A writer has no more claim to downstream income than a set designer or a caterer, they are all just components in a complex business process that involves many people in many roles, from Janitor to Financier...

Maybe its time to get even! Purchase no more cds for the next six months! Download everything you want! they made us pay for this bullshit. lets pay them back!

Everyone that shares a song the RECIPIENT has not paid for is indeed ripping off the artist.

You can play semantics all you want, but if you are listening to music you did not pay for you are stealing from another artist, most likely a fellow Liberal.

What I find so interesting is here you are , all you Intellectual Elites Saints that are always acting all so uppity, are trying to rationalize your crimes of stealing from the artists, by saying it is OK because you are stealing from the evil record companies.

Liberals practice SITUATIONAL ETHICS and RELATIVE MORALISM. If a Liberal breaks the law it is OK. It is just the non-Liberals that are evil thieves.

Thanks for demonstrating it so blatantly. Mirrors can teach a lot if you are honest enough to really see the reflection.

Jeez! Does that mean, starting with Microsoft and Apple, I'll have to uninstall all my CD burning and ripping equipment?

Could the above mentioned actually be accused of providing the means to aide and abet a henious crime?

Can I still copy CD to CD is that still legal?

If my CD is damaged will the Recording Company provide me with a free replacment?

I stopped buying CDs when this when the RIAA started this crap of attacking the little people for downloading and sharing.

I do buy from iTunes and RealPlayer occasionally.

BUT I had already bought just about all the music I had wanted on CD before this started so they can go fuck themselves.

Besides. I downloaded ALL of my CDs onto my computer and made copies onto CDs of the songs I really like so I can listen to them while I am driving because of the crap on radio today.

FULL CONFESSION RIAA.

Now come and get me.


Assholes.

RIAA = GREED

I find it difficult to believe an industry that ten years ago was raking in BILLIONS yearly hasn't figured this whole mess out. Ponderous. Their only reaction is lawyers and suing college students? Here's an idea. Hire some computer geeks to figure how to limit the amount of digital transfers once a CD has been ripped to a computer. Personally I think the music of today isn't all that hot. Could it be maybe musical innovation is stagnant? There used to be several groups in every genre that were successful. But now? Not so much. There's a combination of factors involved here, and illegal downloading is but one of them. Adapt or die.

To all the members of the Huffington Post community:

Have a safe and happy New Year!


http://verybestwebsites.blogspot.com/

The record companies blew it when the problem started and lost all control. The number of lawsuits they file compared to the actual number is such a drop in the bucket that it won't make a difference.

The heads of the companies should be fired and run out of town for their inability to get on top of the technology change and guide their business properly.

Really?

Then I'll have to do the right thing. In order to stay within the boundries of the law, I will forever refrain from buying another music CD.

To hell with the RIAA!!!!
They wonder why the music business is dying--all they have to do is to look in the mirror!!!
These people are something else--if they really cared about the interests of the musicians then maybe I would accept their arguments on such things--but the recording companies have almost always consistently screwed the "artists" who provide their content---
To hell with these evil bastards!!!

if that single purchased song gets PASSED around.

The music industry is between a rock and a hard place. A single download onto a computer can cost thousands of dollars in sales, if that single purchased song gets past around. The number of people benefiting from that one download can increase exponentially across cyberspace.

On the other side of the issue is the rights of consumers and 50 years of legal precendent for recording for personal use on reel-to-reel, 8-track, cassette and VCR tape. Consumers are outraged at this Big Brother approach of the corporate recording industry.

The Big Platter clearly needs a new model, as we all have been aware for some time.

For our part? Eschew major record labels purchases as much as you can (I know, a hard one -- but, hey whittle it down to only a couple of your very favorite). And then support indy labels, local musicians, open mics, etc. It's part of the Localvore rationale, that whatever you do to support local benefits you more than supporting big box stores, corporate giants of any stripe, and, the big biggie, global warming/polution/dependence on foreign oil.

Once again localism trumps as the most sane solution.

!
Actually I think the RIAA just can't think of any way to deal with the changing technology so they are just hunkering down in a last ditch effort to maintain the status quo.

It won't work, of course, but it sure reveals some serious flaws in both logic and practicality.

Maybe we could help by sending them some suggestions as to how the industry could remodel itself such that it could deal with present day realities.

My thinking is develop some good product. One or two good tracks on a $14 - $18 CD just forces people to copy. Very few of their products provide enough value to make a legit purchase seem worthwhile.

But I could be wrong.
!

!
Come and get me. I'm guilty.
!

And letting you friends listen to 'your' music is also illegal. Only one person at a time.

WTF is wrong with these so called lawyers.

No brainer. Just subpoena (sp?) the portable music devices of the children of the execs, along with their CDs, and this issue will be deleted from memory.

What these idiots have failed to realize is that there is a difference between leasing and purchasing.

If I own it, it's mine. Period.

Interesting that the Orrin Hatch's of the world who are oh so into property rights, seem to forget that when I buy something it's my property and I should have the right to entertain myself with it in any manner I deem fit.

this is terrible news i will have to delete
all the songs and then go out
any buy each disc which has one of them
this will cost a lot
but i dont mind
becasue its
important to have integrity and
i know the record companies
are totally ethical and will donate
some money to charaties
and support music awards for my
fav artists and bands.. so
i sure hope i can find a
disc store with all those songs..
in china its the year of the rat

Leave it to a lawyer to state that if I move my purchased music from my CD to my Computer, I've committed a theft.

And this would be different from moving my purchased socks, from the top drawer, to the middle drawer?

Look.

When you steal songs, you deprive the distributors of many dollars of profit. However, you deprive money from the artists too, like many, many pennies.

I often get/share a track to learn about the performer (can't hear squat from the Amazon samples), but then I get the CD (new, used or download).

I wish I could make a deal with performers or their agents and skip around the distributors, man.

But most of all, when albums/CDs are no longer available, I get incensed that I cannot find the tracks for love or money.

There has to be a better way than the music industry screwing up the relationship between performers and their fans (classical, world, pop, punk and rock...)

Ugh.

--UB.

The record industry needs to be boycotted. They are artist out they, who bypassed them and they are still hot about that. I worked in the industry, and they are a lazy fat crew. And they can be very vicious. But times are changing and its about time.

I thought that when you purchased something and you had legal title, you could do with it anything you wanted too. Well Hollywood wants to restrict your freedom. The record industry is very strange. They want to own everything. I bet if they could charge you for your level of enjoyment they would charge you if they could get away with it.

It will be interesting to hear what the courts say on this. I think they will say making a copy on your pc of a cd you've paid for is resonable use. If not what about stuff that's not available on iTunes? I have several things on my MP3 that I couldn't buy from iTunes if I wanted to. A couple are even transfers from vinyl because they never made it to cd even. I've contacted a couple of artists about transfering old vinyl to digital media and they said they had no problem with it.

If this news item is indeed factual, what a bunch of desperate losers these people are! I can't buy a CD & put it on my computer to enjoy while I'm working? Do these execs want to alienate their entire consumer group? Frankly, if I can't buy a CD for my own use, I don't ever want to buy a CD. Uh, why would I? Maybe the singers should reflect on what this might mean to them. Similar ridiculous ideas: don't buy a recipe book & put the recipe on the computer for future reference!! Don't send personal photos to friends, because people in the photo may want royalties!! Don't invite friends over to watch a movie-- you are infringing on the copyright by showing it to them!! Hey, entertainment people, get a grip!! We are your consumers & clients!