Music Industry Sends Warning to Song Swappers

No offense to you personally, but that is the last time I can actually stand to read some blockhead telling me that musicians are going to have to give away their music for free and make their living selling coffee mugs because their music is not subject to copyright law and even if it is, you'll steal it anyway.

None taken. I just think the RIAA's stance is a bit obsolete. It is sort of like when automobiles first came out, the people involved in the horse and carriage industry along with the railroads took much the same ideas the RIAA is doing now instead of changing with the times. There were dumb laws back then like you had to have a guy walk in front of you with a red flag, when you approached an intersection, you have to get out of your car and fire off a flare or a firearm, and so on. The RIAA isn't changing with the times.

Yeah, I know it is easier to get free music off of Kazaa, Morpheus, formerly Napster, but the genie is out of the bottle and the RIAA and the record companies need to change their ways and come up with something that can cope with the times. Some say downloading music is wrong some do not, I tend to lean towards the latter if you use it for personal pleasure and not for profit.

I think even the copyright laws need some sort of changing maybe, we still have a 19th Century system where it applies to tangible products like books, records, film, tapes, etc, something that you can hold in your hand. MP3's and the like are basically data streams, beamed out in copper wires, fiber optic system, and the ether to all points of the globe. We are on a new frontier here. I know in my father's day, he dubbed reel-to-reel and 8-Tracks, we did cassettes, but even that required some work, today downloading is pretty simple. The genie is out of the bottle, no way you're going to get her back into the bottle, so the RIAA and the record companies have to accept the fact and find some other ways to generate profits. Again with my example on cars, the buggy whip makers' days are numbered if not gone completly so they have to shift gears with the times.

Maybe they can take ideas from the book industry and offer a few free downloads along with most other downloads being offered for a nominal fee.

Well, someone would figure that out. This software is used by thousands of people. I certainly wouldn't use a fresh release myself.

I did a lot of research before I downloaded Kazaa lite.

Also I have a firewall on my router as well.

Truly, there is no way to stop this outside of shutting down the Internet.

(I don't think we're past the point of no return on that front - for so many economic and political reasons I don't think it's outside the realm of posibility that the internet were to be shut down for "national security" interest along with the rise of a totalitarian regime - *puts on tinfoil hat* - but I digress...)

Yes, it's possible for them to release malicious software...but that could only do so much damage before it was widely known.

The concept of intellectual property protected by force of law has been tenuous since it's inception but with global networks it's outright absurd.

New economic models will have to be developed if the "music industry" is to survive. And even if the music industry does not survive, no big loss IMO.

Then maybye our minstrels will be put in their place and can concentrate on working for a living and otherwise shut their yaps on politics.

Yes, it's possible for them to release malicious software...but that could only do so much damage before it was widely known.

It wouldn't be widely known unless it was something like ILOVEU, Morris' worm, or something similar--i.e., very gross effects.

Something subtle...the first you knew about it would be when your place got raided by the Secret Service because of that email (yeah, sure, you close Port 25 outbound on your router, right?) you sent threatening the President.

And, of course, you'd have to PROVE that the malware did it--or that it even exists.

I like the latter part of your post !

In the early days of broadcasting every station had its "house band" , singers, etc.

The advent of network CONTROLLED by big business has meant that a few of the minstrels with the best connections become super-rich and the rest starve . I think we might have been better with thousands of artists being paid skilled workman's wages for their performances.

What doesn't make sense is for me to pay money to record companies for the privilege of using blank CD's for an unrelated purpose.

For instance, my husband has recorded dozens of tapes of his own original music. The RIAA has *forced* him to pay *them* a fee to record his own music??? :-P

If the RIAA wants to make money off ALL blank media sold, they need to open the floodgates for ALL artists.

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