Posted on 01/22/2003 4:28:44 PM PST by mhking
Edited on 04/29/2004 2:01:58 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
NEW YORK (AP) -- Hilary Rosen, the U.S. recording industry's head lobbyist who waged a high-profile battle against Napster and music piracy, is resigning at the end of the year.
In a statement, Rosen cited personal reasons for leaving the Recording Industry Association of America, where she has served as chief executive since 1998.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Maybe. But the garbage and dreck they routinely put out could also be a contributing factor. A typical CD these days has one, maybe two tracks that are worth listening to. The rest of it is trash. So I'm paying 20 bucks for one or two songs.
I can see the music industry's point about copyright protection, but it sure would be nice if THEY would see the customers' point about the shoddy product and treatment that we're being asked to pay for.
Copyright laws have for years allowed people to trade music with each other for personal use.
The modern file swapping systems (WinMx, Morpheus, Gnutella, etc.), unlike Napster, are simply a method of trading music over a modem instead of on a cassette.
I also find it ironic that so many left wing musicians, dead set on capitalism in any other industry, suddenly start screaming about property rights when it's their pocket book.
So don't pay for it.
The fact that a company produces crap or does not conduct their business in a way you agree with does not give anyone else license to steal said crap.
"File sharers" seem to have much the same attitude about recorded music that those jackbooted thugs in Venezuela had when they "nationalized" that Coca Cola plant and made off with their stock. The head thug even appeared on TV, laughing, chugging a Coke he had just stolen. In more clear-headed days, such acts were called "socialism."
Your probably thinking of Patricia Ireland, head of the NOW cows.
The two are easily confused.
Yes, once or twice (and I mean once or twice, and it was off an 8-track tape). I'm at the far end of a p***y little dialup with old copper at home, so I don't do much downloading of any kind.
How is file sharing any different?
Its a specious argument and a myth of equivalency to compare somebody who once didn't diligently track down the owner of a dollar bill blowing down the street with Willie Sutton.
I stole a Snickers bar from the corner store when I was 7 (and got my ass beat six ways from Sunday by my father when he found out), but that doesn't make it OK to go around hijacking Snickers trucks just because I know how to jimmy the ignition.
An anonymous wag once said that "Computers allow us to make the same mistakes VERY VERY fast."
Actually, I don't - I just can't make myself pay that price. But I'm not a file swapper either. The garbage being put out by the major recording labels is one of my favorite old rant subjects, and I just couldn't resist. :)
I guess my problem is the heavy-handed way these labels treat their customers, and their refusal to even consider that their business practices are in any way responsible for their declining sales. What's to stop them from making their songs available for download on a pay-as-you-go basis? Personally, I would be more than happy to pay a fair price for the music I want, without having to pay for a lot of junk I can't stand.
But they don't do that. Instead they treat all their customers like a bunch of criminals and fools and take ham-handed, Luddite stands that alienate their customer base and encourage yet more piracy. And then they go crying to their pet Rat legislators to pass more laws that do nothing but stifle technological innovation in order to prop up a business model that's rapidly being left in the dust.
My solution to this problem has been to cultivate a taste for music that's put out by smaller, more independent labels, who by and large have not forgotten how to treat their customers. As for the big labels - until they can convince me that I should be one of their customers, I'll just do without their product.
Touché...
Up until a few years ago, I just "put up with it." But then again, I've always had more money than sense.
... they treat all their customers like a bunch of criminals and fools and take ham-handed, Luddite stands that alienate their customer base and encourage yet more piracy. And then they go crying to their pet Rat legislators to pass more laws that do nothing but stifle technological innovation in order to prop up a business model that's rapidly being left in the dust.
I agree with every single word you typed. I hate the current paradigm and try to get around it any legal way I can by buying used CDs (the lady in the used CD section at Half Price Books knows me by name now), going to live shows, or even just doing without hearing a favorite song if every other track on the CD is complete used food. The record companies and RIAA are not the greatest businesspeople in the world and frankly suck pretty hard at what they do. But its not a crime to suck at business, nor does it give me a license to steal.
I'm not a file swapper either (I'm more concerned with the whole idea of some stranger having access to my computer via some third party software). I agree with you that the music industry needs to come to terms with the lack of quality product that they have been putting out lately. I can't remember the last time I actually purchased a CD.
I'm a big proponent of e-commerce and having the ability to download music via a secure, pay as you go web site is certainly more attractive than driving to a local mall to go to a noisy music store. If the industry would adopt this form of distribution at a reasonable pay rate (rather than trying to strangle the technology), they would probably see their profits return.
But I thought she played for the wrong team. Are we talking turkey baster time here or what?
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