In the past little while, two of my favourite BitTorrent sites have been shut down due to threats of legal action, international investigations, Interpol raids, arrests, and whatnot.
With regards to Oink, there are quite a number of false accusations that were circulated by the IFPI (something I've never heard of previous to the Oink raids). Firstly, they said that you had to pay to be a member and the money went into some secret off-shore account that was being used for personal gain by the owners. Not true. I'm too cheap to be a member of something I had to pay to use yet I was still an avid user of the site (the same notion holds true for my views on brothels and whore houses. If it's free, sign me up!). Secondly, they said you HAD to post illegal music or you'd be banned from the site. Again, untrue. You only had to SHARE the illegal music you downloaded from other people who posted it. If you went below a certain "share ratio," only then would you be banned. Lastly, the IFPI claimed that Oink was responsible for leaking 60 pre-release albums this year alone. Come on. 60!? Give us downloaders more credit than that! 60 a month was probably more like it and even that number is a bit on the low side.
I miss Oink. So do the other 180 000 international members that frequented the site (IFPI claim that all 180 000 users are now being investigated. HA.). When Oink got shutdown, that sent 180 000 people scrambling to find another site that was as good as Oink. Out of this need, another 5 sites popped up and pre-existing sites got a boost of illegally shared music from displaced Oinkers. If you're keeping score at home: IFPI/recording industry - 1, Downloaders - a number greater than 1. WE DID IT!
There has been lots of talk about downloading and "new-media" recently. While I've definitely spent less on purchasing CDs and DVDs, my money has been squandered elsewhere supporting the very same artists I download from. This year, I've seen more concerts, purchased more merchandise, and spent more time promoting new up and coming artists I would have never heard about or had the money to support if I didn't hear their music through sites such as Oink (e.g. check out Patrick Watson by any means necessary). Of course there is the flip side to that. The anti-social awkwardian who chooses to download and download and never leave his/her house or talk to anyone about anything. I'm looking at you fans of the show Heroes.
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