[wizzler]

The actual creators of the music have been beefing for years about how tiny their cut of the CD price is after the gross has been filtered through the kidneys of innumerable Hollywood middlemen. They have found that the only creative thing in Tinseltown is the accounting. They're going to be first to support any online sales scheme that gives them a larger percentage of a lower price. Look at the runaway success of Apple Music Store, which is just the first attempt at such a scheme.

I think that's absolutely wonderful. Makes you proud to be an American, yes? A place where individuals are enterprising, and where individuals are free to take a risk at making money with their talents and ingenuity. It's a beautiful thing.

What's not beautiful are people who voluntarily sign contracts and then "beef for years" about the terms of the contracts they signed. That's the yucky old victim mentality that we conservatives are supposed to be decrying all the time, 'member?

It's all pretty simple: If you don't like what's being offered, don't sign the contract. Additionally, if you later believe the terms of your contract have been violated, well, there's a reason they invented civil court.

[BlazingArizona]

It's all pretty simple: If you don't like what's being offered, don't sign the contract. Additionally, if you later believe the terms of your contract have been violated, well, there's a reason they invented civil court.

The problem was that under the old Hollywood-managed system of music distribution, artists had no choice. The new Internet-based technology offers a way for artists to cut out the middlemen, which is the real reason Hollywood wants to snuff it out.

Use of file-trading systems for outright piracy involves going to a lot of trouble. Real ordinary listeners would rather pay $5 for an online album than run the risk of spyware and trashed files from file-trading networks.