I fuckin' love the Mountain Goats. Never would have found them if not for OiNK.
:sniffle:
The Man has a branch office in each of our brains, his corporate emblem is a white albatross, each local rep has a cover known as the Ego, and their mission in this world is Bad Shit.
To the people that say oink was primarily used to find new bands that they'd go out and spend money on after "discovering" them, and not used to DL their CDs instead of actually buying them....ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING??? I did that every now and then, but for the most part, it was assholes that didn't wanna buy a CD, just download it for free and burn it. That's how the world works...why pay for something if you don't have to?
P.S. I've given away many torrent invites here (don't wanna name any pig names), but if anybody has any of these libble invites, I'm down for one.
By Paul Stokes
Last Updated: 8:20am BST 25/10/2007
An IT consultant suspected of operating one of the world’s biggest pirate music websites from a Middlesbrough bedsit said he had done nothing wrong.
Alan Ellis, 24, was arrested on Tuesday as part of an Interpol-led operation to shut down a music file sharing website which has attracted around 180,000 members.
Mr Ellis set up the website, called Oink, three and a half years ago.
He was detained on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and copyright infringement and has been released on police bail for two months.
Computer equipment and documentation seized from his home, his place of work and his father’s home in Cheshire and are undergoing forensic examination.
But speaking after his arrest he claimed it was no more illegal than search engine sites such as Google which could also direct users to illegal music downloads.
Police and music industry investigators have suggested that hundreds of thousands of pounds a year could be made by the site.
Mr Ellis declined to comment on whether users had made financial “donations” to the site.
Mr Ellis was contracted to work as an IT consultant for Virgin Media’s contact centre in nearby Stockton-on-Tees, but was dismissed on the day of his arrest.
He told The Daily Telegraph: “I haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t believe my website breaks the law. They don’t understand how it works.
"The website is very different from how the police are making it out to be. There is no music sold on the site - I am doing nothing wrong.
"When I set up the site I didn’t think I was doing anything illegal and I still don’t. There are 180,000 users and there has been an outcry about what has happened to me.
"People who download music also buy CDs as well. A lot of people download music on the internet to get a taste of it and then later buy the CD.
"But I don’t sell music to people, I just direct them to it. If somebody wants to illegally download music they are going to do it whether my site is there or not.
"If this goes to court it is going to set a huge precedent. It will change the internet as we know it.
"As far as I am aware no-one in Britain has ever been taken to court for running a website like mine. My site is no different to something like Google.
"If Google directed someone to a site they can illegally download music they are doing the same as what I have been accused of. I am not making any Oink users break the law. People don’t pay to use the site.”
Oink, which used a cartoon of a pink pig as its logo, was one of the world’s biggest “peer-to-peer” music download sites, which have been targeted by music publishers and police because they allow users to swap music for free.
Anyone accessing it is met with the message: “This site has been closed as a result of a criminal investigation by IFPI, BPI, Cleveland Police and the Fiscal Investigation Unit of the Dutch Police into suspected illegal music distribution. A criminal investigation continues into the identities and activities of the site’s users.”
The website’s server, based in Amsterdam, was closed down by Dutch Police last week.
Among allegations being examined are that more than 60 major albums were leaked on an OINK site weeks before the CDs’ were officially released by record companies.
According to users, Oink had a daily throughput the equivalent of five million songs and registered members were able to download around 1,000 songs.
Detectives are thought to be analysing the databases for details of the invitation system and members’ downloads.
Users were offered the chance to buy a range of branded merchandise bearing a pink pig Logo and the slogan: “Music so good it could make your tail curl”.
A spokesman for Cleveland Police, responsible the Middlesbrough inquiries, said: “It is too early to tell if we will go after individuals, it all depends on what we find.”
“Life is life everywhere. Life is in ourselves and not outside us. There will be men beside me, and the important thing is to be a man among men and to remain a man always, whatever the misfortunes, not to despair and not to fall - that is the aim of life, that is its purpose.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Right, but what does that have to do with OiNK being shut down?
I think the explination was that without OiNK he would have not found these artist, and wouldn't have helped their tours, merch tables, record sales without it.
Every little bit counts. And define being successful...
Oink gives no money to either the record label or the artist, the record label needs money in order for the artist to keep releasing professionally sounding music to mass markets.
In BharQ's statement he didn't mention buying albums but rather dropping money on shows, merch, etc. If he only funds that artist, but not the label, the label will still drop the artist if it is seen that the artist's album sales aren't recouping the amount of money that was put into releasing it.
being successful is developing a large dedicated fan base before your shelf -life expires in the limelight (which is usually about 5 years). Thats usually when you can depart from a record label and do whatever you feel like.
Oink gives no money to either the record label or the artist, the record label needs money in order for the artist to keep releasing professionally sounding music to mass markets.
In BharQ's statement he didn't mention buying albums but rather dropping money on shows, merch, etc. If he only funds that artist, but not the label, the label will still drop the artist if it is seen that the artist's album sales aren't recouping the amount of money that was put into releasing it.
being successful is developing a large dedicated fan base before your shelf -life expires in the limelight (which is usually about 5 years). Thats usually when you can depart from a record label and do whatever you feel like.
Do you work for a record company?
As I had said, I think what he was trying to say is, "if he didn't have oink, he wouldn't have found out about the artist" And thus, wouldn't buy the album.
Even if he is saying that he didn't buy the album. I am saying people do.
Music isn't suppose to be about making money. A lot of independent bands are able to make a living. Wouldn't you think that is enough?
“Life is life everywhere. Life is in ourselves and not outside us. There will be men beside me, and the important thing is to be a man among men and to remain a man always, whatever the misfortunes, not to despair and not to fall - that is the aim of life, that is its purpose.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
edit I also got on libble the other day through the kindness of a stranger (don't worry I fully intend to pay this shit forward once I score some invites) and when I started they only had abouit 5000 torrents, in the last three days they have increased that to over 6000, like this article implies and actully openly says, you can't stop it
"I'm not suicidal, except when I drink. That's why we don't all drink at the same time, there'd be no-one alive to drive home..."
Chris Cornell
edit I also got on libble the other day through the kindness of a stranger (don't worry I fully intend to pay this shit forward once I score some invites) and when I started they only had abouit 5000 torrents, in the last three days they have increased that to over 6000, like this article implies and actully openly says, you can't stop it
I would love it if I was one who you payed it forward to
“Life is life everywhere. Life is in ourselves and not outside us. There will be men beside me, and the important thing is to be a man among men and to remain a man always, whatever the misfortunes, not to despair and not to fall - that is the aim of life, that is its purpose.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
very thorough, great read, thanks for posting that
all you former oink members... would you pay for a service like this? and how much?
I would definitely pay for a service like Oink, provided it maintained similar requirements (High quality non-DRM files with no limits other than maintaining your ratio). Basically I'm comfortable spending $50/month on physical CDs. If I was getting non-DRM high quality digital files I'd be perfectly comfortable putting the money there instead of CDs.
1993-08-12 - Edmonton, AB, Convention Centre
2003-05-30 - Vancouver, BC, General Motors Place
2005-09-04 - Calgary, AB, Pengrowth Saddledome
2005-09-05 - Edmonton, AB, Rexall Place
2009-08-08 - Calgary, AB, Canada Olympic Park
2009-09-21 - Seattle, WA, Key Arena
2009-09-22 - Seattle, WA, Key Arena
2011-09-23 - Edmonton, AB, Rexall Place
2013-11-30 - Spokane, WA, Spokane Arena
I'll admit I had an account there and frequented it quite often. At the end of the day, what made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world's greatest record store. Pretty much anything you could ever imagine, it was there, and it was there in the format you wanted. If OiNK cost anything, I would certainly have paid, but there isn't the equivalent of that in the retail space right now. iTunes kind of feels like Sam Goody to me. I don't feel cool when I go there. I'm tired of seeing John Mayer's face pop up. I feel like I'm being hustled when I visit there, and I don't think their product is that great. DRM, low bit rate, etc. Amazon has potential, but none of them get around the issue of pre-release leaks. And that's what's such a difficult puzzle at the moment. If your favorite band in the world has a leaked record out, do you listen to it or do you not listen to it? People on those boards, they're grateful for the person that uploaded it — they're the hero. They're not stealing it because they're going to make money off of it; they're stealing it because they love the band. I'm not saying that I think OiNK is morally correct, but I do know that it existed because it filled a void of what people want.
“Life is life everywhere. Life is in ourselves and not outside us. There will be men beside me, and the important thing is to be a man among men and to remain a man always, whatever the misfortunes, not to despair and not to fall - that is the aim of life, that is its purpose.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Between Trent Reznor and Radiohead I am really starting to get somewhat hopeful about the future of music.
A few more heavy weights like that and we might just have a fighting chance against the bastards.
The Man has a branch office in each of our brains, his corporate emblem is a white albatross, each local rep has a cover known as the Ego, and their mission in this world is Bad Shit.
I just gained respect for Trent. That was a good read.
I rarely listen to NIN anymore, but I follow everything he does these days, just because of stuff like this. He really, seriously GETS IT, more than just about anyone else I have heard or read.
The Man has a branch office in each of our brains, his corporate emblem is a white albatross, each local rep has a cover known as the Ego, and their mission in this world is Bad Shit.
Downloaded an album last night from another bittorrent site (demonoid)... was supposed to be a high bitrate. Loaded it up on the iPod today so I would have some new shit to listen to at work today. It sounds so goddawful I can't even stand to listen to it.
This is why I miss OiNK.
The Man has a branch office in each of our brains, his corporate emblem is a white albatross, each local rep has a cover known as the Ego, and their mission in this world is Bad Shit.
Downloaded an album last night from another bittorrent site (demonoid)... was supposed to be a high bitrate. Loaded it up on the iPod today so I would have some new shit to listen to at work today. It sounds so goddawful I can't even stand to listen to it.
This is why I miss OiNK.
Waffles is a good replacement. It's not OiNK, but it will do.
Comments
I fuckin' love the Mountain Goats. Never would have found them if not for OiNK.
:sniffle:
Fantastic.
P.S. I've given away many torrent invites here (don't wanna name any pig names), but if anybody has any of these libble invites, I'm down for one.
I invite you to the pants party...it's gonna be sooooo sweet...
"Now don't be dumb nyall, I bet we can find some AIDS in the forest"
Oink founder: We're just like Google
By Paul Stokes
Last Updated: 8:20am BST 25/10/2007
An IT consultant suspected of operating one of the world’s biggest pirate music websites from a Middlesbrough bedsit said he had done nothing wrong.
Alan Ellis, 24, was arrested on Tuesday as part of an Interpol-led operation to shut down a music file sharing website which has attracted around 180,000 members.
Mr Ellis set up the website, called Oink, three and a half years ago.
He was detained on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and copyright infringement and has been released on police bail for two months.
Computer equipment and documentation seized from his home, his place of work and his father’s home in Cheshire and are undergoing forensic examination.
But speaking after his arrest he claimed it was no more illegal than search engine sites such as Google which could also direct users to illegal music downloads.
Police and music industry investigators have suggested that hundreds of thousands of pounds a year could be made by the site.
Mr Ellis declined to comment on whether users had made financial “donations” to the site.
Mr Ellis was contracted to work as an IT consultant for Virgin Media’s contact centre in nearby Stockton-on-Tees, but was dismissed on the day of his arrest.
He told The Daily Telegraph: “I haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t believe my website breaks the law. They don’t understand how it works.
"The website is very different from how the police are making it out to be. There is no music sold on the site - I am doing nothing wrong.
"When I set up the site I didn’t think I was doing anything illegal and I still don’t. There are 180,000 users and there has been an outcry about what has happened to me.
"People who download music also buy CDs as well. A lot of people download music on the internet to get a taste of it and then later buy the CD.
"But I don’t sell music to people, I just direct them to it. If somebody wants to illegally download music they are going to do it whether my site is there or not.
"If this goes to court it is going to set a huge precedent. It will change the internet as we know it.
"As far as I am aware no-one in Britain has ever been taken to court for running a website like mine. My site is no different to something like Google.
"If Google directed someone to a site they can illegally download music they are doing the same as what I have been accused of. I am not making any Oink users break the law. People don’t pay to use the site.”
Oink, which used a cartoon of a pink pig as its logo, was one of the world’s biggest “peer-to-peer” music download sites, which have been targeted by music publishers and police because they allow users to swap music for free.
Anyone accessing it is met with the message: “This site has been closed as a result of a criminal investigation by IFPI, BPI, Cleveland Police and the Fiscal Investigation Unit of the Dutch Police into suspected illegal music distribution. A criminal investigation continues into the identities and activities of the site’s users.”
The website’s server, based in Amsterdam, was closed down by Dutch Police last week.
Among allegations being examined are that more than 60 major albums were leaked on an OINK site weeks before the CDs’ were officially released by record companies.
According to users, Oink had a daily throughput the equivalent of five million songs and registered members were able to download around 1,000 songs.
Detectives are thought to be analysing the databases for details of the invitation system and members’ downloads.
Users were offered the chance to buy a range of branded merchandise bearing a pink pig Logo and the slogan: “Music so good it could make your tail curl”.
A spokesman for Cleveland Police, responsible the Middlesbrough inquiries, said: “It is too early to tell if we will go after individuals, it all depends on what we find.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/25/ninternet125.xml
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Question:
If you were a musician and wanted to encourage file sharing, how would you propose you still get paid?
http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071024084326AAZBSgl
For Those About To Rock !
Art changes people. People change the world.
Oink gives no money to either the record label or the artist, the record label needs money in order for the artist to keep releasing professionally sounding music to mass markets.
In BharQ's statement he didn't mention buying albums but rather dropping money on shows, merch, etc. If he only funds that artist, but not the label, the label will still drop the artist if it is seen that the artist's album sales aren't recouping the amount of money that was put into releasing it.
being successful is developing a large dedicated fan base before your shelf -life expires in the limelight (which is usually about 5 years). Thats usually when you can depart from a record label and do whatever you feel like.
Do you work for a record company?
As I had said, I think what he was trying to say is, "if he didn't have oink, he wouldn't have found out about the artist" And thus, wouldn't buy the album.
Even if he is saying that he didn't buy the album. I am saying people do.
Music isn't suppose to be about making money. A lot of independent bands are able to make a living. Wouldn't you think that is enough?
Not everyone makes music to be a superstar.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
I concur that was fantastic
edit I also got on libble the other day through the kindness of a stranger (don't worry I fully intend to pay this shit forward once I score some invites) and when I started they only had abouit 5000 torrents, in the last three days they have increased that to over 6000, like this article implies and actully openly says, you can't stop it
Chris Cornell
http://www.myspace.com/mrwalkerb
I would love it if I was one who you payed it forward to
http://oink.cd/
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
very thorough, great read, thanks for posting that
all you former oink members... would you pay for a service like this? and how much?
08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
sorry you had to miss out on oink
08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
well I have a list of people from oink that I owe but in time I'll keep you in mind
Chris Cornell
http://www.myspace.com/mrwalkerb
I would definitely pay for a service like Oink, provided it maintained similar requirements (High quality non-DRM files with no limits other than maintaining your ratio). Basically I'm comfortable spending $50/month on physical CDs. If I was getting non-DRM high quality digital files I'd be perfectly comfortable putting the money there instead of CDs.
2003-05-30 - Vancouver, BC, General Motors Place
2005-09-04 - Calgary, AB, Pengrowth Saddledome
2005-09-05 - Edmonton, AB, Rexall Place
2009-08-08 - Calgary, AB, Canada Olympic Park
2009-09-21 - Seattle, WA, Key Arena
2009-09-22 - Seattle, WA, Key Arena
2011-09-23 - Edmonton, AB, Rexall Place
2013-11-30 - Spokane, WA, Spokane Arena
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
I just came across this elsewhere.
Between Trent Reznor and Radiohead I am really starting to get somewhat hopeful about the future of music.
A few more heavy weights like that and we might just have a fighting chance against the bastards.
I rarely listen to NIN anymore, but I follow everything he does these days, just because of stuff like this. He really, seriously GETS IT, more than just about anyone else I have heard or read.
You and your silly little club
08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
This is why I miss OiNK.
Waffles is a good replacement. It's not OiNK, but it will do.