Feds to audiophiles: You're all pirates now

At what level of audio bandwidth would this not be an issue? If the files sounded like old 78s on a amplifierless Victrola would that be allowed free of copyright? If this were popular with a portion of the population they would regulate that too simply because the industry is revenue driven and if there is a well of cash to be found, well by golly, they own that too, right?

That's why artists like Radiohead are trying something different and daring, because they can step outside the box. And you know what? A sizeable portion of those fans will buy the CD and or vinyl releases when they come out.

The sad reality is that our Orwellian society and administration has fostered an impression, no, drilled, fear into us and ignored the fact that some level of free sharing actually promotes business.

They worried about 1/4 inch tape, that didn't wreck the industry. They worried about cassette, that didn't wreck the industry. They worried about DAT, that didn't wreck the industry, they worry about mp3. CD sales down? The quality of the music on many releases these days sucks.

The industry is too full of itself to take a hard look at product quality. The real artists out there are ignored. We all know this, and many of us here on the 'gon have the means to bypass the crap and get the good stuff because we can afford it.

If only the industry cared about the quality of the music it produces, the customer base wouldn't have to be scarmbling for diamonds in the rough. And as we all know there is a lot of roughage out there these days. I don't blame young people who want good music cheaply. Hell when I was young and poor I did too.

This fear thing is going to destroy us if we let it. It is pervasive and ugly and I am going to make sure my votes go to those legislators who are fearless and act rationally and not like scared little brats.

Well, at least I can dream...

I agree with Dcstep. mp3 is not an audiophile medium

hey, even the "PRESIDENT" has a criminal record, as do many members of the congress and senate...

my favorite quote, from edward abbey: "the more corrupt a society, the more numerous its laws"...

let 'em try to enforce this one! it's just another in the long line of chump-change laws and rules that we can't possibly obey, therefore we ARE all criminals in one respect or another! remember freedom?

With the music industry, as well as in any industry, there are market forces and external forces such as the law. In this case, it looks like record executives are lobbying for more help from the external forces because they haven't figured out how to make money off of the market that is forming with the growing filesharing community.

I don't have numbers to back me up on this, but I think people are listening to music a lot more now that it's so accessible. You can carry music on an iPod, a PDA, cellphones, certain kinds of sunglasses, basically anywhere you can fit some solid-state memory. Rather than listening to the dull roar of a subway, people are filling their ears with music. CD sales may be down, but Music as a force is way up. And instead of tapping into that force to make money, the labels are trying to shape the law to herd all the cats back into the "hard copy" market where they feel they can make money.

And yes, it IS the music execs and a sparse population of artists that are shaping the laws, because if congressmen and congresswomen ran on the platform of limiting MP3 sharing, how many votes do you think that would garner...besides Mikelavigne's...(just kidding, Mike!)

iTunes has figured out how to sell music online, make money, and make money for the artists, and they even offer some DRM-free content as well. Another site, eMusic, goes a step further and sells all of their music DRM-free in MP3 format. They add value to their proposition by offering good reviews and recommendations for their users. The business model is there and it's maturing, and if the content can be made available legally with value added to it by the particular business model of the provider, then finally music businesses would want to create as many "file users" as possible.

These laws are designed to scare people into doing business as the music execs see most fit, which limits our options as consumers. Illegal file sharing will continue until the distributors shape up a system which better fits the needs of the consumer. The music execs have engaged in a battle with the very people who keep them in business, the consumers of music, even at a time when that number of people is growing.

If you want to support artists then download files, test out all sorts of new music, and go to their concerts as often as you can. If the concert is good, buy a t-shirt and a bumper sticker. Believe me, the band makes a hell of a lot better profit margin from their ticket and merchandise sales than from their CD sales.

-Dusty