Quote:
Originally Posted by gottabekd
In all honesty, I think clarifying the copyright laws for digital media is necessary. The important thing to me is to keep consumers informed about their rights, and that any legislation introduced acknowledges the rights of consumers.
For example, in regards to "illegal...[to] copy music from protected CDs to IPods": If the content distributors want that, and think it is a good thing, then fine. But make sure consumers are aware that if they purchase the CD, they'll have to purchase it again via iTunes or the like to listen on their portable device. And then the consumer can make the decision "what BS", and either go download the album from the illegal underground that will always exist, or just decide not to support companies that take their customers for granted. Either way, this type of content protection will fail, and the media companies will finally have to change their business practices.
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Gibbled copy protected CDs exist on store shelves next to normal spec compact disks and are virtually indistinguishable from one another. It's not until your mom calls you and asks how she can put her latest Sony artist recording on her iPod that she discovers she bought a crippled product. By then it's too late: the company already has her money and there's no way to get it back.
Aside from buying a CD for an artist you like, your only other options are to download the song from iTunes (or the like) OR get it illegally. There isn't a lot of choice there and I don't see that changing in the near future. Buying a CD in a physical store has a lot going for it: it's the most familiar way most of us buy music. iTunes and it's competitors are catching on, no dobut, but it will take some time for that form of distribution to overcome the CD's inertia.
The music industry is banking on this and in the end it is having its cake and eating it too. They are simultaneously half-heartedly supporting the digital distribution of music through the internet while seeking to protect the traditional brick and mortar music racket. The speculative provisions in the new copyright bill will only strengthen this hypocricy.