Music Cartel vs. Fair Use
From Melvin AhChing
Dear Charles,
This has got to be one of the best articles I have ever read
regarding copyright law and our deteriorating fair use rights. I
have been someone who has supported the music industry by buying a
lot of my own music not once, but twice or three times in my life
due to media format changes such as going from vinyl records to
tapes to CDs and in some cases now, even digital download (yeah for
iTunes!).
That said, like everyone I else stand on the firm ground that I
bought the music, therefore I own the music as well as the
media. Therefore I get to do whatever I like with the music -
except for reselling copies that I made - while still retaining
ownership of the original.
I have long been a so-called "home taper" where in my childhood
I recorded stuff on reel to reel tape and later cassette from
records I owned or at times borrowed - and of course from the radio
too. As technology advanced I made the proverbial mixed tapes off
both records and CDs . . . and have today now ripped my
own CDs and other audio sources and made compilation CDs and many
playlists for play on my two iPods and Apple Macintosh computers. I
don't see anything wrong with this as long as I use it in the
privacy of my own home.
In the 1990s my Internet access was dialup, which means I never
downloaded anything from Napster in its heyday, though I have used
some more obscure stuff like Hotline to do very few digital
downloads of music. With dialup it is way too slow. It was and
still is much easier for me to borrow CDs from friends or the
public library to make my own copies, even though I now have
DSL.
Still I prefer to buy my own music on the original media (CDs),
since I have a perfect copy (most of the time - I avoid the copy
protected CDs) of said music on the original CD, off of which I can
make copies to play in my iPod or other media. I don't think this
is stealing.
And yes, I buy from
the iTunes store, which is a great source of ala-carte music
purchases. It brings back my enjoyment of buying single releases
one song at a time and then compiling my own K-Tel style all hits
CD compilations and iTunes playlists. For this I love iTunes.
Most of the time I will buy only one or two tracks by an artist
off the same album. If I think the album will have more than two
good songs, I rather buy the entire album on "hard copy" like a CD
and rip the songs back into my Mac and iPods. Makes more sense to
me.
What I am disturbed about is the music industry's constant
campaign to erode our digital fair use rights through the use of
legislation in Congress, extension of the copyright laws, and, most
alarming, the possible plug of the so called "analog hole" by the
year 2013. They want to remove the familiar analog outputs and
inputs off many of the kinds of devices we now use such as home
stereo systems and boombox. It is rather troubling that some of the
music recording companies are also owned by the hifi hardware
manufacturers - for example, Sony.
Once upon a time Sony was seen as a champion of the fair use act
through its much celebrated Betamax case, where they were on the
consumer's side to allow us to home tape TV shows (and of course
have them sell more VCRs). Today Sony is on the side of the rest of
the music cartel in terms of stripping away our fair use rights
(re: the infamous rootkit CDs).
For this reason I am holding on to most of my old media
(records, tapes, traditional CDs) and will probably start building
up an inventory of older hardware just so that I can still enjoy
the same rights I have today beyond the year 2013.
Again thanks for the great article and for putting up with my
rant.
Aloha,
Mel
Hi Mel,
Thanks for the approbation. I enjoyed reading your
rant. :-)
K-Tel! I guess your use of the reference and my
understanding of what you're talking about dates us both.
;-)
Interestingly, they're still around, and their
products are available through iTunes: http://www.ktel.com/
Charles
RIAA Has Always Been Afraid of Change
From Steven Hunter
The RIAA has a history of fighting new technology. At one point
or another, the RIAA has opposed:
- The phonograph/records
- AM radio
- FM radio
- The juke box
- Cassette tapes
- CDs
And each time the reason was that it would ruin the music
industry "as we know it" - and they were right. The RIAA is many
many times more powerful, and its members generate many many time
more revenue because of these advancements.
However this is the first time they truly need to fear for their
existence. The Internet is the great level playing field. For $500
of rented studio time a band can cut an album on CD and distribute
the music online for a fraction of the cost of distributing CDs via
retail channels. I assume that there are independent musician
support websites out there that do co-op style cross promotion.
(Note being a music aficionado, I don't know)
I don't think TV and movie producers have anything to fear yet,
but any semi-competent band can easily put together a website and
sell songs.
Just my 3.14159¢
Steven Hunter
Thanks, Steven
Buggy-whip manufacturers were disgruntled about
the advent of automotive transportation, too (with good reason),
but the Buggy Whip Manufacturers' Association was happily not able
to influence government to stand in the way of progress....
Charles
Copyright vs. Free Culture
From Edward Starkie
Charles,
Great article. For a philosophical and legal view on why and how
this has occurred, Lawrence Lessig of the Stanford Law School has
made numerous presentations that really get at the issue of how
heavy-handed laws stifle innovation. You can check out his talk
about freedom and culture at the following link:
http://randomfoo.net/oscon/2002/lessig/free.html
Ed Starkie
Hi Ed
Thanks!. Yes indeed; Lessig's insights on these
issues are always well worth pondering.
Charles
'Copyright Law Has Just Gone Ballistic'
From Karim D. Ghantous
Charles,
Just finished your piece re copyright bullies (linked from
MacBytes.com). It's well written and easy for anyone to
understand.
It's true that copyright law has just gone ballistic and is far
to restrictive. I heard recently that in the USA copyright was not
automatic until the '70s. Legislators need to go back, I think, and
remove the thick layer of gunk that has been piled onto the
original, fairer laws.
Yours faithfully,
Karim D. Ghantous
Thanks, Karim.
I agree wholeheartedly.
Charles
Opting Out of the MPAA/RIAA Monopolies
From James Taylor
Hello,
I recently read your article and felt compelled to tell you that
if only more people had a rational view of copyright, as you do,
the debate about piracy would be over. Your article made the most
sense I've seen about this fiasco in a long time. I am firmly in
agreement that the copyright holders (in 90%+ of the cases, not the
creators of the work) have hijacked the debate about intellectual
property in the digital age and turned it into their own personal
war on technology.
I have spent hours faxing, emailing, writing, calling, and
basically bugging my elected representatives, urging them to
respect fair use and my rights as a citizen. Needless to say, most
of the time it has fallen on deaf ears. I am truly frustrated at
the lack of concern over individual rights these days from both
parties in our government. We haven't seen this sort of assault
before. It's getting out of hand, and, quite frankly, the courts
and our lawmakers are allowing it to happen. Whether or not the
government is complicit simply because it is out to "make a buck"
or simply ignorant of the technological realities of today is
debatable, but it is clear to most people that what the Founding
Fathers had in mind regarding copyright is not what is currently
available. Your article hits the nail on the head in many respects,
and I think everyone should read it.
"For a limited time" does not mean life + 90 years, in spite of
the Supreme Court's jaw-dropping ruling. The Constitution did not
give Congress the right or power to extend copyright indefinitely,
one decade at a time. The secondary issue in this fight is also
clear.
How long can someone (or something) benefit from copyright
protection? How is it possible to balance the rights of individuals
and the rights of copyright holders? It seems that the MPAA/RIAA
want it all to themselves, sabotaging our technological lead to
benefit an obsolete business model. No one is guaranteed a profit
in our system, yet the copyright holders expect it. They are
pillaging the public domain and not replenishing it. That is truly
a crime.
In my own life, I have all but abandoned any RIAA/MPAA sponsored
media or outlets. I buy used DVDs to deprive them of much (if not
all) of their revenue (if I choose on rare occasion to even buy a
mainstream DVD). I rarely purchase music from any
chain/label/artist that is associated with the RIAA (sometimes they
give me the slip). I no longer go to the movies or rent
videos/DVDs.
Is this what they intended? Certainly not, but they have gotten
it. I can live without their product, but they cannot live without
my money. I have bought enough of their products in the past to
last 10 lifetimes, so I am not struggling to avoid the "shiny new"
content. Simply put, the independent artists and films that you can
find on the Internet are far more entertaining than the 'next big
thing' from the big companies anyway. I simply won't participate in
a system that is actively out to destroy me and my freedom. I vote
with my wallet as well as the ballot. The trouble is, my lack of
"consumption" is labeled as piracy if their revenue drops even a
millimeter. That is truly one of the great tragedies of the digital
age.
Thank you for reading (forgive the rambling), and thank you
again for writing such an insightful piece. Keep up the good work.
It takes lots of shouting to get our voices heard over the stacks
of money. One day, everyone will be fed up. I just hope it's not
too late.
Regards,
James Taylor
Thanks for your letter, James. I enjoyed reading
your comments and observations, and we're on the same page.
Charles
All Lawmakers Should Read This
From Al Ewing
Regarding Copyright Bullies May Win Some Battles but Must Lose
Their War:
Very fine article!
Wish we could get each or our country's lawmakers to read.
Enough said!
Oh, can I make copies to pass out to my friends.
Just kidding.
Keep up the great writing.
Thanks. Copy away.... ;-)
Charles
Pismo Problem in OS X
From Edmund Harris
Dear Charles,
Regarding this problem:
Five years ago I bought a slightly used Pismo, which after a while had a few
quirks. It suddenly froze whenever it felt like it. No typical
pattern to when or where it would happen. I had to press the power
button until it shut down, and then power it back up. Sometimes it
would work fine again; other times it would give the three
"malfunctioning RAM" beeps. I never really cared all that much, as
it didn't happen that often, and "it will probably go away after a
while".
I had the same problem.
When I booted it up with a OS 9 install disk (from the Jaguar
collection), it indicated that there was a problem with the L2
cache. I switched the processor out, and now it runs OS X fine
with the replacement processor.
Ed Harris
Hi Ed,
Yes, I guess processor memory cache failures can
be a problem with the Pismo, too, although they have mainly been
identified with Lombards.
Thanks for the report.
Charles
Go to Charles Moore's Mailbag index.
