Music Industry vs. File Sharing A Rant by Jesse Smith http://slicer69.tripod.com/ I have been keeping half an eye on the on-going fight between the American music industry and the music file sharers of the world. Until recently, I've sat back and avoided making any comment for or against either side. However, I feel it's time I made a few observations and a couple of comments. The text below states some controversial and harsh opinions. If this is likely to offend you, then please stop reading. Go put on some tunes and wait for the dust to settle. Should this rant anger you, please remember that I put my e-mail address on this text so that I may receive positive feedback or constructive criticism. I'm not interested in any flame mail, thank you. So here is my two cents. That's all it'll cost you, two cents. Not twenty-four dollars, not even a buck a paragraph. Just two cents. I feel that this is a fair price for my thoughts. Okay, so you haven't heard all of my thoughts. Just one or two that I've made public, so I don't expect you to want to buy this one too... I'm sure you see where I'm headed here. Music CDs are highly over priced. This seems to be proven by the recent announcement made by Universal that they will drop their new release prices by about a third. Now, if they can crop off 33% of their price and still make a profit, why were they charging so much before? Okay, sure I realize that putting out a full length CD is hard work. It takes time, resources and talent. But how much do they expect to be paid for this talent, time and effort? More than the average person. Often more than a good doctor. Now, I like music as much as the next fellow, but let's not get carried away. The ignorance of the music industry really amazes me some days. One Representative was quoted recently, saying that the music business is one of the first to be pulled down so since the industrial revolution. Also, that the record business has lost over 10% of its sales in the last two years. How f*cking dumb do they think we are? First of all, dozens of businesses and sales practises have gone under in the last hundred years. It's an evolutionary process. The old, the weak and the slow die off. The strong, the efficient and adaptors replace them. The music industry has been around for a while now and it's getting big, old and slow. They are far behind the times in technology, in pricing and in general business practise. Secondly, how many businesses have NOT seen a loss in 10% sales in the last two years? The IT sector, certainly air travel, even food providers have been hit hard. Repeat after me: "We are in a recession. The economy is bad." I hate to break it to you all, but music is a luxury. Luxury. We need food, water and shelter to survive, not CDs. Of course, people still want to listen to music. So what happens when they can no longer afford it (due to rising costs and lower wage)? They steal or go without. Now, along comes a technology that allows them to steal without physically taking anything. It appeals, alright. Downloading music is faster, more convenient and much cheaper than going to a store to purchase it. I had thought that the industry might be catching on to this with the announcements from imusic.com and buy-music.com. These are supposed to be legal ways of downloading music tracks for just a dollar a piece. Even after converting to US dollars and adding tax, it's still a lot cheaper than getting the CD. So, I turned on my new computer and went over to imusic.com. Sorry, only for Mac computers. Okay, then. Off to buy-music.com. Sorry, Windows computers running IE 5 only. Excuse me? No way to try to buy the music anyway? No. No way to contact the web master to make a comment? Nope. So the only way to buy music on-line this way is to use a second rate operating system running a third rate web browser? Not exactly dealing with standards, are we? Perhaps at some point, a new site will spring up that will allow people using any computer running any modern browser to buy their products. Until then, it's the store or the illegal file sharing. And yes, it is illegal file sharing. It IS a violation of copyright, intellectual property and such. No, nothing is physically taken, but the money lost in CD sales is real. That money buys food, clothes and inspiration for the people who create these sounds we love so much. Downloading a song is similar to picking an artist's pocket and hardly fair. I can see how it isn't so bad in some cases. I mean, I see nothing wrong with downloading music you've already bought in another format, or music that you can't find in the local record store. Hey, if you can't buy it, then no one will feel the loss when it's stolen. I have zero sympathy for the people whom the RIAA is suing for copyright infringement. None. Why? Because they were warned. They stole, they shared and they were told to knock it off. Did they listen? No. This is what Bill Cosby would call "Brain Damage". Excuse me, but if some multi-million dollar corporation told me to stop shop lifting from them or suffer the consequences then I'd probably freakin' do it. If not out of respect for them, then for the artists or for fear of their lawyers. Sharing a thousand plus pirated songs over an insecure network after being told to stop is amazingly stupid. I don't care if one of the so-called "victims" of the RIAA was a twelve year old. If her mother is so unaware of what her child is doing IN HER OWN HOME what they heck is she doing elsewhere? That's not responsible parenting, in my opinion. Hell, she could have been selling nude images of herself to strangers and no one would have known the difference. I get a kick out of people claiming that their privacy has been violated. That the music industry is taking away their freedom to do what they wish in their own homes. Well, guess what? If you were printing money, selling coke or taking part in other illegal activities in your home, then you wouldn't be so surprised to see police at your door. Then get used to the idea that a crime committed with a computer is still a crime. It occurs to me that there has been a lot of foolishness and stupidity on both sides of this battle. As a result, I find it hard to believe that either will win. You can't stop file sharing. There are too many people spread out over too many places. The best you can do is win them over. The industry certainly isn't doing that, yet. It's funny how in most industries when sales are down, the prices are cut to entice more people to buy. However, until recently, the music industry was doing the opposite. Universal has finally got the hint and is lowering prices to try to win people over. I believe that music purchasing should be fair, not free. That's fair as in the artist is paid, the producers are paid, the stores are paid. Not outrageous amounts, mind you, but enough to keep them going. On the other hand, let's recognize that these people are providing a valid service and should be paid accordingly. Until prices drop or valid on-line outlets are available I intend to avoid downloading, but I also have no plans to purchase a twenty (plus) dollar CD either.