Posted by Novus on June 30, 1999 at 16:03:03:

In Reply to: Be wary... posted by Michael Toomim on June 30, 1999 at 14:56:38:

...not just stupid-fuck ego-boosting "i made
this" bullshit.

I hope you realize that this complaint of yours
would have to be equally leveled at the ripper
and the victim for you to be consistent... Keep
in mind though that often times the only "pay" a
tracker ever gets is acknowledgement from his or
her fans. Without this acknowledgement, very few
people would keep tracking, and the scene would
die. And the reason why ripping is a problem is
that they drain away this acknowledgement from the
person who rightfully deserves it.

But then- really is there that much of a
problem right now with people using scene music
for commercial ventures? If, say, a production
video game DOES use scene music, and it is an
obvious rip, it really is not hard for the
composer to prove it in court.

You're right, it's not. And it's also not all that
hard to change a fan belt in a car either. Or to
add 2+2. But whether something is easy or hard to
do, you still have to be taught how to do it
(unless it's painfully obvious). Legal issues get
very murky, and people can be easily intimidated
by such matters. Plus people may have the mistaken
belief that there's nothing they can do to defend
themselves anyway. It's amazing how many
misconceptions are out there regarding copyright
law. An organization like ICOMM could, at the very
least, help people understand what their rights
are, and do so for free. A lawyer could bring you
up to speed on your rights, but it would cost a
lot more than if ICOMM did it.

Is there even ANY commercial ripping taking
place, anyway?

Probably. Necros tunes have popped up in
late-night infomercials, completely unauthorized.
I'd be very surprised if this sort of thing wasn't
still going on somewhere. The tricky part is
catching it. Who in the scene sits up at 3 AM and
watches infomercials? ;) "The Ronco Slicer-Dicer
is being demonstrated to the song 'Orchard Street'
by Necros!" ;)

Sceners can take care of themselves.

In many cases, yes. But are you prepared to make
that statement about 100% of the scene?

Sincerely,
Novus