I was always an avid music fan. Music was a constant backdrop to my work and play. I've never been into the music scene, lore, live performances or anything like that. I just liked having tunes playing while I was doing things. This faded away over the past few years. Now, I almost never listen to music.
The heavyhanded tactics of the Recording Insustry Association of America (RIAA) have resulted in my passively distancing myself from the recording industry. This has the unintended side effect of also distancing myself from the artists, who often have little say in RIAA policymaking. Even indie bands and labels have gotten caught up in the receeding tide of my interest.
Barely a week goes by without news of some RIAA tactic that just seems... evil. Suing young children or grandmothers who don't use computers for alleged online file sharing, attempts at (apparent) manipulation of due process of law, blanket lawsuits and the like. Yuk! Who are these creeps?
Even when music is purchased legally, it's locked down so tightly through encryption (a.k.a. Digital Rights Management, or DRM) that's it's too much of a pain in the butt to bother owning. Perhaps I'm old-fashioned, but when I bought a record, I could play it on any turntable, lend it to my friends, whatever. It was like a book. Once purchased, one person could use it at a time. I fully understand the perceived threat of lost sales due to online file sharing, given the simplicity of digital duplication. I don't believe it's real, though. The RIAA talks about steadily declining sales, but they rarely mention the corresponding decline of music quality. Perhaps consumers are fed up with spending $17.99 for a CD which only contains one or two decent tracks. That's why I stopped buying CDs years ago. I also believe that many file sharers wouldn't shell out for music if they couldn't get it for free. In these cases, shared music seems more like free advertising than loss of sales.
As a consumer, I don't feel that it's my job to worry about the RIAA's real or perceived loss in sales due to music sharing. I just want free and unhindered access to the music I paid for. It's up to the RIAA to come up with some mechanism (realistic pricing, education, ad campaigns, etc.) to solve their business problems. I don't advocate theft of copyrighted material. Personally, I don't care one way or another if a person does 'steal' music. I just don't advocate it.
I still occasionally buy the odd song from iTunes, but barely a few days pass before the apathy sets in once again. Perhaps a revamping of the industry's business model could rekindle my interest in music, but I don't expect that to happen anytime soon.
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