Feelings on Napster?

There is a disturbingly growing proportion of society willing to openly disregard the boundaries that define what is "yours" and what is "mine". Claims such as "Electronically pirated music is here to stay..." are unfortunately indicative of that attitude. This trend is driving the music industry, and others, to actions that will be inflicted upon us all. Don't be deluded into believing the music industry is making hollow threats. All we've heard so far is the rattling of swords. Wait until they really get moving. They will wield all their considerable clout if that's what it takes to protect their best interests. The suit against Napster is just the first volley; look forward to additional filings regardless of the outcome of this case. Prepare for widespread watermarking and who knows what else because it's only a matter of time. Their lip service aside, the music industry won't care if copy protection is audible on higher-end systems. If watermarking has a negative effect on what they consider to be a small audience, so be it. Better to lose a little than risk it all, right? They're already using their lobbying power to push for statutes that further restrict users' rights while bolstering their own. Care to guess who will ultimately pay for these laws, lawsuits and "advancements" in the end? Kind of ironic, isn't it? Don't despair, though. With any luck someone will introduce a special box to filter the watermark from the sound signal. The appropriate technology will, of course, have to be licensed from the music industry, so it won't come cheap. Just think. With higher resolution systems we will get to pay for it twice. Once with the music and again with the hardware. Oh, joy to us all! But enough ranting for now. Here's a hearty salute to all the innocent little pirates making this wonderful step forward in technology possible. Oh, sorry. Meant to wave with all five fingers, not just the one...

Perhaps I was ambiguous. I do think that piracy is wrong, I just think that it's sometimes tricky to define piracy. Most of that difficulty stems from the fact that 'mine' and 'yours' are not always clearly defined. Possession is a social construct, not an inherent concept, so it is not surprising to see that definitions become muddied every once and a while. The industry will protect its margins, and watermarking (not that I like it) is exactly the kind of strategy that I was reffering to. By the by, piracy is illegal, but so is price fixing. Why is it that after 20 years, we're still all paying for R&D costs to develop the CD format? Why does every single (mainstream) music company charge about the same amount for CD's? And why do CD's cost more than tapes (which are more expensive to make)? Not that any of this justifies stealing. For the record, the only mp3's I've ever downloaded are from live shows which are not available for purchase by a band whose entire back catalog I own. Even with these I feel a slight ethical twinge.

To answer Robba's questions: These things happen and continue to occur because consumers do not have as much political clout as the special interests (I know; campaign finance reform is a different discussion group). I don't like it, but do recognize how the system works. One can rage against the machine, something I've always been prone to, but with age has come the understanding of how to do it more successfully and at less of a personal cost (i.e., anxiety, frustration, etc.). Civil disobedience has its costs. Is getting free music worth the price being paid, especially considering the alternatives and consequences? For now I consider the music companies a necessary evil. Without them the quality and variety of products would be diminished. Online distribution does have potential to increase variety, but unless there is a way to generate sufficient revenues it will be damaging to the overall quality of what is available. It's simply not a cheap endeavor to produce an excellent recording.

Fpeel - you've recognized that the system allows for record companies to avoid fair market pricing and you act according to that recognition. All I suggested in my original post was that record companies recognize that the system will allow for electronic piracy and act accordingly. I personally think that excessive litigation is akin to the machine raging against us, with similar frusterating and trivial effects (for them). It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. I admit that it takes a lot of money to record a quality pressing, but to paraphrase a poster in another thread, I'd rather listen to a horrible reproduction of great music than a great reproduction of horrible music. I guess I'm more of a music lover than an audiophile.

Me: I'm greedy and want great recorded music. Poor recordings hurt my ears and if the music isn't any good it won't get played. No, I want it all. We agree about "the machine raging against us" and that how all this shakes out will be interesting. The industry did recently get its collective hand slapped for price fixing, but it appears that's all it was. Now the table is turned and let's see if that works the other way or not. Thanks for the exchange.