Let me preface this by stating that I am not implying, nor ever would, that any of you pirate magic or look up magic tutorials on YouTube. I'm merely speaking out on the topic, one of which I'm very passionate.
Pirating is theft. There's no nicer way to say it, that's just the facts. If you go in search of a free download of a magician's instructional DVD or you scower YouTube for a tutorial of that new effect you saw, you're stealing from the artist. That artist often completely relies on the public purchasing his or her product. I'm not here to discuss the legal side of all of this, just the ethical side.
Five years ago I had my first commercial release, an ebook download called The Destiny Effect. I eventually discovered a magic exposure forum where members were openly sharing my ebook for free and discussing my method. I joined the forum just to ask them to remove it and, to my surprise, they actually did. But that whole incident bothered me. I didn't care about the fact that I 'lost some sales' because, the fact is, these people probably weren't going to buy my ebook anyway. I just felt it was a blatant disrespectful move against my work. They treated my method as something so disposable, or worthless.
I, however, am not making my living selling ebooks. What I AM doing right now is using that money to save for my post-secondary studies which are costing me more than I anticipated. But in terms of piracy, the biggest underlying issue for me comes from a standpoint of ethics. By downloading an album or movie for free, you are not supporting the artist you supposedly like, you are spitting in their face. On my iPod, every song and album has been purchased from the iTunes Store. I understand not everyone is in a financial position to be able to do that... which is where a typical counterargument comes in.
When debating the topic of piracy with magician friends, the inevitable argument they pose is: "So, you're saying because I don't have a lot of money that I can't learn magic?"
The fact is, there are PLENTY of ways to learn great magic on little to no money. Me personally, I'm on a really tight budget now that I'm attending theatre school and I truly do not have extra money to spend on magic. How do I get around this? Simple.
OPTION 1: THE LIBRARY
Public libraries always have at least a few magic books. Yes, some of them are beginner's books, but I even recommend going through those... you'll often find a hidden gem or two. Additionally, there have been a few times exploring a library where I have found magic books you typically wouldn't find available to the public. But they're there, just waiting for you to find them.
OPTION 2: CREATE YOUR OWN MAGIC
Creative mileage may vary, but it's a simple matter of sitting down with a deck of cards and working out your own methods and your own effects. Not only will you be able to do magic for free, but you could be doing stuff that no one else is doing.
OPTION 3: FREE MAGIC ONLINE
This stuff is literally everywhere. Many magicians release free videos, ebooks, and downloads of their magic, and it's 100% free and guilt-free to learn. Just look at Theory11's 'The Wire' and the amount of free downloads that are already available to you there.
OPTION 4: CONTESTS
These are also everywhere, and this is probably my favourite, and most-used, option. This way, you can not only get the latest and greatest magic, but even have fun trying to win it. This is no exaggeration: In the past year, I have won over $2000 worth of free magic. No kidding. Thing is, these contests are everywhere you look and you'd be surprised at how often you win. It's either the odds of winning are better than they seem, or I'm just ridiculously lucky. In any event, you can potentially win prizes worth hundreds of dollars for doing something as simple as answering a question or making a short YouTube video. So simple, and so awesome. Enter EVERY CONTEST YOU SEE, even if you don't think you have a chance of winning. I tell you, it's really paid off for me.
OPTION 5: PUBLIC DOMAIN MATERIAL
There is SO much magic out there in what is considered 'the public domain', meaning the material can be legally distributed for free. A prime example of this is perhaps the bible of card technique, The Expert at the Card Table by SW Erdnase. You can go download a copy for FREE right now and it's totally legal. That's just the tip of the iceberg, though. There are TONS of publications that are free to enjoy and learn from. Look up The Learned Pig Project for a large collection of such material.
There you have it. Four perfectly legitimate reasons why magic piracy is totally unnecessary. The only excuse someone has for pirating magic is laziness, and that's no way for a performer to be. Work hard, and keep your eyes peeled. There's magic everywhere just waiting for you to discover it, and you don't even have to open your wallet.
Pirating is theft. There's no nicer way to say it, that's just the facts. If you go in search of a free download of a magician's instructional DVD or you scower YouTube for a tutorial of that new effect you saw, you're stealing from the artist. That artist often completely relies on the public purchasing his or her product. I'm not here to discuss the legal side of all of this, just the ethical side.
Five years ago I had my first commercial release, an ebook download called The Destiny Effect. I eventually discovered a magic exposure forum where members were openly sharing my ebook for free and discussing my method. I joined the forum just to ask them to remove it and, to my surprise, they actually did. But that whole incident bothered me. I didn't care about the fact that I 'lost some sales' because, the fact is, these people probably weren't going to buy my ebook anyway. I just felt it was a blatant disrespectful move against my work. They treated my method as something so disposable, or worthless.
I, however, am not making my living selling ebooks. What I AM doing right now is using that money to save for my post-secondary studies which are costing me more than I anticipated. But in terms of piracy, the biggest underlying issue for me comes from a standpoint of ethics. By downloading an album or movie for free, you are not supporting the artist you supposedly like, you are spitting in their face. On my iPod, every song and album has been purchased from the iTunes Store. I understand not everyone is in a financial position to be able to do that... which is where a typical counterargument comes in.
When debating the topic of piracy with magician friends, the inevitable argument they pose is: "So, you're saying because I don't have a lot of money that I can't learn magic?"
The fact is, there are PLENTY of ways to learn great magic on little to no money. Me personally, I'm on a really tight budget now that I'm attending theatre school and I truly do not have extra money to spend on magic. How do I get around this? Simple.
OPTION 1: THE LIBRARY
Public libraries always have at least a few magic books. Yes, some of them are beginner's books, but I even recommend going through those... you'll often find a hidden gem or two. Additionally, there have been a few times exploring a library where I have found magic books you typically wouldn't find available to the public. But they're there, just waiting for you to find them.
OPTION 2: CREATE YOUR OWN MAGIC
Creative mileage may vary, but it's a simple matter of sitting down with a deck of cards and working out your own methods and your own effects. Not only will you be able to do magic for free, but you could be doing stuff that no one else is doing.
OPTION 3: FREE MAGIC ONLINE
This stuff is literally everywhere. Many magicians release free videos, ebooks, and downloads of their magic, and it's 100% free and guilt-free to learn. Just look at Theory11's 'The Wire' and the amount of free downloads that are already available to you there.
OPTION 4: CONTESTS
These are also everywhere, and this is probably my favourite, and most-used, option. This way, you can not only get the latest and greatest magic, but even have fun trying to win it. This is no exaggeration: In the past year, I have won over $2000 worth of free magic. No kidding. Thing is, these contests are everywhere you look and you'd be surprised at how often you win. It's either the odds of winning are better than they seem, or I'm just ridiculously lucky. In any event, you can potentially win prizes worth hundreds of dollars for doing something as simple as answering a question or making a short YouTube video. So simple, and so awesome. Enter EVERY CONTEST YOU SEE, even if you don't think you have a chance of winning. I tell you, it's really paid off for me.
OPTION 5: PUBLIC DOMAIN MATERIAL
There is SO much magic out there in what is considered 'the public domain', meaning the material can be legally distributed for free. A prime example of this is perhaps the bible of card technique, The Expert at the Card Table by SW Erdnase. You can go download a copy for FREE right now and it's totally legal. That's just the tip of the iceberg, though. There are TONS of publications that are free to enjoy and learn from. Look up The Learned Pig Project for a large collection of such material.
There you have it. Four perfectly legitimate reasons why magic piracy is totally unnecessary. The only excuse someone has for pirating magic is laziness, and that's no way for a performer to be. Work hard, and keep your eyes peeled. There's magic everywhere just waiting for you to discover it, and you don't even have to open your wallet.
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