The American Spectator

br> — John McGinnis br> Arlington, Texas /p>

Ever since the personal computer age and digital revolution began back in the early eighties the big players in the Movie/TV/Music industry have been working overtime to return the industry to the point where it was back in 1960s or absolute control over the distribution and “use” of recorded information. I’ve been in the computer business 35 years and anything that is worth anything to any measurable market segment has moved from single use/play formats such as records to digital form. I have a whole record collection I can’t replace with industry produced CD’s because the record industry does not produce copies of my 1960-1980s products. I can and will convert them over to CD and eventually MP3 for the same reason. Record players are gone (mostly); CD players will follow and everything will end up on some kind of memory device ultimately. That’s the way the market works and the market place is what organizations like RIAA can’t stand or tolerate. There will always be “stealing” of digital material but there are market ways to mitigate the level that exists for commercial gain.

The latest attack has been tried before and shot down in courts of law repeatedly for the reason sited in your article. End users have a right to protect their investment just as the producer of the material does. As long as an end user does not receive material benefit from the copies the RIAA has no ground to stand on. The industry said the same kinds of nonsense when 8 track and eventually cassette tapes came along too. The idea that they have a right to control the use of the product to such an extent (beyond material gain) belongs in a bygone era in places where everyday life was considered a nightmare. They are barking up the wrong tree and this tree will respond precisely as one would expect when someone tries to use the law to swindle them. When the RIAA replaces my original bought record, tape, CD collections at no charge to keep me current with the market place and protect my investments in said products they will get my respect and perhaps my agreement to pay a nominal fee to have my investment on multiple media (going back over 30 years). I won’t hold my breath and I would advise that no one hold their breath either. The RIAA is just another money hungry corporation that can’t figure out how to work with the market instead of against it 24/7. I’m still paying the same or higher price for CDs (relative to inflation) as when they came out and CD players were hand-made and cost $1500 then. CD players cost what today? Blank CDs cost what today compared to 10 years ago? The market notes the monopolistic practices of organizations like RIAA over the years, the millions it pays successful recording artist while claiming it is starving to death.

p>A little price elasticity in the marketplace for digital material might go a long ways towards a gesture of good will on RIAA et al’s part, but that’s not likely to happen here. They want to control and be paid for each copy of the material simply even though they make no investment in making the copy or moving it to the latest technology media. If I convert all my records to CD (and have no record player any more) they see that as stealing. The vast majority of people and any that have put faith in digital material and lost it (such as on a hard drive) will see the producer of the material as the thief in such cases. Same story for records to tape, CD to MP3, etc. The market moves forward; Organizations like RIAA are stuck in the past and seem destined to remain there. If any Court is fool enough to open this Pandora’s Box, there is no end in sight as to the damage to the marketplace with regard to digital recorded material. Brave New World is trivial by comparison to what will be required to provide the “control” RIAA like organizations seek. If coping a CD to my computer hard drive or any other electronic storage device is a crime, as RIAA contends there aren’t enough jails or lawyers to hold all the present criminals and most aren’t found on college campuses these days. br> — Thom Bateman br> Newport News, Virginia /p>

The recording industry and the RIAA need to face one simple fact: they’ve been rendered technologically obsolete. For recording artists and the industry that either (a) supports them or (b) leeches off them (take your pick), it’s adapt or die.

p>However…I’d like to think, under the current copyright rules, that I could, say, take my copies of The American Spectator and resell them if I choose, or clip or copy individual articles and file them for my own reading convenience. I don’t know how you’d feel about it, though.