Listen. Don’t Steal

July 17th, 2007 friskyRadio | Digg This | ##

People think they are doing the world a favour by ~~ripping~~ stealing sets from friskyRadio and sharing them on their blogs and web sites, without first asking us or the artist if its OK. Excuse me, who died and made you the Electronic Dance Music’s Robin Hood?

friskyRadio is not a corporation thats making tons of money. Its a non-profit hobby site that I started back in 2001 for the love of the music and to promote the music I love. It takes time, effort and most importantly money from my own pocket to run. Hosting web servers, podcasting to thousands weekly and streaming hi-quality streams to literally tens of thousands of unique listeners all over the globe doesn’t come cheap. And then there are the intangible costs of running the radio: I spend an average of about 2 to 3 hours each and every single day on administrative stuff, setting up the streaming server, updating the web site, helping out the over 150+ friskyRadio resident DJs with their questions and/or concerns, making promotional banners, promoting the site/shows on various web sites and publications, paying the bills, working with partners, labels, promoters, managers, artists, planning shows for the upcoming quarter… ist goes on and on. All this on top my already very hectic and very busy day job. So 10 or 12 hour working days each and every day are pretty much the norm for me, including weekends. Not to mention that I can not even think of taking time off or a holiday without planning it ahead of time: to make sure I will have Internet connectivity where ever I go so that the shows run smoothly no matter where I am, that the DJs and fans that rely on us to provide this service runs smoothly. Often I have to pay for Wifi at some cafe, just so I can setup the server and make sure the service is up.

So you can imagine how hurt I feel when our hard work is not appreciated and people simply steal the sets and post them online for all to download. The only argument I hear when I ask all these people that share friskyRadio material to stop doing so is: “We’re doing this for the love of the music and to promote friskyRadio.” Er, no youre not! If you were, you would link to friskyRadio and give credit when its due. 9 times out of 10 there is no link to frisky and no mention of the fact that they ripped the set from the radio. It costs them nothing to rip the set and share it online using a free file-transfer site like YouSendIt.com; whereas it costs me money to stream this music. So no, your argument is shit. friskyRadio is a radio web site, not a steal-sets-then-post-them-online web site. friskyRadio gets its popularity from the amount of people that are tuned in to it. That in turn directly relates to the artists getting the exposure they deserve. We dont run friskyRadio because we want to be rich and famous. I run it to promote artists that are more like my friends because I dont let anyone play on frisky that I think doesnt deserve the promotion. Our DJs work incredibly hard to make the music for friskyRadio - and its disrespecting them when people rip sets and post them for download elsewhere.

If someone really likes something that was played on the stream they should help us pay our bills and ask us nicely or support the station by subscribing to the monthly subscription plan. People that rip the stream and offer our sets for download on their sites are nothing more than thieves stealing something that me and the friskyRadio team worked hard to create. I realise that technology allows you to take just about whatever you want when you want but that doesn’t help the fact that doing so only makes you an idiot. And a thief.

13 Comments

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1 Ingo Vogelmann Jul 18th, 2007 at 1:16 am

I will now prepare something for my PODIO …
2 Papigiulio Jul 18th, 2007 at 5:11 am

well said bro
3 Syb Jul 18th, 2007 at 8:26 am

It’s really well said, but:

I think it’s our government who’s responsible. The upcomming internet (only since the past 20years) makes the slow (government) system being too slo to handle the juristiction/ internet restrictions to prevent stealing. It might be logical to blame the public for stealing (wich is logical), but when you see a dollar on the street, aren’t you gonna pic it up?

The stipid thieves can be blamed, but I think the sollution is by restricing possillities of/to the public. Get away the tools. If the bike is locked, no one steels it. Or maybe the bike should be cheaper in the shop?

Something is really wrong in the music business. Artists should get better reward for effort. This station should get more respect.

Good luck, ur doing a great job!
4 frisky? Jul 18th, 2007 at 12:45 pm

Ingo: Tsk tsk. As an artist I thought you would say something a little more constructive than that my friend. I would love to hear what some of the artists feel about this issue.

Syb: I don’t think protecting streams (ie. DRM) is the answer. I have long been critical of DRM. At the risk of contradicting myself, I sincerely believe in giving people what they want. But I do think there needs to be a balance wherein everyone wins. Im speaking from my own point of view as Im not a huge Music Label thats going after people for sharing their work like the RIAA. They are huge corporations that dont need to make any more money by ripping off their artists. I do think there’s a difference.
5 jon Jul 18th, 2007 at 1:38 pm

absolutely. I have donated in the past and will do so again.
6 Alexi8 Jul 20th, 2007 at 12:04 am

Helllo….I agree, Faisal and feel the same…Its for sure a form of dis-respect or lack of conscious on the people that rip the sets and post them without any permission for one, or link back or give credit to Frisky or the Dj whos set or show it is…I googled my name the other day, and to my surprised i can find my past sets to download on many sites, countries and many languages all over! Not once did i hear from any of these sites, or the peeps that actually ripped the sets…i even have a bio and pictures on sites…crazy…
If there was a deep appreciation for the music and culture from the folks that do such, they would not do it in the first place, its simple…IF someone “wants to promote frisky for the love of frisky” then there are other ways to promote openly on the net with the permission of frisky radio & artists…
a great saying says “your true mind is your heart” and if their was a moment of compassion in the peeps that do such, then they would understand the hard work Faisa l, Giulio put in to keep things running smoothly, and to the artists that put in continuous hard work to offer truly quality electronica…
Anyone, absolutely anyone whom i have ever referred to frisky radio, as always said the same…”Quality bro, quality”….so that speaks for itself, in itself…
Much love to all, always, A8
7 Michel Zola Jul 25th, 2007 at 5:16 am

I have always support Frisky radio into my website without giving sets to download..Because i live with FRISKY & NOT Sharing my LIFE!!!!!
I pay for those sets with my little money!
I’m sad too when i saw idiots sharing frisky sets,free in their websites!
You must find something & crash those sites automaticaly!
Give them a Lesson!
Keep doing your perfect job with your radio!
Greece loves Frisky & Wait you for a big LiveEvent sometime here!
I will help you if you want!
Always at your serve!
8 dominic Oct 21st, 2007 at 5:14 am

personally and without trying to upset you in anyway i think your comletely mad, people ripping and also sharing sets has fast become a way for a dj or a radio station to promote itself online, imo without people recording sets from your radio station then there would be far less people who actually know about it and tune in
9 frisky? Oct 21st, 2007 at 12:56 pm

dominic: And I assume that you conducted research and can back up your “argument” with conclusive data that illegal sharing does indeed increase listenership?

Ya, you’re right and Im wrong… I only have 7+ years of hands-on experience in the Internet Media and Audio Streaming field. What do I know?
10 Ingo Vogelmann Oct 21st, 2007 at 1:54 pm

@ faisal: you got me wrong. OF COURSE i do NOT support this shit in any way. and you know how intensively i speak that out loud on my sites and everywhere i am.

the world knows how i think about that. watch that pingback link ^^

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