My speech on Music/Movie Piracy

[Brock Landers]

Quick, Brock needs help on a speech for Honors English. In all my luck, I got assigned to do a speech on the topic of Music/Movie Piracy, a persuasive speech, so I have to persuade people about Music/Movie Piracy. And with all my luck, I have to argue PRO piracy. I need material, so anyone have a site to set me too? Some tips? Advice or what have you?

Thanks. :D

[Skinny]

Introduction: Use "attention getter" sentences, etc.

Thesis: I am in favor of piracy

Argument 1: Movies are too expensive to see

(elaborate)

Argument 2: Piracy was inevitable

(elaborate)

Argument 3: Argue about the foundations such as burning songs, why there are CD where you can copy stuff onto it, etc.

(elaborate)

Conclusion: Basically summerize your thesis statement and your elaborations on it and just finish your speech off.

Umm... That's all I can think of :P

Good luck Brock.

[Brock Landers]

The thing is, I feel an obligation to note that it IS stealing. There's no getting around it. I have to argue PRO piracy, yet that means I'm advocating stealing/theft. Hmmmmm, victimless crime, perhaps?

[Skinny]

Hmmmmmm... tough arugument you're introducing there Brock... hmmmmmmm... Yes, you can use the victimless crime, but you also have to state why you feel that this type of stealing is right ... hmmmmmmm...

[Brock Landers]

Hmmmmmm... tough arugument you're introducing there Brock... hmmmmmmm... Yes, you can use the victimless crime, but you also have to state why you feel that this type of stealing is right ... hmmmmmmm...

Well, I can't say that stealing is right and justified, because well....it's not. Quite a pickle I've gotten myself in to.

[equipe]

Ben's argument:

The entertainment industry has been screwing around with us for decades. Now the consumers have the power to circumvent their oligopoly to procure entertainment. We will continue to be 'pirates' and the such until the consumers have a voice with the oligarchs to get their products how we want and at a fair price.

All the crap that we have to put up with from them... A La, pop music and reality TV is justification enough for us to get back at them through means of 'illegal distribution' for brain washing and forcing crap down our throats with their crappy products, lies, deception and for fleecing the consumers for over 50 years.

[Skinny]

This is one hell of a subject Brock... hmmmmmm... well lets brainstorm a little bit...

What is the definition of Piracy?
What exactly does piracy steal?
From who does it steal from?
Was Piracy avoidable?
Is Piracy some time of rebellion?
Can Piracy be stopped?

hmmmmmmmm...

[Kitty]

well in a way it isn't your fault because they've waved cd/dvd burners in your face. what better use to put for it then to go to some free downloading site nad download your favorite movies? Besides, who would really want to pay a couple of bucks for one song when you can go to whatever other site and get it for free.

[Brock Landers]

Ben's argument:

The entertainment industry has been screwing around with us for decades. Now the consumers have the power to circumvent their oligopoly to procure entertainment. We will continue to be 'pirates' and the such until the consumers have a voice with the oligarchs to get their products how we want and at a fair price.

All the crap that we have to put up with from them... A La, pop music and reality TV is justification enough for us to get back at them through means of 'illegal distribution' for brain washing and forcing crap down our throats with their crappy products, lies, deception and for fleecing the consumers for over 50 years.

Haha, you think I could argue that?

[Brock Landers]

This is one hell of a subject Brock... hmmmmmm... well lets brainstorm a little bit...

What is the definition of Piracy?
What exactly does piracy steal?
From who does it steal from?
Was Piracy avoidable?
Is Piracy some time of rebellion?
Can Piracy be stopped?

hmmmmmmmm...

Damn it. Maybe I can request changing it to against piracy.

[Skinny]

Damn it. Maybe I can request changing it to against piracy.

Yea, arguing for piracy is such a HARD argument... but it's not impossible I tell you ;)

[equipe]

You can argue anything you want.

I know its a very anti-capitalistic argument, but they really have treated the consumers, the hand that feeds them, like **** for over 50 years. They don't exist without us, and we deserve to get what we want. Good product at a fair price. The advent of digital media has turned the tables on the oligopoly, allowing the consumers to gain some power, which is the last thing they want if they want to keep abusing us to reap the greatest profits. Piracy will continue until they come to realize this and change to meet our demands. This has begun with iTunes and the such, but that system isn't perfect and has a bigger negative effect on the artists (who by the way only get about $1 from each album sale, and less if any from digital download sites).

Piracy in other places in the world like China/Asia and India will never be stopped. It is just too expensive for the average person to purchase consumable entertainment at any price.

So try as they might to shut us down. They can never succeed. There will always be a way around their fail-safe systems to get our content how we like it. It is the nature of digital entertainment.

[Skinny]

Yea, I argued AGAINST censorship in my communications course and i stood up there for 15 minutes, so yea, you can argue anything.

[equipe]

I was just thinking that you can turn the tables and make the entertainment industry look anti-capitalistic. It's all about marketing and having the choices in programing/production not made by the consumers, but made for the consumers and that consent is manufactured through the use of marketing. All this throws away the idea of the invisible hand, fundamental in capitalist economics, because the markets are artificially created and supported by advertising.

[eclipsedman]

Brock some people like me use the dled versions of the films and cd's to see if they are really worth paying for. Yes I know it sounds absurd but its true. Movies cost anywhere from $9-15 out here in Cali. Some movies I won't pay for so if they are good enough I buy them on dvd. Just think Brock if you could have dled the new Beastie Boys instead of purchasing on a whim you could have saved about 10-15 dollars. In regards to sites, I could give you some links if you so desire.

[Brock Landers]

You can argue anything you want.

I know its a very anti-capitalistic argument, but they really have treated the consumers, the hand that feeds them, like **** for over 50 years. They don't exist without us, and we deserve to get what we want. Good product at a fair price. The advent of digital media has turned the tables on the oligopoly, allowing the consumers to gain some power, which is the last thing they want if they want to keep abusing us to reap the greatest profits. Piracy will continue until they come to realize this and change to meet our demands. This has begun with iTunes and the such, but that system isn't perfect and has a bigger negative effect on the artists (who by the way only get about $1 from each album sale, and less if any from digital download sites).

Piracy in other places in the world like China/Asia and India will never be stopped. It is just too expensive for the average person to purchase consumable entertainment at any price.

So try as they might to shut us down. They can never succeed. There will always be a way around their fail-safe systems to get our content how we like it. It is the nature of digital entertainment.

Hmmmmm, good idea. I like that.

**jots down some notes**

I expect this weekend I'll be hopped up on coffee, cranking out an award winning speech somewhere between 6-10 minutes. :D

[Brock Landers]

In regards to sites, I could give you some links if you so desire.

That'd be great, thank you.

[Vincenzo]

Oy, I hate when you have to right something PRO-bad, its so hard. I shall think! Finding evidence is always the hardest part.

[ip_guru]

Piracy is theft, pure and simple. You can sugar coat it all you want, but your assignment is essentially to argue the virtues of breaking the law and performing a criminal act. Are other students to defend other crimes? If not, mention this viewpoint to your teacher.

If he/she won't change I'd write the paper that piracy is good because it gives law enforcement lots of people to arrest and provides for good examples of what is considered illegal and wrong.

That really is a B.S assignment. I had some of those in college, and usually with an honest chat with the teacher got them changed. Unless your teacher is that stupidly stubborn, you should be able to get it changed... good luck, and come back for more brainstorming if you need!

[IdahoMR2man]

Seriously, Brockie, downloading MP3s only helps artists that don't have their own music label. Pirating music ONLY hurts people that own a music label. Think of it this way. Musicians don't make jack squat off the sale of their album. What they make their money off of is concert sales. Ok...so how do you get more people to go to your concert? Get more people to listen to your music. And the downloading of MP3s certainly does that. So more money to you. It's the Metallicas and the Madonnas of the world that lose money not the No Doubts and the Weezers.

Now movie piracy to me IS a sin because really movies on DVD are cheap compared to what they are worth. I would pay $40 for movies if that's what they were priced. Each dime of that goes to the people who earned it. Not some fat cat that just sits back and says what we should listen to....

[Andy_R]

I have downloaded hundreds of songs.
99.9% of every song I have ever downloaded I would not have purchased otherwise.
So they're not losing any money from "consumers" like me.

[ilovecandace]

hjustr say priacy is happening cause of the net......if u get rid of pricay u mysweell get rid of the net....cause as long sa the net is arouind there will always be pirates

[zamphir66]

Here's how I justify my own piracy :D :

Nothing that i download is free, because I am paying 50$ a month for cable internet. That 50$ grants me access to anything and everything on the internet. If there is a service offered that a third party considers illegal, the responsibility lies with them or with my service provider to remove the offendor. As long as Ares, BitTorrent, Bearshare, etc., are made readily available to me, I will, as a smart consumer, continue to use them. That's called the market economy.
Think of it this way: You pay your light bill. Now let's say that the another party says you can't use the light in the garage. Does that make any sense? You've paid for the damn light.

[Kyle Katarn]

As I think was mentioned, there's the 'if I DL it and like it I'll buy the album.' I listened to the first 2 minutes of their 'Another Brick in the Wall' cover, and said to myself, I WILL buy Korn Greatest Hits ASAP!!!! And hearing Megadeath's version of Grabbag, the Duke Nukem theme, prompted me to hunt down the album 'Music to Score By.'

Then there's stuff like Linkin Park, whrere buying it was a foregone conclusion, so I just dled some tracks to sate me until it hit the stores.

[Brock Landers]

Piracy is theft, pure and simple. You can sugar coat it all you want, but your assignment is essentially to argue the virtues of breaking the law and performing a criminal act. Are other students to defend other crimes? If not, mention this viewpoint to your teacher.

If he/she won't change I'd write the paper that piracy is good because it gives law enforcement lots of people to arrest and provides for good examples of what is considered illegal and wrong.

That really is a B.S assignment. I had some of those in college, and usually with an honest chat with the teacher got them changed. Unless your teacher is that stupidly stubborn, you should be able to get it changed... good luck, and come back for more brainstorming if you need!

Yeah, uh, I went in to change it today and apparently "it's too late", since we're writing up Outlines now. Looks like I'm stuck. :(

[equipe]

Just have fun with it Brock. The teacher has to give you a good mark you you do it well, even if he/she doesn't agree with it. It's not like you are doing it in front of a Senate commitee or anything ;)

[Brock Landers]

Just have fun with it Brock. The teacher has to give you a good mark you you do it well, even if he/she doesn't agree with it. It's not like you are doing it in front of a Senate commitee or anything ;)

....Good points. You sonofa*****. ;)

[sweet_pickles]

The thing is, I feel an obligation to note that it IS stealing. There's no getting around it. I have to argue PRO piracy, yet that means I'm advocating stealing/theft. Hmmmmm, victimless crime, perhaps?

Ha..just saw this and got nostalgic because I had a paper about a similar issue when I was in college, but piracy wasn't even as rampid as it is now. Anyway I think that's tough. You should note that it's wrong, right? Because it is. Piracy is stealing -- no matter what the laws are in one's country. Here it's not only wrong but illegal.

So what did you end up doing about this pickle you're in?

[Brock Landers]

I'm going to do it anyways and blow their minds out. I'm going to dance around the whole "illegal" thing. I have to turn in my Outline tomorrow morning.

[Tony Montana]

When someone can afford to pay some actor over 25 million dollars for 4-5 months of work with all extras he can possibly imagine, then why whining about the movie piracy??

[Crow T. Robot]

When someone can afford to pay some actor over 25 million dollars for 4-5 months of work with all extras he can possibly imagine, then why whining about the movie piracy??


The wealth of the victim does not justify theft.

[Crow T. Robot]

I'm going to do it anyways and blow their minds out.

Thats the spirit! good luck!

[sweet_pickles]

I don't think that's the point though -- that's not really who all it hurts. Apparently it hurts all the little guys. Plus what kind of precedent does piracy set? It's like saying -- "oh okay -- well some stealing is ok" -- which is insane as saying "some murder is okay." Plus for me, a respect for the industry is enough to stop me (plus I don't want some hefty fine or anything!)

Brock -- good luck! I'm sure you'll do well, and once you have that outline set it's smooth sailin...

Let us know how it goes!

Tony, love the avatar! lol

[Tony Montana]

The wealth of the victim does not justify theft.

So, its ok for you to stuff your money into their asses with both hands while they still whine around how bad it is?

[Crow T. Robot]

So, its ok for you to stuff your money into their asses with both hands while they still whine around how bad it is?

*speaks a little clearer so that there can be no misunderstanding*

The wealth of the victim does not justify theft.

[Tony Montana]

Maybe but I dont feel bad about it at all. Do you?

[Kyle Katarn]

Let us know how the assignment turns out man! :cool:

[Brock Landers]

Let us know how the assignment turns out man! :cool:

I sure will. Don't ya worry. :D

[sweet_pickles]

*speaks a little clearer so that there can be no misunderstanding*

The wealth of the victim does not justify theft.

Crow I'm hearing you loud and clear, and I think that's a good way of putting it. It's not the wealth of the movie industry that's the point though -- because I'm not sure they're the ones getting hurt -- it seems that all the folks that do the behind the scenes work get hurt (the ones that aren't rich and famous), but also all of us, because prices just get jacked up the more folks pirate.

Again, Brock kick some booty! :D

[pixiness]

My advice - don't try to argue the following:

- It's too easy not to pirate music/movies
- It only hurts the production companies and they have enough money anyway
- As consumers, we've been screwed over by decades

Simply - those arguments don't hold water. They're "poor me" excuses for something society has deemed illegal. What you have to do is argue the actual legality or reason behind the law itself.

If it were me, I'd argue that piracy is in a way freedom of information. Just as pharmaceutical companies must publish their study results (after a suitable time period that protects their patents and industry secrets), and just as all published works eventually fall into the realm of public domain (no special permissions necessary to perform, parody or otherwise use the work as inspiration), so should music and movies.

Perhaps you could argue in favor of speeding up the public domain process so that in the interests of advancing the art of music and movies works would be freely available to everyone in the world. Although I really can't provide you with a page for it or any documentable source, it's the stance some friends of mine in a fairly popular band take. They honestly don't care if people grab their stuff off the web. (partly because they see only pennies from every CD sale - but more importantly because if it turns one person on to their genre of music that otherwise would never have been exposed to it, then they've done their particular sect of music a huge favor by not restricting that person's access to their music).

For those truly interested in trying to communicate or express something just for the sake of doing so, piracy should be the last thing they're worried about - In fact, piracy can help spread a message faster.

Just thoughts though...

[Drizzt240]

Piracy gets me free music :D Music makes me happy :D Something that makes me happy can't be wrong:D Therefore Piracy is not wrong :funny:

[CapricornDevil]

Yeah, uh, I went in to change it today and apparently "it's too late", since we're writing up Outlines now. Looks like I'm stuck. :(
It may be too late for me to give you any advice, but I'll try anyway. I teach public speaking at a college and have some things that I look for in my students' speeches that may help.

Basically, you want your Introduction / Body / Conclusion to mesh well together. The best advice on how to format those was "Tell them what you are going to tell them...tell them...tell them what you told them." If you can remember that, you will have no problems with that portion of the speech.

As for the body, I would recomend internal signposts. Things like "So first we will discuss POINT 1"....discuss point...."so, now we will discuss POINT 2"...etc.

Research isn't as hard as it may sound. If you have a local library to go to, you can get some really good information from academic search engines (Lexis Nexis....EBSCO Host....Academic Search Premier to name a few). On those, or something similar, you can find sources ranging from doctoral dissertations to newspaper articles.

Make sure that you back up all statements you make with reseach. Things such as "in fact, according to the November 23, 2002 edition of Newsweek "Digital Piracy is....."

Hope this helps....if not, well..I tried. :)

Good Luck and let us know how it goes!!!

[Brock Landers]

Yeah, I brought up reference to Brianna LaHara, the 12 year old who was summoned by the RIAA. Though my argument is basically supporting Stealing, I made sure I distracted people away from this by almost using a smudge campaign, as ugly as that sounds. I also made sure people recognized that I know what I am talking about, being a big fan of music.

[Brock Landers]

I go tomorrow. This is gonna suck. The thing is, I can WRITE good speeches, but actually speaking them I get all jumbled up and nervous. :(

[GGGG]

just imagine your audience being naked....lol
actually a good advice.... dont look into their eyes just look at their forehead

[krullglaive]

good luck brock .. take a deep breath... know your material well .. try and relax .. you will be fine ...

[Brock Landers]

My speech is 4 pages written, I'm having a hard time memorizing it. Any ideas?

[krullglaive]

brock as you know i am shy ..i use key words for each paragraph and you know how you can remember a comic book or anything you enjoy reading ...read the four pages like you enjoy it .. then pick the key words to remind you of the order in which you speak .. practice does make perfect ..use a mirror ..it might help .. good luck ...

[Brock Landers]

brock as you know i am shy ..i use key words for each paragraph and you know how you can remember a comic book or anything you enjoy reading ...read the four pages like you enjoy it .. then pick the key words to remind you of the order in which you speak .. practice does make perfect ..use a mirror ..it might help .. good luck ...

Luckily all I get is three notecards. I've got the key points on the notecards.

[krullglaive]

well, see you will do great, brock ...just practice now ... i know it will be fine.

[cg124]

Yes you can do it brock believe in it. And if you screw up just tell everyone to **** off and run out of the class room

[Crow T. Robot]

I go tomorrow. This is gonna suck. The thing is, I can WRITE good speeches, but actually speaking them I get all jumbled up and nervous. :(


Dont worry. It's never as bad as it seems. Make sure you take a lot of deep breaths before you go up, it helps you calm yourself.

[Drizzt240]

Dude, some girl had to give a speech today and she was shuffling her cards and everything. She got really nervous threw down her cards ans said, "I'm really sorry, I'm not prepared at all".

Best part is she stood there for like 20 seconds all quiet until our teacher said, "Continue".

Funniest thing ever :funny:

Just don't do that.

[equipe]

Dude, some girl had to give a speech today and she was shuffling her cards and everything. She got really nervous threw down her cards ans said, "I'm really sorry, I'm not prepared at all".

Best part is she stood there for like 20 seconds all quiet until our teacher said, "Continue".

Funniest thing ever :funny:

Just don't do that.

That's nothing... My Ex back in High School had to do a presentation in class, she got through about 60 seconds and ran to the bathroom and puked all over the place.

That was fun to watch. (I'm an evil vengeful bastard I know)

[Brock Landers]

I read my speech tonight just to see how many minutes it is. It was a little bit under 6 minutes. If I do what I normally do and get real nervous, it'll be about a minute and a half.

[Brock Landers]

Dont worry. It's never as bad as it seems. Make sure you take a lot of deep breaths before you go up, it helps you calm yourself.

Yeah, I'm bringing a bottle of water up there with me. Water good. WATER GOOD!

[Brock Landers]

For those who wanted to know, the speech went good. :)

[Crow T. Robot]

For those who wanted to know, the speech went good. :)


Congrats

[krullglaive]

i am glad it went well ..thank you for letting us know

[sweet_pickles]

i am glad it went well ..thank you for letting us know

Yay! I'm so glad it went well. I knew you'd do great!

[Optimus Magnus]

I've always wondered, just as a point, how do you copyright sound?

[cool_chik]

well in a way it isn't your fault because they've waved cd/dvd burners in your face.0
Yeah but they're not always used for piracy (well the DVD burners) My cousins have one and we all go down to the bush (for all the americans 'the forest') with the video camera and tape all of us fighting and crap (like we had a court case coz my brother stuck a stick up the dogs ass) and then my cousin edits it and makes DVD's and they're HILARIOUS!!! but some people do download movies and burn them to DVD's but i assume they have no life as it takes ages.
And who'd sit there for hours and download movies when you can just go down to the video ezy (video/DVD/game renting place) and rent it and be watching it within an hour for only $5?

[cool_chik]

how is speaking in front of people nerve racking?? i think its fun getting up in front of people!! i love it!! i always get the highest mark because i dont freak out. Just get up there and dont freak out!! no ones gonna rip you off afterwards at all so dont worry!!

hehehehe i get very..into it when im doing a speech :P

[CapricornDevil]

how is speaking in front of people nerve racking?? i think its fun getting up in front of people!! i love it!! i always get the highest mark because i dont freak out. Just get up there and dont freak out!! no ones gonna rip you off afterwards at all so dont worry!!

hehehehe i get very..into it when im doing a speech :PI am like you cool_chik, I love public speaking and performing. However, I understand how some people get nervous in front of an audience.

In fact, fear of public speaking often outranks fear of death. Social Phobia is the fear of being evaluated (often negatively) in public.

[sweet_pickles]

I am terrified of speaking in public. Terrified.

[cool_chik]

everytime someone puts me down for doing something i swear at them and call them stupid and say "at least i did it you stupid retard!!" i know this is getting a ittle off topic but the other day i said something and this guy has gone "oooo you stupid retarD!" to me with some retarded look on his face ahh people can be so cruel!!

[Brock Landers]

Here is pretty much a transcript of my speech:

http://funkdiggityfresh.com/review441.html

:D

[sweet_pickles]

Very well written! Seriously I was impressed. I myself am not a supporter of piracy, music or movie -- as you know from various posts here -- but your speech was well done.

You might think this article is interesting -- I did - it's all about the bittorrent debate...

Bittorrent Debate article (http://www.thewhir.com/features/kaye-debate.cfm)