As someone who has converted their entire CD collection to MP3 files one could say I have a vested interest in the future of digitized music.
Before I go any further it's best that I be clear: My digital music library consists solely of music from MY compact discs and a handful of perfectly legal downloads from mp3.com and emusic.com (not a single note from Napster or it's ilk).
Given that I don't have any "illegal" music in my library I should have nothing to fear from "the music industry", right?
Wrong!
The music industry is undertaking a three prong attack to stop anyone and everyone from having a digital music collection.
First prong: stop the sharing of existing music. The RIAA sued Napster to stop the sharing of copyrighted music. In shutting down Napster they also succeeded in stopping the sharing of non-copyrighted music. But I never became worked-up about Napster's demise since it seemed that by and large it was being used by people to spread music they had no legal right to.
Second prong: prevent new CD releases from being converted into MP3 files (or other digital formats). The record industry is experimenting with creating mutant compact discs that will not play on existing hardware (CD-ROM's). This tactic should concern anyone who listens to CDs on their home computer, work computer, and/or laptop, because regardless if they intend to convert these mutant CDs to MP3 files or not, the CDs simply will not play. In fact there are reports that these "CDs" cause some systems to crash, or worse: void your warranty.
Third prong: get laws passed that ensure all new hardware sold will be incapable of making copies of any digital media. The current bill, known as the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act, or CBDTPA, will make it impossible to make legitimate copies of CDs and other media.
It's these last two items that should raise the ire amongst law abiding citizens. These items assume that everyone is a criminal, prone to indiscriminate copying of copyrighting material. This is the music (and movie) industry saying "We don't care about consumer rights to fair use of the media they buy" and it should have us consumers crying foul!
What can be done?
We can boycott any CDs that don't work in CD-ROM players. Any such CD should be clearly marked and if it isn't, return it. Some stores don't allow returning opened CDs in which case I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a class action suit against the manufacturer.
We should write to our representatives in Washington and ask them to vote against bills which do not adequately support the fair use rights of consumers.
For more information:
http://msnbc.com/news/734617.asp?0si=- http://news.com.com/2100-1023-912695.html?tag=fd_top http://www.eff.org/IP/SSSCA_CBDTPA/