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Know anybody that has a nice collection of music all loaded onto their computer? You know what I’m talking about: the ultimate jukebox without the hassle of handling a CD every time the listener simply wants to sample a variety of music– all easily loaded onto the personal MP3 player. Guess what? The industry that profited from the legal purchase (which is all that I am discussing here) in which the customer bought the latest release from his/her favorite artist says you can’t do that– and never could!
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In a piece about the latest legal machinations by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Washington Post reports
In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer..The industry’s lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are "unauthorized copies" of copyrighted recordings.
Remember all those cassettes you made so that you didn’t have to play records while trying to drive your car? They must have been "unauthorized" too, right? Hey, I have no problem with the vigorous pursuit of those who share music files, allowing people to obtain copies of songs for free. This is truly stealing from the artist and other parties that own the rights to particular pieces of material. But when a person purchases the latest CD from a favorite performer, loads it onto the computer and/or personal music playing device, and then puts the thing away in a shoebox, opting for the convenience of storing and retrieving copied files (for personal use) using modern devices, this makes them a criminal?
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Could this be the final straw for legitimate consumers who simply want to rock to the beat? Again from the WaPo piece:
The RIAA’s legal crusade against its customers is a classic example of an old media company clinging to a business model that has collapsed. Four years of a failed strategy has only "created a whole market of people who specifically look to buy independent goods so as not to deal with the big record companies,"
Indeed. And besides, in many instances, the music is better, anyway…
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[H/T Drudge]