Not to defend the record companies, whose treatment of artists is generally indefensible, but no one's forcing you to buy anything. If the price is too high, or you don't like the usage restrictions, walk away.
Just remember that it's a free(-market) country, and the producers are free to do whatever they want, just like the consumers. If the record companies can make more money selling copy-protected disks, that's what they will do. And if the artists can make more money releasing their own disks rather than signing with a record company, they'll do that, too. (Most of them don't, you may have noticed, which suggests that an unfairly small piece of a big pie is still better than a bigger piece of a small pie. But the economics of that could change with time.)
Contrary to the title of this thread, I wouldn't assume that the companies are making a mistake here. I presume they know their market better than you do. (You just might not be part of it!)
That's the way capitalism works. And anyone who can afford a high-end audio system has no standing to complain about the iniquities of capitalism.
Just remember that it's a free(-market) country, and the producers are free to do whatever they want, just like the consumers. If the record companies can make more money selling copy-protected disks, that's what they will do. And if the artists can make more money releasing their own disks rather than signing with a record company, they'll do that, too. (Most of them don't, you may have noticed, which suggests that an unfairly small piece of a big pie is still better than a bigger piece of a small pie. But the economics of that could change with time.)
Contrary to the title of this thread, I wouldn't assume that the companies are making a mistake here. I presume they know their market better than you do. (You just might not be part of it!)
That's the way capitalism works. And anyone who can afford a high-end audio system has no standing to complain about the iniquities of capitalism.