non-germans an idea.)