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Cell Phones and Piracy


Rocky4

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At the Buddy Guy show last week, I saw many people with their cell phone cameras taking video of the show. With technology increasing at the rate it is, at some point their will be cameras capable of recording good quality videos. At what point will this constitute piracy? Will anything be able to be done about it? Can you imagine cell phones being banned from concerts?

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Personally, I don't care about people snapping pictures or capturing video on their cell at a show as a performer.

It doesn't bother me, unlike 48 hours after our last album released it was all over Russian download sites...[angry]

What I don't like about people with cell phones at shows is when I'm there to see a band I like and them sticking that phone up blocking my view and then screaming on the phone while they call their friends at home to tell them how kewel the show is.

 

That's why they should be banned, just like in a movie theater. :-

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Fortunately, it's still a ways away.

 

First, most cell phone cameras currently don't have a resolution over 2 megapixels, with the exception of some Smartphones (iPhone 3G(S) 3mp, Blackberry Bold 3.2, Motorola Droid (5mp) etc)

 

Second, The microphone onboard is no where NEAR good enough to record a concert that any self respecting person would pay for it. Especially considering the amount of ambient noise from the crowd, the inability to adjust the sound recording settings on-board the device etc.

 

Third, once the video is recorded on a feature phone (i.e not a smartphone) typically the saved file is only viewable on that type of device. LG Camera phones that take video can view saved files recorded by like phones, but may not work on other computers, phones etc. Not everyone has an iPhone or Blackberry or Android device yet so that cuts down the amount of people who could actually record it and transfer it to their computers.

 

Fourth, Unless they're about 5 feet or less from the artist performing, the video is by and large going to be just a bunch of blurry heads and crackling guitar audio, with lots of hiss from drum kits, feedback, etc. Most concerts that I've seen do not allow the patrons to be five feet from the artists jamming a cellphone in their face and saying "OK, Ok Wait, OK, It's just starting now, OK, go.. NO WAIT, ok, ok I think I got it, is it recording? [enter security tackle]

 

Finally, Will the technology ever reach that point where a patron with a handheld device could capture both audio and video quality enough to consider it a "pirated" copy? Perhaps, but at no small cost to them, and given the nature of the people they're doing it for, those people are even LESS likely to pay for the download, opting instead to rip it off and share it among friends anyway.

 

Ultimately cell phone cameras are great for showing people you were there, but nothing else.

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Smartphones are becoming more and more popular, and more and more smartphones are recording high-quality video. iPhone 4 does 720p... that's better than most of the channels on my TV.

 

Fortunately (if that's the word to use here), the video quality is good but sound quality isn't. Phone microphones still can't handle the volume of a concert.

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Smartphones are becoming more and more popular' date=' and more and more smartphones are recording high-quality video. iPhone 4 does 720p... that's better than most of the channels on my TV.

 

Fortunately (if that's the word to use here), the video quality is good but sound quality isn't. Phone microphones still can't handle the volume of a concert.[/quote']

 

5mp, and 720p is not near enough for a concert, it's like I said, more just proof you were there; at a slightly higher definition.

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This question is all part of my belief that musicians, as business people, need to thing seriously about their paradigm of making a living.

 

Once one goes beyond the "I'm making a living as a musician playing live in local venues" into "I'm starting to make it BIG by selling my recorded music, I think we're in an entirely new world due to rapid technological change.

 

Hoping that we'll return to 1963 ain't gonna cut it. Passing laws in an attempt to force that old paradigm ain't gonna cut it, either. I'm not sure I have an answer, but fighting technology in the music distribution biz over the past century-plus seems to be a proven waste of time and money.

 

I don't personally care all that much for "concert live" music anyway. I can do without the background noise and often poor engineering involved. But that's just me.

 

The good news, though, to me is that I think there may well be increasing venues for young musicians who think "this is a business" as well as "I love playing music." But it likely won't be along the same paradigm as their musical grandparents.

 

m

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With technology increasing at the rate it is' date=' at some point their will be cameras capable of recording good quality videos.[/quote']

 

You mean like the iPhone 4's 720p, 30 frames per second HD-Video recording capability?

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s'all good. I'm actually pretty practiced in the cellphone field, but given the available technology and even with what's coming I stand by my point that it'll really only be good for proving that you were there rather than manufacturing pirated versions on iTunes at home.

 

What would really be cool is if they built a cell phone specifically FOR musicians with 1/8 jacks, built in digital tuners, recording software and removable portable accessories like small microphones for laying stuff down when you're not around real recording equipment, AND having a cellphone, without having to carry to seperate devices.

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