'The Pirate Bay' Trial - A Punk- Rock Parable For The Digital Age

By Luke Lewis

Posted on 19/02/09 at 06:09:06 pm

"Pirate", like "terrorist", is a word whose meaning depends on your perspective. In the 16th century, the Spanish saw Francis Drake as a pirate. They called him 'El Draque' (the dragon) because he torched their ships and stole their cargo. According to English history books, though, he's a national hero.

You'll find a similar polarisation of opinion when it comes to The Pirate Bay, the world's biggest portal for illegal film and music downloads. To media goliaths such as Warner Bros and Sony the site is public enemy number 1, responsible for tearing a giant hole in their balance sheets. That's why they've taken the site's founders to court on a charge of copyright infringement (or, more specifically, "promoting" other people's copyright infringement).

To its users, though, The Pirate Bay represents the ultimate expression of anti-authoritarian sleight-of-hand; an inspirational act of rebellion against entrenched corporate interests.

continued...

What sets The Pirate Bay apart from the many file-sharing martyrs that have come and gone (Audiogalaxy, Napster Mark 1) is the renegade, Jack Sheppard quality of the organisers' many evasions. In 2006 the website's Stockholm-based servers were raided by police. Three days later the site was up and running again.

During the current trial, Peter Sunde Kolmsioppi, one of the founders, has been expressing his infinite disdain via Twitter. "Epic winning," he gloated on February 17, before complaining that the trial was "boring".

There's something impossibly cool and insouciant about this. It puts me in mind of the Sex Pistols' Bill Grundy interview, or the scene in 'The Breakfast Club' where Bender brings detention after detention down on his head, willing Principal Vernon to give him more.

In the same way, The Pirate Boys know they're untouchable, so they don’t need to show remorse. It is (to use a tired but helpful phrase) utterly punk rock.

Sunde and his co-founders now have servers based in secret locations across multiple continents, and boast that if they ever do get shut down the site can be back up in minutes. Even if they get thrown in prison, the site's sheer size and sophistication means it can effectively run itself. Besides, where's the fear in being bullied when you have no lunch money to hand over?

"It does not matter if they require several million (kronor) or one billion," Sunde pointed out in a webcast last Sunday (February 15). "We are not rich and have no money to pay."

Yet the Pirate Bay trial is merely the most glamorous skirmish in a pitched battle over intellectual copyright that seems to be accelerating towards an enthralling, edge-of-the-seat endgame.

In New Zealand a new law threatens to hand Internet Service Providers legal responsibility for prosecuting downloaders. In protest, internet users around the world have started blacking out their avatars to illustrate what the internet could look like if the law takes effect. Stephen Fry is just one of many social networking partisans whose Twitter pic has faded to black in the last couple of days.

Add to this Google's recent victory in a privacy case regarding its Street View feature, and the storm over Facebook's right to retain users' data, and it adds up to a perceptible increase in pitch, a ratcheting up of the intensity of the debate.

The Pirate Bay may end up losing its current trial, but the principles it represents – limitless choice, the free flow of information - will not be neutralised for long. From here on in it gets really interesting.

Permalink • Trackback (0)

54 comments

Add comment

antony_c [Visitor] //February 19 2009 at 19:36

Maybe I'll start selling pirate copies of the NME...

[Visitor] //February 19 2009 at 22:58

Where's the rest of the article?

NME [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 11:08

Did NME not even consider how detrimental they are to the very thing NME makes it's living off? See if they still back them when NME sells 0 copies cos all the bands are dead.

Narwhal [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 11:18

Very 'cool', depriving bands of their income, 95% of whom are skint anyway.

Callaby [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 11:37

I hope that they don't get too harsh a judgment in this case. I know it sounds stupid, but I can't help but feel that they've been singled out because of their name!

backtowhack [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 12:23

It isn't just the Majors that piracy affects. It is the indies too and more importantly the very artists whose work is stolen via such sites. Making music and getting it heard is not a cheap endeavour. People need to be willing to pay for music if they hope to have the variety and quality available to them now. Artists need to be afforded the chance to make a living from their talent and live music alone isn't going to provide the answer. Gone are the days of paying £16.99 for an album so we really have no excuse now.

Blood [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 12:24

It's not just 'Media goliaths' such as WB and Sony who are losing out to The Pirate Bay. It's threatening the existance of independent labels and the artists themselves. the fact the guy uses twitter doesn't make him the punk rock James Dean you're making him out to be.

MahadyTheLips [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 14:04

in the parlance of our times and with the worldwide economic crisis musicians and film stars still sit comfortably in mansions while many remain out of work. I pay for too much these days. the piratebay has saved me thousands

Iian [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 15:11

on the one hand the record companies have a fair point - it is stealing after all. on the other they're clearly wrong in how they've handled the whole thing and put disproportionate blame on filesharing for the state of the industry. they are wrong to equate downloads with lost sales - its a nonsense to presume that every song every person has ever been downloaded would have been bought had it not been for filesharing. they are wrong to ignore the fact that the quality of music has deteriorated and largely become too bland, with too narrow a focus - especially in the singles market - ie pop tat aimed at 13 yr olds. they are wrong to ignore the effect of music television and the fact that people are exposed to songs for weeks before they are actually available to buy - if you hear a song for free 20 -30 times on mtv, by the time its in the shops you might be less inclined to buy it. they are wrong to ignore the fact that kids today have other things to spend their money on - dvds, console games, mobile phones. they are wrong to ignore the positive effects of filesharing - ie that people will often buy more music having sampled it first, when they might not have otherwise. they are wrong to ignore the fact that people are pissed of with over inflated cd prices and would buy more if they were cheaper

Ste [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 15:12

The UK music industry has been saved by Supermarkets increasing their share of the market. This has led to a) cheaper albums (nearly everything in Tescos top 100 is under £10); and b) a shift away from teens towards older people, who do the family shopping and are much less interested in filesharing (or buy the CD as well!) It also explains why there is a wider range of music in the album charts these days, with lots of middle-of-the road stuff like "crossover" (i.e. poppy) Jazz, Blues and Classical. As this trend is likely to continue, I think the UK music industry will be fairly immune from the drop in album sales experienced by some other Countries. Singles is another matter - but even if no more singles were ever sold, it would hardly affect total revenue at all. The percentage of revenue from singles is now insignificant and they could be replaced by radio promo tracks and TV videos of album tracks tomorrow. Few people would even notice. Also, while I agree that a lot of "teeny pop" music is poor quality at the moment, the middle of the road stuff I mentioned is not poor - so their sales will hold up well. The reason the BPI has not joined in the recent European initiative on catching downloaders is that they really aren't too worried about the situation in the UK at all - in spite of their holier-than-thou public pronouncements. As an "oldie" myself, I do download tracks but only as samplers. If I like what I hear, I buy the album, knowing I will like it all. Consequently I buy far more albums nowadays than I did 5 or 10 years ago and The BPI seem to have completely missed this aspect of downloading. Or have chosen to ignore it!

visitor [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 16:18

where do these so-called pirate bay "punk" and web heroes get money to pay their rent? and lap-tops and server up keep? are we idiots when we belive these people dont earn money on this? what a joke. Look at this "sunde" on youtube. The man is a fool. And has nothing to do with being a punk. I reckon it would give NME another point of view when they go out of business cause there's no record labels to advertise. Will Pirate bay advertise in your magazine? they dont give a fuck about culture Pirate Bay is just a geek with too much freedom who thought its a great idea to exploit other peoples hard work. I say hang'em. Like we did with pirates.

george michael. [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 16:36

rubbish. and thats about as intelligent as your article. i'm gonna go sell photo copies of the NME in my local market. thats sharing information too. who cares if you lose your jobs? i dont.

Bandmember [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 17:31

Recorded music should be free - make your living like they did years ago before property rights were made legal... Play Live! About time the thieving record labels invent some new revenue streams...! Any band out there that supports the labels, lose all respect in my eyes... Money makes the world go round.... yeah right! This is social movement and is here to stay!

wowzer555 [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 20:24

Yeah try being a musician in this climate, sure the majors have long screwed the artists and i suppose are reaping the results but ultimately music will suffer. The punk rock bullshit attitude does not stand true in the face of real people with real talent losing deals, labels closing, records not being made. People who say the file sharing is a God given right clearly have never worked in the music industry, or understood that even the most basic of music costs money to produce however you do it. Oh yeah right, power to the people - power for people to illegally steal entire back catalogues of music/films and games and then score some grey area fucking morality point for 'freedom of information'. grow up, the lot of you. When the whole thing really takes effect you'll certainly notice cause the only album you'll be able to share will be scouting for girls latest crock of shit. See if you're cool and laughing then hey?

Lycius [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 21:21

NME forums in 'invaded by Daily Mail readers' shock.

Kickass [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 21:39

How is stealing revenue from struggling musicians on small labels so you can make money from banner advertising on your website - 'punk'???!!! That is the biggest load of bullshit, you have got to be kidding. The Pirate Bay goofs are just social malcontents who are getting revenge on 'the cool kids' and everybody's supporting them because it means free music and films, they're acting on their own self-interested greed, but make it sound like a noble cause. Again, completely transparent bullshit.

Maverick [Visitor] //February 20 2009 at 23:25

Depriving bands of their income? Bands make the vast majority of their wealth thru touring - its the record companies that make the big moola from record sales.

oscar [Visitor] //February 21 2009 at 04:46

"To its users, though, The Pirate Bay represents the ultimate expression of anti-authoritarian sleight-of-hand; an inspirational act of rebellion against entrenched corporate interests." NME, shut up. All it represents is free access to music. Leave the pretentious shite to something more worthwhile.

theo [Visitor] //February 21 2009 at 11:59

it's not bad for bands. It's bad for labels. And most labels could survive without that tiny amount of money anyway. It's VERY good for the DIY punks as far as I can see.

visitor [Visitor] //February 21 2009 at 21:48

You know guys, record labels are pretty much scaming artsits, musicians live and earn money from doing gigs. Indie bands are promoted for free by PirateBay (and others), millions of people can access their music, people wouldnt buy their music if they wouldnt know of them, right? Im not absolutely supporting piracy because i feel the absence of responsibilty from pirates, yeah I download music for free but then i mostly (if i like the music) buy the albumbs and go to concerts. see ya

Nickt123 [Visitor] //February 22 2009 at 00:49

Best site ever :D

Aidy [Visitor] //February 22 2009 at 01:47

The music industry needs to adapt, fact. Record labels take most of the proceeds from the albums, it's the live shows that earn the money for the artists so don't even dare say artists are broke because of this, file sharing increases interest. Music is an art, art shouldn't be exploited, the music industry can live without these record labels, these court cases are the last ditch effort to maintain the (flawed) status quo. We are all so much better off without these labels, long live TPB and co.

Adrian [Visitor] //February 22 2009 at 14:13

If comanies want to stop illegal downlaoding. make it cheeper! it really ca'nt cost 79p for itunes for each download, theyre makeing a lot of money with that, if it was a lot cheeper people would be more willing to buy their songs instead, album prices i will pay but for a download you have to pay 79p and you dont even get it on a disc, i like having the cd covers and stuff. I do find illegeal downloading harsh on the bands as they are losing money but at the same time people cant always afford to buy all the music they want

Jacks [Visitor] //February 22 2009 at 21:54

It boils down to simple economics. The internet has changed the way we can now record, package, promote, and distribute media. The record companies' model of signing talent and owning their intellectual property in exchange for promotion and distribution of physical media is no longer relevant. They had their chance for years to create a relevant, cohesive, internet-based model to replace the old model, and instead tried to hold back technological progress by litigation and protection of an increasingly irrelevant business model. Now, they suck at selling music on the internet, so people would rather just steal it, and nobody buys or uses CDs anymore. The record companies deserve to fail, and don't give me this stuff about "stealing" from the artist because more than 90% of that money goes to the record company. If anything, the demise of the record company helps the artist obtain a better share for their creative endeavor.

silkhurley [Visitor] //February 23 2009 at 00:05

What is punk rock about file sharing?

Steve [Visitor] //February 23 2009 at 03:56

You can't stop the unstoppable. The music industry, world-wide needs to wake up. Its 2009, I barely know what dates albums come out now. I didn't even know that I had an illegal copy of U2's new album until the newspaper told me...thats a bit of a problem, no?

Pete [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 13:31

If I couldn't download music from piratebay (or any other file sharing site for that matter) I wouldn't even know of half of the music I listen to and love today. I wouldn't attend as many gigs as I do, and I would never ever buy as much merch as I do. File sharing is the future of music. It brings the music to the people!

Andy [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 14:14

Re:george michael Shouldn't you be 'shooting' up in a toilet somewhere.......

Steven [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 15:05

I think I can sleep safely in my bed at night knowing that record labels are losing money, the only thing they really care about. They need to realise that this is the modern day version of tape trading, all that's different is that it is now available to more people. As it has been said before bands earn more money from touring and merch than through making albums, and torrent sites allow the music to reach a far wider audience. Anyone complaining about the musician's losing out should think about it that way. Take Nine Inch Nails. Trent Reznor encouraged people to download his album Year Zero for free because of the record label's pricing of it. When he went alone he started giving his albums away on his website yet people were spending hundreds of dollars to buy special editions. It goes to show that fans will part with their cash if they feel they are getting their money's worth. The music industry and Hollywood should remember that the people who illegally download are actually their biggest customers.

Read the facts [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 15:37

I see a number of idiots above are condemning TPB since they don't agree with the downloading of copyrighted material, this is fine but they have missed the key points in this case. TPB do not now and have never held copyrighted material. TPB do not now and have never offered direct download of copyrighted material TPB offer a search system to find Torrent files (That's all) Given the above TPB is not guilty of any crime they are a search engine pure and simple, the fact that they do it for Torrents specific is not illegal and if you go on any other search engine (Google, Yahoo etc) and type in say Harry Potter - Torrent you will get far more links than at TPB (Google is the biggest linker of torrents on the planet). The fact is there are people the world over putting copyrighted stuff onto the internet, THIS IS ILLEGAL Telling people were to find it IS NOT ILLEGAL and that's what the Pirate Bay does. If TPB is guilty then so is Google for the same exactly the same thing and the people that make things like kitchen knifes are also guilty when some idiot somewhere in the would uses one to kill some one. Read the facts and look at the charges

Face up [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 16:09

The music industry is no different from any other. Eventually they lose their power - Aidy's comment says it all

Aldo [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 16:14

Well, when I was a teen in the 70s, if you heard a song you liked on the radio you would go and buy the LP or cassette at the store for 15 to 20 bucks .80% of the time the purchase was a waste of money excect for that one song.The music industry never went to the record labels and told them they were ripping off kids,Now the shoes on the other foot and they're sueing eveyone from websites to 12 year olds,if I knew this back then I would have hired a lawyer to get some of my paper route money back.

captain pugwash [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 17:11

I don't think they should be sent to prison. They should be sent to their bedrooms (sans computers) and grounded for a few weeks. They are just a bunch of geeky kids, who enjoyed being noticed and being at the centre of attention from all these record labels and movie studios. The original napster was cool and very punk rock. Pirate bay is just a napster wanabee and about as cool as an alan patridge wollen jumper. Their argument that downloads via pirate bay are simply people listening before they buy, is a joke. I feel sorry for artists in particular......who are skint.

[Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 17:23

the record companies may have to narrow their margins in order to have new music progress ,its either that or go out of business. Im great believer in try before you buy,and i will buy the cd if i like the album,if i dont then i wont part with my hard earned cash for tripe!simple really! Its a harsh world wherever you want to make a living these days including the music industry.Welcome to the jungle

IzzyNutz [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 18:31

supplied comment is invalid

pirate of the 7 seas [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 18:34

I love pirate bay!!!....I am the human and the website is my armored ship.

adam [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 19:24

I like torrents

Boo Hoo [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 19:37

So what if the artists are losing a bit of income from their stuff not being sold, the most popular torrents on there are from bands that have so much money that theres no way that it could affect them directly. If artists want to make more money then maybe they should just do more live performances and think outside the box a bit. I hate the fact that TPB is being used as an example by big coorporations and their lawyers to throw their weight around and act the playground bullies, they make me sick.

Stan [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 19:56

I read recently that the motion picture industry has been enjoying record profits this winter. Where is all the financial injury they are talking about?

Weston of the Wildroots [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 20:31

Cost me 1,200 to record my cd and make some copies to sell for 10 bucks at my concerts to make a bit of dough, but really cover the costs Someone told me they downloaded a copy from PirateBay...I ain't gonna spend no more of my money making cd's no more.

Clare [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 21:10

CD's and DVD's cost way too much these days. Is this really any different to getting your mate to tape you a copy of their album, or even taping the chart's - i doubt there is one person that hasn't 'illegally' copied at least one album for their buddies. I don't think the Pirate Bay should be prosecuted for providing links to download content especially when you can find these links all over the internet and on every search engine.

Ryan [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 22:26

I see a lot of negativity towards the pirates here... I recommend anyone interested in this case take a look at the film "Steal this Movie II." They talk a lot about the evolution of various media technologies, how the embedded industries reacted historically, and some very smart people (including Piratebay founders) share their thoughts about how they think media will be shared in the future. And no, it's not via existing channels (see CDs, DVDs, blu-ray, etc...). Why does Disney have the rights the only walking mouse that can talk for over 100+ years??? Existing copyright laws are archaic, corrupt, and broken. That is a fact. They cannot and will not hold up in the face of burgeoning technologies. The only way for the media giants to survive is to make drastic changes and adapt. So far, they have not done so. Either way, DRM enabled Itunes and it's successors are not and will not be good enough when it is just as easy or easier to go download a DRM free version. These new locked down systems too will inevitably fail. Only until new companies that are free of the old ideas about media rights, rise up out of the ashes; will we finally usher in a new age. If it was up to the media giants, this would never happen and consumers would stay in the dark, forking over our hard earned $$ for eternity.

Lolz [Visitor] //March 4 2009 at 22:44

Its the best thing on the net, you can do one thing from us the users of pirate, you can take your law and shove it up your arse and fuck right off.

Steve P USA [Visitor] //March 5 2009 at 00:23

I hope the record compaines go out of business, they have destroyed music already. almost any amazing break through band will never be heard because of them and the bullshit they promote. If I love a band I will buy the CD and go to the show, t-shirt ect. Great TV or Movies, I go to the theater watch, the commercials and will buy the box set (HBO Rome, Sci-fi Battlestar ect ect) can't believe so many of you people are backing the Man, wake up!!!

moonweed [Visitor] //March 5 2009 at 10:26

yes, I've just found apirate bay page on myself ! http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3435571/Tim_Blake_-_New_Jerusalem_(1978__Classic_New_Age__320) so how does an independant artiste react? At my level, every sale is vital! Its a shame that individuals are allways the one's left out of pocket!

annoymous [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 05:37

GO PIRATE BAY!!!!! they shouldn't be sued

Spooky [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 13:39

Whatever the result of this trial the genie isn't going back in the bottle. The music industry will have to adapt or die; the old business model is dead. Disruptive technology at its best!

Manager [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 16:39

I actually work with bands on a daily basis and file-sharing is killing them. And this includes NME cover stars. Any band making 'alternative' music is finding it tough to get a record deal at the moment - with record sales hit by downloading, only the massive pop acts can sell enough so that they can survive the effect. As a result, 'big' indie bands sell hardly any, labels don't take a risk and then said band can't tour and make a living because promoters will only book bands who are promoting albums. It's incredibly expensive to tour anyway - if you want to hire a soundman, someone to look after guitars and a van, you're looking at £600 a day. So, unless you're a pop-star in waiting, you're fucked. Genuinely. Also, how many bands are making it to their third album at the moment? The 'music industry executives' that everyone likes to think they're fucking over aren't really affected. They just sign sure things that will sell in Tesco and pay themselves the same amount. They take fewer risks and carry on making money - only through shit, commercial acts instead. The people who are really hit are small bands. Steal music and you're just fucking bands over.

Allister [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 16:55

Music is not being stolen! It is being shared. The only way FM radio gets away with it is because people are making money off of it. (Good)Musicians do not make shit off of record sales. Record companies, merchandisers and stores make that money. A musician is happy with the popularity, approval and interest that his/her media generate, not the money. Money is made on the stage.

Screw that [Visitor] //March 7 2009 at 01:10

Free stuff for everyone.. Everyone is a crook or thief or something else bad to someone. So I say screw them.. Download all you can and care not.. Just hope they don't knock @your door..

JonnyMohawk [Visitor] //March 8 2009 at 10:16

Most bands dont make almost any money fromr ecord sales. They only get about 5 percent of each record, 10 if they are lucky. They really make money off of concerts, and when pirated copies of there cd's get into the hands of a listener and they decide to go see that artist preform, they are making them money, especially when they never would of gone had they not downloaded the cd.

Robin [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 08:11

First of all I'm tired of getting ripped off by how much it cost to see a move, or buy music. Movie stars dont deserve the salaries they get, nor do singers, its just stupid to pay someone that much. Its fine for the media industry to get smelly rich how ever they want, while we cant afford to pay to see a movie. I love Pirates Bay, is it a crime because I'm poor? Is it a crime we share what we have? NO, I think not. I dont feel bad and I dont feel sorry for hollywood, bunch of greedy cry babies.

Book M [Visitor] //March 11 2009 at 05:53

To the movie studios I regret to inform you that the time has come to step up or step out. You need to realize that showing a movie in theatres and then waiting 9 months (or in some cases more) to release a movie to dvd, blu-ray is no longer acceptable. The average consumer's attention span isn't going to hold that long. Futhermore as to the "giant hole in their balance sheets" comment I offer this. When was the last time any of us was able to "PIRATE", and I hate that term, a disney toy, batman t-shirt, transformers backpack, an Iron Man video game, or the freakin' hulk hands that say HULK SMASH when you pound them together. All of these are huge sources of income for Hollywood. I am tired of hearing about the poor record exec or movie tycoon having to close up shop because he can no longer afford his 22nd summer house. The answer to 99 percent of your money "problem" resides in the same vault as your money, it is called film. I've even broken it down in steps: 1) Dust off classic 2) Digitize 3) release via your own servers for a small fee 4) repeat abidit, abidit, abidit, That's all folks!!

Book'M [Visitor] //March 11 2009 at 05:55

This post has 4 feedbacks awaiting moderation...

RECENT POSTS

Archives

CATEGORIES

Categories

SEARCH

'The Pirate Bay' Trial - A Punk- Rock Parable For The Digital Age

By Luke Lewis

Posted on 19/02/09 at 06:09:06 pm

More NME

MORE NME

More NME:

Inside NME.COM

NME.COM

Ignite Network

Subscribe to NME Magazine

About Us

RSS Feeds

Join us on: