![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I had my first protracted exchange on Herzeleid today, and it went rather well. No one called me a negative asshole or a dumbass, and I don't think I belabored the point. I am beginning to wonder just how many cease-and-desist orders Pilgrim has issued to various fansites. If you listen to the fen, every fansite with more than five posters has been targeted and persecuted by nasty, nasty Pilgrim. I can't speak to the truth of these accusations because I wasn't around during these imbroglios, but if even a fraction of these grumbled and whispered tales are true, then how have any fansites managed to survive? If Pilgrim were systematically crushing any fansite that so much as farted in the wrong direction, then why do leaked songs and images still proliferate? If the wrath of Pilgrim is so fearsome a dread in bandom, then why do so many fansites, especially non-English, country-specific sites quietly flourish? Is it a matter of size? Do the smaller sites simply go unnoticed, or are they simply deemed non-entities when constructing a threat matrix for the potential of copyright infringement and threats to the profit margin?
And if you're Pilgrim, what do you gain by such an adversarial relationship with your fanbase? Is crushing a forum or image-hosting site for posting leaked or copyrighted material worth it? If you win, you get a judgment and fine, yes, but most Rammfans aren't wealthy people of leisure who can just cough up a formidable sum of money at will. Odds are that you'll have to set up a payment schedule so that the Slurpee-slinger can pay you thirty bucks a week for five years. Additionally, any award you receive will likely be upset by future lost revenue and bad blood between you and the fanbase. If you've crushed a guy in court for posting pictures on his website, then he isn't going to be inclined to support you by buying albums, concert tickets, and fistfuls of swag, and even if he were a forgiving soul, the bandom at large is apt to view your actions as greedy and heavy-handed, even if you were well within your legal rights to pursue the suit. Is the $X you gained by suing them into the floor worth the $X+Y you stand to lose by alienating a segment of your fanbase with your tactics?
Certainly, any yahoo who seeks to profit from Rammstein and Pilgrim's work should be piledriven into woeful oblivion, but bringing the hammer down on some yutz for posting "unauthorized" concert footage or photos for which you had no plans is excessive and shortsighted. For years now, fans have played a large role in attracting new fans to the fold and keeping them abreast of creative developments while the official band mouthpiece remained dumb and inert. The fannish grapevine generates excitement while Pilgrim dithers. So Pilgrim might punish the dopey, overzealous fan for posting that grainy video of some concert in Slovenia, but God knows how much they're punishing themselves.
And if you're Pilgrim, what do you gain by such an adversarial relationship with your fanbase? Is crushing a forum or image-hosting site for posting leaked or copyrighted material worth it? If you win, you get a judgment and fine, yes, but most Rammfans aren't wealthy people of leisure who can just cough up a formidable sum of money at will. Odds are that you'll have to set up a payment schedule so that the Slurpee-slinger can pay you thirty bucks a week for five years. Additionally, any award you receive will likely be upset by future lost revenue and bad blood between you and the fanbase. If you've crushed a guy in court for posting pictures on his website, then he isn't going to be inclined to support you by buying albums, concert tickets, and fistfuls of swag, and even if he were a forgiving soul, the bandom at large is apt to view your actions as greedy and heavy-handed, even if you were well within your legal rights to pursue the suit. Is the $X you gained by suing them into the floor worth the $X+Y you stand to lose by alienating a segment of your fanbase with your tactics?
Certainly, any yahoo who seeks to profit from Rammstein and Pilgrim's work should be piledriven into woeful oblivion, but bringing the hammer down on some yutz for posting "unauthorized" concert footage or photos for which you had no plans is excessive and shortsighted. For years now, fans have played a large role in attracting new fans to the fold and keeping them abreast of creative developments while the official band mouthpiece remained dumb and inert. The fannish grapevine generates excitement while Pilgrim dithers. So Pilgrim might punish the dopey, overzealous fan for posting that grainy video of some concert in Slovenia, but God knows how much they're punishing themselves.
Tags: