Goljan Audio Legality

[Kinis]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

As an MS2 was hoping to start using some of the Goljan audio files on my commute to school/gym etc. and all I could find were some dodgy mp3 links and/or torrent files. Just wondering if there's a legit way of getting hold of them, or were these tapes literally just done by students recording his live lectures and then passed around?

 

[Ghost22]

these tapes literally just done by students recording his live lectures and then passed around?

This.

You'd think he'd have put out a legal set by now, but no such luck.

You can buy some of his books to make yourself feel better.

 

[peteB]

As an MS2 was hoping to start using some of the Goljan audio files on my commute to school/gym etc. and all I could find were some dodgy mp3 links and/or torrent files. Just wondering if there's a legit way of getting hold of them, or were these tapes literally just done by students recording his live lectures and then passed around?

Yes. Apparently he was really upset about it too.

 

[Kinis]

Ok thanks. Bit strange that such a recognised resource by med students is some illicit bootleg

 

[MedicalBeast]

i'd pay for it. i think most people who use it would be ok paying for it. its a great resource. why hasn't it ever been officially released?

 

[Law2Doc]

i'd pay for it. i think most people who use it would be ok paying for it. its a great resource. why hasn't it ever been officially released?

He was under contract to lecture for Kaplan and then Falcon, and since both companies want you to attend their courses, it would cannibalize their franchise to release such tapes for purchase. They'd rather there be no legitimate up to date resource out their aside from their very expensive courses.

 

[Pomeshnue]

Wow I hate it when copyright and selfish greed prevent me from being able to learn to my hearts content in a convenient and efficient way...grrr

 

[siliso]

This.

You'd think he'd have put out a legal set by now, but no such luck.

You can buy some of his books to make yourself feel better.

That. I would have been totally willing to pay him and his employer for a legit recording, but for some dumb reason it's not available. Seems like they could make bank on that.

 

[Reduviid]

Yes. Apparently he was really upset about it too.

He can't be that upset about it... they put him on the map. No one would know who he was if it weren't for his lectures.

 

[peteB]

He can't be that upset about it... they put him on the map. No one would know who he was if it weren't for his lectures.

I'd guess that he was upset because he wasn't making any money off of it.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'd guess that he was upset because he wasn't making any money off of it.

Absolutely. Instead of making eg $200 a head from 16,000 allo med students each year, he gets squat. And that's over a lot if years now, so we are talking many millions. If I was getting ripped off for so many millions I'd be pretty upset too. This is what copyright laws are designed to try to protect you against, and in theory anyone who pirates these tapes is on the hook for $50k and prison time, but unfortunately most med students are broke (and will be for quite a few years) and not really worth pursuing.

 

[Zedor]

Absolutely. Instead of making eg $200 a head from 16,000 allo med students each year, he gets squat. And that's over a lot if years now, so we are talking many millions. If I was getting ripped off for so many millions I'd be pretty upset too. This is what copyright laws are designed to try to protect you against, and in theory anyone who pirates these tapes is on the hook for $50k and prison time, but unfortunately most med students are broke (and will be for quite a few years) and not really worth pursuing.

They should investigate this, and prosecute everyone who has used the audio for step 1. 90% of junior attendings/residents can go to prison, and exacerbate the doctor shortage.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Absolutely. Instead of making eg $200 a head from 16,000 allo med students each year, he gets squat. And that's over a lot if years now, so we are talking many millions. If I was getting ripped off for so many millions I'd be pretty upset too. This is what copyright laws are designed to try to protect you against, and in theory anyone who pirates these tapes is on the hook for $50k and prison time, but unfortunately most med students are broke (and will be for quite a few years) and not really worth pursuing.

Yeah but I don't get why he didn't just break the contract with Kaplan and sell audio tapes himself. These were recorded a longgg time ago at this point so even if they had some type of non-compete clause I feel like it would have expired by now. Pretty sure most people would be willing to pay a couple hundred bucks to get high quality audio that you didn't have to wait days to torrent or download from random sites.

I also don't understand why Kaplan didn't just pay him to sell them standalone. Maybe they underestimated just how widespread the sharing would get but pretty sure they've lost millions of dollars now since almost nobody wanted to pay 4K to attend their stupid lectures just so they could hear Goljan.

 

[cbrons]

Yeah but I don't get why he didn't just break the contract with Kaplan and sell audio tapes himself. These were recorded a longgg time ago at this point so even if they had some type of non-compete clause I feel like it would have expired by now. Pretty sure most people would be willing to pay a couple hundred bucks to get high quality audio that you didn't have to wait days to torrent or download from random sites.

I also don't understand why Kaplan didn't just pay him to sell them standalone. Maybe they underestimated just how widespread the sharing would get but pretty sure they've lost millions of dollars now since almost nobody wanted to pay 4K to attend their stupid lectures just so they could hear Goljan.

Perhaps the test prep companies would not stand to make much after his royalties, cost of production, and what they estimated their loss would be from people buying the tapes in lieu of attending their classes.

He was probably not advised well, or he doesnt care about the money so much. He probably would have made much more selling the tapes independently. My guess is he probably didnt care as much about the money relative to whatever hassle it would have been to make them. There are people like that out there...

 

[red10]

You'd think Kaplan themselves would release them seeing how popular they are. Charge a ridiculous amount, make bank on the kids who dont have the time to come to sleep away step1 camp. Then just say "well if you want the most up to date info plus XYZ lecturers, come to sleep away camp" and continue to put med students further in debt that way.

 

[D elegans]

nm

 

[peteB]

You'd think Kaplan themselves would release them seeing how popular they are. Charge a ridiculous amount, make bank on the kids who dont have the time to come to sleep away step1 camp. Then just say "well if you want the most up to date info plus XYZ lecturers, come to sleep away camp" and continue to put med students further in debt that way.

I went to the "sleep away camp". It wasn't very helpful. A lot of the time they were lecturing on stuff I already knew, and when it came to the stuff I really had trouble with, there was no way to "rewind" and watch it again. I should have just studied completely on my own. It was a massive waste of money.

 

[Law2Doc]

You'd think Kaplan themselves would release them seeing how popular they are. Charge a ridiculous amount, make bank on the kids who dont have the time to come to sleep away step1 camp. Then just say "well if you want the most up to date info plus XYZ lecturers, come to sleep away camp" and continue to put med students further in debt that way.

If Kaplan released them, people would pirate them and nobody would attend the Kaplan centers/courses, which is where the money really comes from in their business plan. As to why Goljan didn't leave these companies and do it himself, we really aren't privy to how sweet a deal he got, or what kind of teeth his contract has. Also I'm sure it seemed like a good deal at the time. At any rate it seems he is locked up pretty tightly.

 

[LightHouse123]

IS this a legitimate Goljan Audio lectures for sale:

*link to pirated materials deleted by DrMom*

 

[Law2Doc]

No that's a site selling pirated materials and used books. SDN probably should delete th link, and the website and it's customers run a decent risk of being prosecuted.