Is Posting an AMV illegal?

koronoru · Post by **koronoru** » Fri Jul 11, 2003 2:47 pm

Pierrot Le Fou wrote:Well IMHO if the RIAA or similar came after us it would be biting the hand
that feeds them since most of us legitimately own the music and video
we use to make AMVs.

Making AMVs is free advertising for both the music and the anime we use. I think the anime distributors are smart enough to realize that and let us be. The RIAA is another story, however, as recent court cases show.

LSM53 · Post by **LSM53** » Fri Jul 11, 2003 11:17 pm

thats a very good point
not to mention that while "technically" its illegal

its not that wrong, you are doing more promotion for the artist and anime than stealing

if people watch the videos they dont know nesserally what the series is about in every detial
and they don't hear the jokes and stuff

and listening to a song in a AMV is not that much fun anyways, so people will either buy the CD, or download it (and htat is their problem, not yours)

Mr Pilkington · Post by **Mr Pilkington** » Fri Jul 11, 2003 11:37 pm

Like I have said before just don't do anything high-profile and no one will care. Uploading to the .org.... Cons.... These thigns don't matter.
Walking down the street w/ a sandwitch board strapped to you saying "I illegally share and create unauthorized material," would matter; but more importantly... It would be dumb.

Kali_Ariel · Post by **Kali_Ariel** » Sun Jul 13, 2003 10:10 pm

Most of the artists I like would be considered 80s "has-beens". Heck, in some cases I've seen some favs' used cds going for $100+ on ebay. Because the cd version wasn't in print for very long.

So, I also tend to view it as promoting the artist/anime in question. I want both the artist and the anime to be successful. So that subsequent releases will be possible.

One song I intend on using in a future video project, is from a finished cd that the record label declined to release. I had to download it off of mp3.com.

Pierrot Le Fou · Post by **Pierrot Le Fou** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 1:20 pm

Well I can honestly say that many of the DVDs I've bought are a direct
result of seeing an AMV of that series.

)v(ajin Koji · Post by **)v(ajin Koji** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 2:04 pm

It is a catch 22: you can say that they are getting free advertising, but when the advertising companies find out they'll charge all the animes and musical artists on the org!

Wouldn't that be funny...the org destroyes the anime and music industry single-handedly

danielwang · Post by **danielwang** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 12:57 am

koronoru wrote:
Pierrot Le Fou wrote:Well IMHO if the RIAA or similar came after us it would be biting the hand
that feeds them since most of us legitimately own the music and video
we use to make AMVs.
Making AMVs is free advertising for both the music and the anime we use. I think the anime distributors are smart enough to realize that and let us be. The RIAA is another story, however, as recent court cases show.

True!

Many music distributors have not officially stated any authorization, however certain anime companies and authors have, at a minimum, hinted that they approve of AMVs. Although it is equally likely for a crummy company to say that AMVs are iilegal, most intelligent people will see that a good AMV equals good coverage.

In that case, we can make the argument that anime T-shirts should be freely printed. After all, we're still advertising it, aren't we?

Skyebox · Post by **Skyebox** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 1:35 pm

I don't think that anyone would disagree that what we do is illegal in the technical sense. But I personally don't think it's such a big deal as long as no one is making any money off of it. Just like any other activity, making AMVs is a hobby, not a business. If you read those little FBI warnings in front of any DVD, they will tell you that unauthorized copying of a DVD's contents is illegal. But the will also tell you that "criminal" copyright infringement is investigated. I interpret "criminal copyright infringement" as copying a movie or making a video and then selling it for personal profit without the artists' permission.

I think that the idea of AMVs being free advertising for companies and artists is a legitimate one as well - I've bought numerous DVDs based on seeing AMVs. However, I can also see how the RIAA would probably react differently from the anime companies. Regardless of recent boosts in popularity, anime still caters to a specialist market. Fans are well aware that the availability of quality anime is highly dependent on people buying it. The music industry, however, caters to pretty much everybody. As such, people are generally of the opinion that they're not in any danger of going out of business anytime soon, so it wouldn't hurt to download one or two (or one or two-hundred, as the case may be) songs instead of buying them. And it's that sort of mindset that has the RIAA in such a tizzy. I'm much more willing to shell out $100 for an anime DVD boxset than $10 for a CD - call that crazy, but it's true.

Now, if a particular recording artist wrote me and politely asked that I not distribute videos using his/her songs, I wouldn't be too upset - this is his/her right. But if the RIAA wrote me and declared that they were going to sue me for cutting into their billions of dollars in profits by making a few AMVs, I wouldn't be so eager or willing to bend over for them.

So I post my AMVs for others to see. I don't see how this is harming anyone. If the RIAA feels differently and wants to sue me over this, that's their right. It won't stop me from making AMVs. Besides, I don't have any money to give them, anyway - I spent it all on anime...

danielwang · Post by **danielwang** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 1:47 pm

Skyebox wrote:Besides, I don't have any money to give them, anyway - I spent it all on anime...

LOL!

Ok, who else here has actually made anime acquisitions a regular part of their entertainment and personal expense allocations. It's unbelievable!

As (Becca?) the Nan Desu Kan staff members say, the Dealers Room at connventions can easily be "the largest money devouring machine in the country". According to Gordon... why don't con attendeed ever get mugged? "They walk in with money... they walk out with none".

If you've ever spend over $0xFF per fical quarter for anime, you're a nut.