RedFlameOut’s Musings

Watch this discussion chaired by Chris Pirillo:

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The RIAA (not to mention the MPAA) and the recording industry are just plain WRONG! What ever happened to fair use? Down the toilet with a lot of the rest of our rights. And don’t blame President Bush alone. Congress and most of our governing bodies are at fault for taking away our rights along with our complacency.

I see the pattern here — you buy a CD and so you have a license to listen to it from that CD. But if you copy it to your iPod, Zune, or computer, well that is another copy and so of course you have to pay a new license fee to use it that way. Bullsh*t!

And I feel so sorry for Jammie Thomas. What ever happened to the punishment fitting the alleged crime? $222000US? Oh man! That really fits the crime now doesn’t it? And please don’t get me started on jury instructions that block the jury’s right to decide the case.

Of course the artists, producers, distributors, and sellers have a right to make a profit. We have the right to use the material personally as we see fit as long as no profit is being made (unless it falls into academic, artistic, and documentary fair use). There needs to be a balance. Come on industry, come up with a business model and pricing scheme the average Joe will accept and move on. The industry is just as much at fault for the file sharing as the people performing the file sharing.