ISPs 'must play a part' against illegal music downloads

Edward Zammit

Aug 15th 2009, 21:42

Please how can I buy music from a Maltese shop (especially the one Ms.Borg owns) when online I can buy the same original CD's at quarter the price ( inc. shipping ) ??

Franco Farrugia

Aug 15th 2009, 20:18

That having been said (see below), on the other hand, I disagree with what Mr Formosa says. If his son manages to complete some game in two hours, he should also consider the fact that someone out there invented that game and had it produced and that there are royalties to be paid - it is an intellectual property and the Formosa son cannot ride a horse which is not his. He has to pay for that. Such games should not appear on the internet in the first place, but if they are, then they are there for the taking. Sur Formosa, int trid li tivvinta xi haga u haddiehor igawdi minnha minghajr ma jhallsek? Ma nahsibx.

S Debattista

Aug 15th 2009, 19:42

Grace Borg, you better watch your prices. They are extremely high! Everyone uses online shopping to buy albums, movies, & games. We're not that stupid! you tried to cheat with your prices and now you are bankrupt!

Enjoy your products, shiny on your shelves..
Good Luck grace! You Make Malta Laugh..

Joseph Schembri

Aug 15th 2009, 19:32

On one hand we have the insufferable Grace Borg who says that she protects the rights of musicians and then we have the world's greatest musicians themselves. Hmm who should I believe now?

"Musicians including Robbie Williams, Annie Lennox, Billy Bragg, Blur's David Rowntree and Radiohead's Ed O'Brien said last night that the public should not be prosecuted for downloading illegal music from the internet.

The Featured Artists Coalition, which consists of 140 of Britain's biggest rock and pop stars, said at its inaugural meeting that companies such as MySpace and YouTube should be required to remunerate the artists when they use their music for advertising.

Bragg told The Independent that most of the artists had voted against supporting any move towards criminally prosecuting ordinary members of the public for illegally downloaded music.

"Artists should own their own rights and they should decide when their music should be used for free, or when they should have payment."

source: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/its-not-a-crime-to-download-say-musicians-1643217.html

oh shut up Grace.

Dr Savior Tortell Pisani

Aug 15th 2009, 18:58

Deal with it!

CDs, DVDs, Cassettes, LPs, Blue Ray... etc.... All these and all other physical media for distributing Music or Film or Game are TODAY obsolete... Grace Borg should change her line of business before it's too late!

Anyone can obtain anything s/he likes at a 10th of Grace's cost from LEGAL online suppliers that compete on a global scale and not on the tragically insignificant Valletta mall!

IF any ISP dares block his subscibers right to purchase anything online... That ISP will VERY quicky loose all the clients and business and go bankrupt in an eyeblink!

P Debono

Aug 15th 2009, 17:04

I always love hearing what Grace Borg has to say because somehow she always manages to get me in laughing fits!

The exorbitant prices which you charge are the reason you are going bankrupt, not the authorities' inaction.

Oh and by the way: "One must always remember it is a well known fact this illegal activity helps finance money laundering, drugs and terrorism," the company said.

My reaction: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Emmanuel Ebejer

Aug 15th 2009, 14:52

I think Grace Borg should take a good look at herself in the mirror and reflect on the prices she charges in her stores.

David Meilak

Aug 15th 2009, 14:45

I collect music Cd's as I appreciate the singer/composer, the CD box, booklet, and I like to play my part in paying for the music I listen to. BUT as a purchaser of CD's since I was a Kid, I must express the fact that any music I ever bought from Ms. Borg's shops was always at high prices, and never competed with purchases I ever made in Europe or any other country, let alone the ease of ordering from the internet now. If you cant compete Ms. Borg, then CLOSE your establishment. It is natural for business to flourish when you have a good product, a good service, and a good price. In your case you don't have the right combination. Part of the fun in purchasing CD's was to flip through all the CD's in a shop until you find something you like. But paying through your nose is not fun at all. Stop living in the 70's Ms. Borg and eradicate the word 'protectionism' from your dictionary, we will never let anyone to take us back to making life comfortable for businesses like yours by creating any sort of monopoly.

Rmangion

Aug 15th 2009, 14:21

I have just made a purchase from play.com and amazon and I feel 100% satisfied and happy, unfortunately a certain local supplier of similar products is not price competitive and efficient enough and so it is obvious that its owner will try to do something.

ISP's better don't dare follow Mrs Borg advice, otherwise hell will break loose around the island

Byron Camilleri

Aug 15th 2009, 14:12

Downloading from the internet is not illegal. From websites such as Itunes , you actually buy the songs!

On the other hand, it is true, priated cd's and dvd's are sold everyday illegally from the Valletta market.
However this trend might be a result of the over-priced cd's and dvd's sold from Grace's shops. When you compare the prices of Grace's shops with websites such as play.com... play.com is a lot cheaper!

Justin Tonna

Aug 15th 2009, 14:08

While I fully agree that piracy is wrong, products should also have a fair price. Why are games from Ms Borg's outlets Euro70 each, when online they can bought for just Euro50?

And brand new games can be bought for as little as Euro5 from online sellers - and there is a strong market in used games too.

Why on Earth would we pay Euro70 - and by the same token - why on Earth would you pay Euro5 for a pirate game when you can get an original for the same price?

Wake up and use your browsers people

Christopher Formosa

Aug 15th 2009, 13:21

Proset grace.....noqoghdu nigu nixtru minghandek mela ta, loghba 70 euro,biex jghmila f jumejn it tifel u jhallia hemm,u x terrorismu hu? Bid diski ul loghob qed jzomm bin laden.........j alla jekk hux bil eurovision qed izomm......

Galea. L

Aug 15th 2009, 13:05

If Grace is finding it harder to remain afloat it means that she is NOT competitive.
If Grace thinks that she can manipulate the ISP's to prevent us from purchasing our requirements from abroad she is greatly mistaken.
Grace, do you expect me to purchase my requirements from you or the other get-rich-quick shops when I can have whatever I want send to me in a few days at less than half the price?
That will be the day.

"One must always remember it is a well known fact this illegal activity helps finance money laundering, drugs and terrorism," the company said."

SCAREMONGERING WON'T WORK GRACE.

Andrea Portelli

Aug 15th 2009, 12:42

I think Ms. Borg is finally finding it difficult to accept that her prices are horrendous... so she finds a scapegoat to get out of it.

You want your business to strive and "stay afloat" ?

Easy, lower prices


till then I'll buy from the internet where albums and video games are only a third of the local prices

:D

BBorg

Aug 15th 2009, 12:28

I am one, who pays money to my ISP for the services I receive, including downloading media from the web. Well, Ms. Borg is suggesting to my ISP to reduce the services available, so her business can flourish more. But then my ISP will lose clients like me, so his business will deteriorate.

R. Caruana

Aug 15th 2009, 11:49

Why doesn't Ms Grace Borg not look at the prices she tries to sell her wares at? No wonder there's such widespread piracy!

It's extremely difficult to afford music and video at the local 'legal' prices especially when such material can be ordered from the internet at nearly half the price (including postage).

Making an honest buck can be easy if the price is right.

P Agius

Aug 15th 2009, 11:02

First of all Grace Borg must distinguish between legal and illegal music downloads. There are sites like www.play.com whereby people can download legal music at a fraction of the prices Grace Borg is charging !!! Maybe if Grace Borg start charging similar prices she will be able to compete. Competition with online products is there to stay and every business is trying to compete with online suppliers .... Grace Borg should stop moaning (something she's really good at) and concentrate on business and competition. Finally perhaps Grace Borg may explain her appearent association between downloading music from the internet to terrorism, drugs and money laundering !! I can't see any relationship whatsoever!!! Is she implying that whoever downloads music from the internet is a terrorist !!!! When is Grace Borg going to realise that her moaning is scaring her customers away from her shops ?

S.Debattista

Aug 15th 2009, 11:00

I agree.. I am a person who collects music albums. For me an original music album is a work of art, the booklet, the artwork and the cd as a whole. I used to buy cd albums from an outlet in Valletta. Still cheaper than grace's, Nowadays much easier, I buy from online websites which are much cheaper than all the outlets in Malta.

All the friends i know who are passionate about music, they don't buy albums from Malta as the prices are exaggerated. Who wants to pay for an original album for 29.99€ where you can buy it online for 10€. the same quality & 100% original

Franco Farrugia

Aug 15th 2009, 10:39

Does Grace Borg, want us to become like Communist China, where the ISPs are told which websites to allow surfers to browse and which are not? I, for one, will not get Internet service from a provider that tries to shut me out from any website! What Grace Borg should do, first, is to have lowered her prices in her outlets. Her words are reminiscent of old Labour that stifled us from information and possibilities in the 70s and early 80s. We must not go back to those times just so that Grace Borg can get her way. Internet is not to be touched.

David Muscat

Aug 15th 2009, 10:37

"One must always remember it is a well known fact this illegal activity helps finance money laundering, drugs and terrorism," the company said.

Rot. Yeh, I'm sure Bin Laden is in his cave right now downloading music from the internet. Can you substantiate what you said, that downloading software leads to terrorism? How many terrorist are there in Malta? By your reckoning there should be many. Do you really take us all for fools?

If you have to argue a case against downloading, at least put forward valid reasons.