Is This The Real Reason Why MegaUpload Was Shut Down?

[Adrian Warren]

Is This The Real Reason Why MegaUpload Was Shut Down? - Forbes

https://plus.google.com/u/0/11131408...ts/HQJxDRiwAWq

[initialsBB]

No. Nice PR spin though.

[rectifier]

Isn't the real reason it was shut down the fact that people were grabbing loads of stuff for free? Seems very simple.

[ApiPe]

I would have thought it has something to do with the us internet censorship bill that got passed? Seems strange that its happened just after..

[initialsBB]

you're well informed

[unitymusic]

What is there strategy for paying musicians when people download their music for free? It seems like an interesting concept, but most likely they would pay even less than spotify.

[initialsBB]

Yeah, just like youtube I would imagine. they would pay a tiny percentage of the ad revenue from that page. not exactly revolutionary stuff.

[oudplayer]

This (Megaupload) has apparently been an operation in the works for two years - a time-frame which exceeds either Megaupload's intention to offer a legit music service or SOPA legislation.

[Don Hills]

The court order authorising the bust was made last September, I think. There was almost 2 years of evidence collecting etc before that.

[rack gear]

Originally Posted by Adrian Warren

Is This The Real Reason Why MegaUpload Was Shut Down? - Forbes

https://plus.google.com/u/0/11131408...ts/HQJxDRiwAWq

no.

[Matt Allison]

yeah, that's a pretty moronic conspiracy theory.

If it were true, wouldn't they be trying subvert Bandcamp and sites like that?

[razorboy]

Same reason John Dillinger was shut down: he was "money-sharing........."
but it wasn't his money.

[claend]

Originally Posted by initialsBB

Yeah, just like youtube I would imagine. they would pay a tiny percentage of the ad revenue from that page. not exactly revolutionary stuff.

90% to be exact.

[Matt Allison]

It also doesn't make any sense in that the FBI had been investigating them since back in 2010.

[razorboy]

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom joked about ‘hacker’ past

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom joked about ‘hacker’ past - thestar.com

[spaceman]

Yes , i would definitely do business with him. Much more trustable than doing business with Apple, Bandcamp, Tunecore, CDbaby, etc.. :-)

[champ]

Let me say this.... (and I'm not saying this to scare anybody or go into conspiracies theories)

I wouldn't say that Kim and his crew look like my favorite kind of people but than again I don't trust the FBI either.

We're at a turning point in the economy, we are running out of oil and every country is in mayor debt.
We are living of the last bubbles is this economic meltdown (entertainment being a big one)
We hit the peaks of allmost everything! Should you watch out... Hell yes!
We need to understand what this means very fast before it is to late.
You don't have be a genius to know that things are gonna get really ugly.
Maybe some of you think it is already to late but should that stop us from doing the right thing?

Do as much of your own research which enables you to see a bigger picture and remember perfect doesn't exist so you are never always right or wrong.

Since the hole financial game is so corrupt I'm not sure who to believe.
But I do know that the right education is the key.

[petermichael]

i would agree, stressing the "right"

[JJAM]

As if we didn't know the conspiracy theory was a load of bollocks perpetuated by people looking for any excuse to justify their illegal uploading/downloading, here's something of note...

The Truth About Megaupload & The Record Industry | Wayne's World

[razorboy]

Roswell UFO incident - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[razorboy]

Unplugging: SOPA and Megaupload raid reverberate in cyberspace

Posted on January 28, 2012 - 10:49 by Lily Angelle

Unplugging: SOPA and Megaupload raid reverberate in cyberspace | TG Daily

It certainly has been a lively couple of week for music fans worldwide, with the threat of SOPA/PIPA bills and the Megaupload raid.

Some sites were blacked out in opposition of the bills, while millions of Internet users signed an online petition powered by Google. Due to the overwhelming amounts of protests, it seems that Congress has postponed the SOPA/PIPA legislation - at least until further notice and revision.
A* major threat to online music sharing and popular search engines like Google and Wikipedia, the SOPA/PIPA bills were created to address anti-piracy issues on the 'Net, but people are obviously not having it.
When websites all across cyberspace blacked out their sites out of protest, people all over the nation took to the streets to protest.

Politician took notice of the massive amounts of opposition they’re faced with, and postponed their vote on the legislation, which was set to happen January 24th. Although we can breath a little easier knowing SOPA/PIPA has been put on hold for now, senators have proposed a similar act that seeks to regulate access to particular sites.

In fact, federal authorities have shut down a major Hong Kong file-sharing company, Megaupload. Claiming that they’ve earned over $175 million through the illegal sharing of movies, television shows and e-books, executives at Megaupload have been indicted on multiple counts.
But this sudden attack was not without retaliation from hacker group Anonymous, which shut down the Justice Department’s website. The shuttering of Megaupload is a major accomplishment for anti-piracy enforcers in Washington, as it was the 13th most visited site on the Internet.
So, what does this mean for music lovers like us? Well, shortly after Megaupload was downed, other file sharing sites backed down, signaling a possible end to free music downloading in the future.

The file sharing community feels very threatened at the moment, even more so now, since Filesonic and Upload to withdrew from the race.

With messages now on their homepages reading, "All sharing functionality of FileSonic is now disabled," or "Our service is currently unavailable in your country. *Sorry about that," it is becoming clear that the file sharing communities we partake in are in trouble, and it could mean the end to free music and movie downloads. It’s unclear whether Filesonic and Upload.to are permanently disabled, or if they’re just waiting for the anti-piracy threats to blow over, but for now, only time will tell.

[rack gear]

Originally Posted by razorboy

it is becoming clear that the file sharing communities we partake in are in trouble, and it could mean the end to free music and movie downloads.

took long enough... I hope it stays clear.

[wcb123]

Thought i would share, not sure how widely known (or truthful) this info is ?



"Last Thursday the US Justice Department came down hard on Megaupload and its mega founder, Kim Dotcom. In the days since, there has been a shake-up of sorts in the digital storage realm. Several smaller sites have drastically changed their business models. Others, like MediaFire, reached out to me after I published this post attempting to distance themselves from Megaupload.

However, yesterday, a new theory surfaced that indicates Megaupload’s demise had less to do with piracy than previously thought. This theory stems from a 2011 article detailing Megaupload’s upcoming Megabox music store and DIY artist distribution service that would have completely disrupted the music industry.

TorrentFreak first reported about the service in early December 2011. Megabox was just in beta at that time with listed partners of 7digital, Gracenote, Rovi, and Amazon. Megaupload was in a heated marketing battle with the RIAA and MPAA who featured Kim Dotcom in an anti-piracy movie (5:10 mark). The site had just sued Universal Music Group for wrongly blocking Megaupload’s recent star-studded YouTube campaign. Things were getting vicious in December but the quiet launch of Megabox might have been the straw that broke the millionaire’s back.

Dotcom described Megabox as Megaupload’s iTunes competitor, which would even eventually offer free premium movies via Megamovie, a site set to launch in 2012. This service would take Megaupload from being just a digital locker site to a full-fledged player in the digital content game.

The kicker was Megabox would cater to unsigned artists and allow anyone to sell their creations while allowing the artist to retain 90% of the earnings. Or, artists could even giveaway their songs and would be paid through a service called Megakey. “Yes that’s right, we will pay artists even for free downloads. The Megakey business model has been tested with over a million users and it works,” Kim Dotcom told TorrentFreak in December. Megabox was planning on bypassing the labels, RIAA, and the entire music establishment.

Megaupload was likely large enough to actually find success. Other services have tried what Megabox was set to do, but Megaupload was massive. Prior to its closure last week, the site was estimated to be the 13th most visited site on the Internet, accounting for 4% of all worldwide Internet traffic. It boasted 180 million registered users with over 50 million visiting the site daily. Megaupload was already a seemingly trusted service for artists to distribute their work. Megabox would have a monetized that popularity by passing on the bulk of the earnings back to the artists.

“You can expect several Megabox announcements next year including exclusive deals with artists who are eager to depart from outdated business models,” said Dotcom late last year. But that’s probably not going to happen. Kim Dotcom and several other Megaupload executives are now awaiting trial on various charges including racketeering, money laundering, and various counts of piracy. It seems they flew too close to the sun. High on success and a half a world away in New Zealand and Hong Kong, they attempted to take on the music industry head-on. Now they’re in jail."

LINK

Was Megaupload Targeted Because Of Its Upcoming Megabox Digital Jukebox Service? | TechCrunch

[spaceman]

see here : Is This The Real Reason Why MegaUpload Was Shut Down?

[Ksp]

Originally Posted by unitymusic

What is there strategy for paying musicians when people download their music for free? It seems like an interesting concept, but most likely they would pay even less than spotify.

The strategy is to mislead everyone into thinking they have the artist in mind when they try and cash in .Thats what big business does , suggests its always for the greater good.

I think the way it would have worked would have been,.

1. / mega upload sells a Mega key
2. / the user can then take whatever they like off the server for ' free '
3. / the artist recieves a one off 0.0000000001% payment for every million times his mp3 is download about 10 years later if he registers for it.

Its like spotify , its a ripoff where the artist earn a pointless % and which destroys small labels ability to sustain on the small turnover amd cheapens their product .

The big busines who cheapen the music of course do well as they have high volume sales for the business making all the cash due to being distributers of pretty much the entire world music catalogue.

Big Business never look after anyone but themselves.

Mega upload were just another parasite like the rest of them.

[razorboy]

Megaupload Gets Busted; File Sharers Are Frazzled - Businessweek



Kim Dotcom on vacation in the Virgin Islands
Photograph by Konderkonditionen/Star Traks Photo

[razorboy]

3 February 2012 Last updated at 06:48 ET
Megaupload co-founder's bail appeal rejected by court
BBC News - Megaupload co-founder's bail appeal rejected by court


Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom's bail application appeal has been rejected in New Zealand.

The High Court in Auckland said it agreed with an earlier ruling that Mr Dotcom - a German national - might try to flee the country.

The file-sharing site creator is accused of profiting from the copying and distribution of pirated content.

Mr Dotcom's lawyers said that he denied the charge and would fight an extradition application by the US.

Prosecutors had said Mr Dotcom - also known as Kim Schmitz - posed an extreme flight risk, noting that he had passports and bank accounts in three names and a history of fleeing criminal charges. They said measures, such as electronic monitoring, were likely to prove ineffective.
'Go to hell'

Lawyers representing the US authorities also said that a man with a history of making fake travel documents had unsuccessfully asked to visit Mr Dotcom following his arrest.

Mr Dotcom's said he had no intention of running away. He said he wanted to be with his pregnant wife and fight to get his assets unfrozen. He also denied all knowledge of the rejected visitor.

"If people were to approach me and to offer such a service, I would tell them to go to hell," Mr Dotcom said.

He added that he had also been contacted by a man claiming to be a prosecutor, who had said he could organise a favourable bail hearing in return for a payment.

He also complained that he had been sent letters from female prison inmates asking to become his pen pals.

Mr Dotcom's next court appearance is scheduled for 22 February, when his extradition hearing is planned.

Megaupload has been offline since 19 January, when the US government forced its shutdown and executed search warrants on two companies that provided it with file hosting services - Cogent Communications and Carpathia Hosting.

Megaupload lawyer Ira Rothken tweeted earlier this week that the hosting firms had agreed to preserve consumers' data until at least mid-February.
The US-based digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation has since written a letter hinting it might begin its own legal action if the service providers consequently tried to wipe the data, now that they were no longer being paid by Megaupload to store it.

"Many innocent third parties... used Megaupload for wholly legal purposes and have since lost access to their data," wrote the organisation's legal director, Cindy Cohn.

"Many of these materials are property of the individuals involved, and they are legally entitled not only to access but to preservation and privacy.
"We are hopeful that our client and other third parties can obtain access to their material without resorting to legal action, but if that is not the case, we intend to take the necessary steps to ensure the return of their materials."

Carpathia has already pledged not to wipe the data without warning.

[John Eppstein]

Originally Posted by claend

90% to be exact.

90% of what?

And anyway, I don't believe it for a minute. Kim Dotcom didn't get to be a multimillionaire by giving away the bulk of his profits. And stories by former employees of his would tend to bear that out.

I wouldn't put much stock in the PR releases of a convicted fraudster.

[John Eppstein]

Originally Posted by Matt Allison

It also doesn't make any sense in that the FBI had been investigating them since back in 2010.

Why would you say that? Megaupload was very well established on the pirate scene for several years prior to that. People who were too lame to get their pirated material via Bittorrent or even Limewire used Mega.

It often takes the FBI a long time to build a case, as they want to be sure they can make it stick - if the prosecution should fail then they can't refile due to the double jeopardy laws.

[John Eppstein]

Originally Posted by champ

We're at a turning point in the economy, we are running out of oil and every country is in mayor debt.
We are living of the last bubbles is this economic meltdown (entertainment being a big one)
We hit the peaks of allmost everything! Should you watch out... Hell yes!
We need to understand what this means very fast before it is to late.
You don't have be a genius to know that things are gonna get really ugly.
Maybe some of you think it is already to late but should that stop us from doing the right thing?

Do as much of your own research which enables you to see a bigger picture and remember perfect doesn't exist so you are never always right or wrong.

Since the hole financial game is so corrupt I'm not sure who to believe.
But I do know that the right education is the key.

What does any of that have to do with piracy or Megaupload?