paidContent:UK interviews Feargal Sharkey

[duqueblanc]

someone to somebody!!

[aindrereecesheerin]

Fergal rehearsed in my house in Barry Street Derry not long before he and his band were launched - Real intelligent arguments in this broadcast and very persuasive too. Hope you get Rights for Musicians and writers Fergal

[indydaisy1]

They need to sort a system out where the artist gets a taste and the public are willing to pay and make them feel better about themselves doing it right, you charge to much you LOSE.

[loyalalways1]

I agree with Feargal. I also agree with 'themadwoman1'. Musicians have a right to be paid for their work. They work hard to bring us entertainment. Take a look at Feargal's video for "You Little Thief". Look at how much time and thought went into that video. Not only that, but he had to pay all those people in that video. He deserves to receive money for that. Who else would work for nothing?? NOBODY! So, why should musicians be expected to work for nothing? Musicians aren't the greedy ones.

[22YearOldBoy]

I would also like to say another thing. Let's just say that obliterating any P2P service or site is possible, and that illegally downloading content from the internet becomes 100% impossible, don't you think that store robberies will rise? If that happens then the public safety factor is affected too. It wouldn't surprise me if they tried to completely eradicate the internet itself since it is essentially a giant P2P network. They can implement crazy laws but they don't know the technicalities.

[22YearOldBoy]

Art & Creativity is about expression not greed. All of you who are backing Feargal up are fans of him and The Undertones, Therefore you have biased opinions. If you didn't know this guy and he appeared on the Jeremy Kyle show pertaining this issue, you would think he was just another corporate dinosaur with a drink/drug problem. If I was ACCUSED of (C) theft and had to leave my children behind, upset, would this pig even care about the impact it would have on my children? [£/$=Power=Abuse]

[yammyrob]

feargal is right i think. imagine if you made a song and 1000000 people downloaded it for nothing instead of maybe 10p each download .. how would you feel .

[yooanoozarrmay]

love the undertones, but there is something very weird about an ex 'punk' singer lecturing us this way. it's a battle you've lost, pal .

[eddie7702]

When illegal downloading has been totally obliterated by the new digital laws pushed forward by Fergal and the media conglomerates he represents, do you really think people are going to rush out there and start buying all these albums that they would have usually downloaded? No of course they aren't, they'll just go without. And everyone is going to become less musically cultured as an end result.

[TheOptimod]

He's applying mainstream principles to the issue, I only use P2P todownload rare / out of print music that isn't available via 'legitimate' outlets. Why should I be penalised / demonised when I'd rather BUY the 12" single IF it were available. If I can't get the tunes elsewhere I will download 'illegally' and have no plans to stop.

[HorseyBabeKyra]

This Is My Uncle =D Seriously =P

[MrSteveykk]

I cannot believe they are considering this guy for the house of lords, are you fucking out of your minds!!!

[ASPAustralia]

@MrSteveykk True mate!,, music should be free!!! soon just giving cds to your friends will get you locked up!!!

[youacccunt]

feargal sharkey is an asshole ,i seen him on the news,and he was embarrassed ,that the news reader ,said that he was in the undertones,what a total DICK,who the hell does he think he is ,this asshole came from Derry ,an i would say never paid a TV licence in his life

[HorseyBabeKyra]

@youacccunt Btw My little Cousin Here (Feargal Sharkeys Daughter) She Says Your An Asshole Yourself & Dont Pick On My Dad - She Told me To Write It btw =]

[HorseyBabeKyra]

@youacccunt fuk you thats my dad



[ribenariver]

@youacccunt

LOL!!!

[sebbyknight]

That maths is rather dodgy at best.

[themadwoman1]

Everyone is entitled to be paid for their efforts of work and the performance of songs/music is a form of work so the artists are entitled to be paid for that.

How many of you would work for nothing?

[22YearOldBoy]

@themadwoman1 - True. But is the Digital Economy Act really fair. Sending innocent internet users [Mothers, Fathers, Sons, Daughters] to prison or imposing ridiculous fines, fair? Is that sacrifice worth it just because pigs like this are running headlong into the wall just because they can't get their pocket money? Are you naive enough to think that the artist will be lucky enough to even see 25% of the generated income? This is greed displayed by the labels, not artists.

[Slossius1983]

@themadwoman1 I just cleaned the street outside my house. I am, by your reasoning, entitled to be paid for it. Surely all those who use the street from now on should pay me. Well, shouldn't they?

[tms6279]

@Slossius1983

If you clean the street for a living then, yes, you deserve to get paid. My guess, however, is that you're trying to rationalize the theft of a musician's hard work and art.

[Slossius1983]

@tms6279 I don't do it for a living, I just cleaned it outside my house now, so that I am entitled to set up a toll booth for those who use it. After all, as @themadwoman1 says: "everyone is entitled to be paid for their efforts of work".

I don't want to rationalise theft, but I don't see what theft has to do with file-sharing. The artist suffers no actual loss. While I'd like good artists to get paid, that cannot justify imposing legal restrictions on other people who are harming nobody.

[tms6279]

But aren't you harming the artist who has created something of value and deserves to get paid? Before digital downloading we had to buy CDs, tapes, vinyl albums at stores. Are you saying that we had/have the right to walk into Walmart and leave with any music we want for free? If you were to create something of value - a novel, perhaps - how would you feel if 100 people bought your book and millions of folks copied and read it with no royalty going to you?

[Slossius1983]

@tms6279

1) How are you harming them?

2) We do not have the right to shoplift. Although, interestingly the artist actually WOULD get paid as the store would have to order more copies.

3) I would gain the same amount of money as if 100 people bought it and lent it to tens of thousands of people to read. Lending is legal, and yet you consume without paying. If I was a true artist, I should prefer my work to be appreciated by many without being paid, rather than just a few paying me.

[tms6279]

1) You're harming the artist by denying them their rightful payment for their efforts.

2) P2P file sharing IS digital shoplifting.

3) Perhaps in your world each person would lend your novel to tens of thousands of other readers. In the real world that number is reduced to less than ten (rarely more than one).

I don't know what you do for a living but, if you love what you do and think it has a value to the public, would you work for free?

[Slossius1983]

@tms6279

1) You mean you're harming someone by performing an action that does not affect them at all, and is no different to not performing the action. What exactly IS the harm that is caused? Do they lose money? No. Are they in pain? No. I fail to see what effect they suffer from my action.

2) I deny that. It's a disanalogy.

3) My point is that we accept that consumption without paying is ok, so long as it is not downloading, during which something mystical happens and it magically becomes bad.

[Slossius1983]

@tms6279 And in answer to your final question is yes, if I loved it that much I would do it for free, of course I would. The only things I would not do for free are things I don't value or don't like doing. I suspect Mr Sharkey is only in it for the money. He's hardly Beethoven! Mozart, Wagner and others all suffered financially but continued to produce great works because they are great creative geniuses.

Good businesses should adapt, not try to prosecute those who don't shower them in gold.

[MrNobody808]

The up shot of all this is, if someone has 5000 tracks on their iPod, and 2500 haven't been paid for, and if Sharkey gets his way, people will only have 2500 tracks on their iPod, because they won't buy the other 2500.

1 illicit does not equal 1 lost sale. 1 illicit download equals someone getting to listen to a track they otherwise would not get to hear.

So at the end of the day, no one wins and everyone loses.

[themadwoman1]

Surely the performers should be entitled to be paid for their efforts?

[MrNobody808]

@themadwoman1 No one is disputing that they should be paid. However, Sharkey's views on the disconnection of file sharers are abhorrent. The BPI virtually wrote the Digital Economy Bill for the UK government (we know this because of the leaked BPI memo) and it is being rushed through parliament, because of the forth coming election, with zero debate from our elected members.

[themadwoman1]

I suspect that the problem with Mr. Sharkey is that because he believes in what he is working for, he is fanatical and is not looking at more subtle ways of dealing with the issues.I am sure that with the modern technology, it should be possible to stop downloads that are completely free and add in a way that they are being paid for.

[JohnMTennant]

If he cares that much, he should re-release You Little Thief with new lyrics about piracy. Surely it will not be stolen online.

[jsrosesrus]

Time has not been kind to Feargal. He looks like some of the locals here in NW Georgia.

[ewencameron]

@jsrosesrus

[shine350]

counting teenagers pocket money all through the night

[shine350]

Feargal damn well knows that the music industry is the most corrupt industry on this planet

[wall875]

The numbers are in...thank you all you skateboarding, downloading, spikey-haired free-music lovers...the rock and roll dream is dead.

[freederrydom]

feargal, you were a fuckin wanker, when you played around Derry in your youth, and your an even bigger wanker now

[freederrydom]

the ira refused to let him join up in the late 70's, they said with a voice like his he would surely be a SINGER HA HA HA

[archiefury]

I looked at Freederrydom other comments and all he can do is slag off and display his limited vocabulary. I'm no educational specialist but I suspect Freederrydom isnt very bright!

[MrNobody808]

But his sentiment regarding Sharkey is correct.

[22YearOldBoy]

@wall875 - Not all downloaders look like Billie Jo Armstrong. You do know that don't you?

[lyricistTim]

I was lucky enough to work with Feargal back in the 80s and I must say it's refreshing to see that his wit and ability to cope with complexity are undiminished over 20 years later. His take on the downloading issue is well thought out too.

[gabberdeen]

nothing there about consumer intrests, they want to shut ur p2p down at the help of the goverment. this is basic killing of YOUR fun AND tAXing u for the plesure.

[Weazelmania]

Interesting comments coming from Mr. Sharkey.

[3wrongnotes]

this will fail, essentially

[feardhorcha]

Free music free music free music!!!!

[Feargface]

wanker

[MikesDanceVids]

This man is a music legend he has a good heart!!

About time he recorded some more songs he was a catalyst for the 80,s sound.

[HorseyBabeKyra]

@MikesDanceVids that man is my dad and thanks for saying that:D

[wedrinkmountaindew]

TRAITOR!!!

[fuzzbox5150]

From an interview with Simon Raymonde from the 80's band The Cocteau Twins...

.

[fuzzbox5150]

..our experiences with labels and managers were also seriously troublesome, and certainly did not help in our relationships. In general the machinations of music business dealings are rarely exposed in the public arena and the level of exploitation of artists is often played down by the industry, but believe me the corruption is rife. The only losers are the artists and the audience, though by the time we all realise it, it's too late...

[shineon1969]

Is iTunes taking a bite out of Apple Corp? ...

...For years, record companies were notorious for making huge sums of money on the back of exploited artists. Consumers were ripped off too. And when CDs arrived, they were often grossly overpriced in certain markets...

[netgemiplayer]

Buy an electric guitar and entertain yourself with your own music is my advice for people....Stop feeding those record company parasites!!

[netgemiplayer]

maybe you should start singing You Little Thief then Feargal...you turncoat!

[netgemiplayer]

so downloading music is illegal but recording stuff off TV and radio isn't Feargal?

[joelang1699]

Fuck paying for any music or films, their paid far too much for what they do anyway. Whats worse they piss it all away on drugs and drink etc, I havent paid for a film,game,album or software in 10 yrs and I never will. Screw the industry, they should only be paid 25k a year for most of the shite thats produced. FUCK THE INDUSTRY HERE TO TERRENTS GENTS HA HA HA....ROUND YE

[feargal75]

Feargal Sharkey's so special and great voice is still in our ears !!!!!

[Mattyuk1]

I would buy sharkys ''A Good Heart'' at my local store. I would not buy something off pop idol/xfactor unless i downloaded it for free.

Im not supporting shit crappy new acts.

[joelang1699]

here here

[MARLONSKiUnusual]

Late Happy Birthday!!!

[lecturerob]

The problem people have is when you have 'executives' such as 'Simon Cowell' making £M's upon £M's from the 'artists & creators' in the record industry (which has happened since day one)

The public doesn't want to line their greed bent pockets anymore.

Everyone should agree that the artist & creator should reap the rewards of their music.

Didn't this anti music pay trend start with the beatles paying 99p in every pound of revenue made to the government/industry?

Feargal should know...

[alondennis]

HAHAHA good luck