Willing Music After Death

[WhiteTiger]

I ran across this article earlier today:

http://gizmodo.com/5940045/bruce-wil...ry-in-his-will

And it got me wondering. He's got a point. A lot of people are very proud of their music collections (or libraries) and want to leave them to their children (or someone) after they pass away. But how will that apply to digital material. Who actually owns it. How long can they 'own' it for? What can be done to prevent (or make it easier) to give someone your digital collection once you die. Will a company have to 'prove' that someone has died so they can deactivate the account? This should be some pretty interesting stuff if it does come to court.

[MrMastodonFarm]

If Bruce Willis wins this, and he should, passing your digital music from one generation to the next should be refereed to as "Bruce Willing"

Also, a more successful thread title would have been "Bruce Willis to Apple, eff you!"

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Hmmm, are there any precedents to willing digital music?

Shouldn't it just be, "I will my HDD to my daughter"?

[Paladium]

I ran across that article today too - very interesting - hope he wins

[sclitheroe]

His wife tweeted that's its a false story.

[Northendzone]

I have two 160 gb iPod classics, both of them contain the same music, but one has some playlists (only because my vehicle has the Microsoft sync and the wife's does not) - each of the kids can have an iPod. One will have to copy the playlists.

[Jimmy Stang]

The music industry (and to a lesser extent, the movie industry) has always depended on people purchasing the same content multiple times. Format "upgrades" took care of it from LPs to cassettes to CDs, but digital formats have taken away the need for consumers to purchase the same content over and over again.

Allowing people to will their music collection to their children will take away a major future revenue source away from the major record labels. And for this reason, I hope that Bruce Willis is successful. A superior format means nothing if you are given inferior rights of usage and ownership.

[saskflames69]

By the time I die, music will be implemented in your brain with a microchip, therefore preventing any chance of my music collection being passed on to my children.

Doesn't this mean that selling tapes/vinyl/cds at a garage sale is illegal too? If people can do that I don't see why you can't pass on your music collection to your children after you die.

[troutman]

I have CDs, cassettes or records for almost all of my songs on iTunes. I rarely buy from iTunes directly.

I think your beneficiaries would nherit your hard drive, and all songs thereon. Your iPod too would have all your music, and could be backed-up into iTunes with available software.

Probably, during your life, your children have already copied your music they do want.

My children may not be interested in most of my collection - I would consider leaving the CDs to interested people(or a library or radio station) in a Handwritten codicil to my will.