Wow. Seven months between posts. If this little blog was something more than the self-flagellation it is, I'd be worried. I simply enjoy wirting about whatever come to mind, and this method provides for the possiblity that someineelse will read it, and maybe enjoy it. How my little ramblings could be enjoyed by anyone outside my circle of friends is beyond me, but that's the writers paradox: firmly believing that all your work is complete shit, but still hoping that a few out there will like it. Anyway, enough self-pity.
So, I have DSL now, which is awesome. Too bad it comes at a time when downloading music is becoming dicey. I think I'll take a moment to talk about the recent RIAA lawsuits. First of all, it boils down to people being punished for breaking the law, or in many cases, parents being punished for not more closely monitoring their childrens online activities. That being said, I still can't shake the feeling that this is a massive, powerful corporation shitting on the little guy. These are my thoughts:
1. It won't work. Personally, the RIAA lawsuits have caused me to consider my online activities, it hasn't stopped them. Nor has it stopped any of my friends- I'm looking at you Darkwater, Oracle and Tsurai- and with an estimated 6 million people sharing music I doubt a significant number have stopped. It boils down to the almighty dollar. the suits will continue until a) it becomes cost-prohibitive to contine or b) someone comes up with a solid plan for making money with online music. There are a few sites out there, such as the Apple Music Store, that have worked deals the labes to sell mp3s. I sincerely hope they're successfull. In the case of Apple, 99 cents a song might be a little steep, but $9.99 an album is very nice indeed.
2. The copyright laws are outdated an ineffective. The core of our country's copyright code is more than 200 years old. It started with books and newspapers, and as new mediums emerged (phonograph, movies, tv, etc) they simply expanded the language to include these new forms. They did that with CDs and their digital counterpart, mp3s. I don't think this will work. With the internet growing, espically broadband, by leaps and bounds, we need an new way, a new paradigm for dealing with electronic intellectual property. To be completly honest, I have no suggestions for a new standard, but I can't help but think that old laws and thinking will become less and less applicable as time goes on.
3. They're suing their fans. Don't forget that fact. People download songs because they like the music. The vast majority share files because they're music lovers; very few do it to spite the RIAA and almost no one makes any money for themselves. KaZaa, LimeWire and most of the others are freeware, the developers certainly don't make much money off their work. The key word, for me, in file sharing is 'sharing.' Not selling. Maybe I'm suscribing to a false digital ethic, but I see a difference between people who share the new Hot Hot Heat single and people who sell bootleg DVDs of the Matrix:Reloaded.
Well, I think that's it for now. BTW, the phone line is working and we have a new manager who is much more responsive and competent than the old one. ;)
