I've been saying it all along...
May. 13th, 2007 03:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bladesparkAnd I'll keep saying it, especially as it seems that I'm right in saying it. Downloading free music doesn't mean you've "stolen" potential profits from the music industry. Downloaders download music they would otherwise never own in any form, not music they would otherwise buy.
It can still be argued that you stole the music, of course. The fact that "stealing" free music doesn't hurt music sales doesn't mean that you have any legal right to take it.
But on the other hand, I still maintain that the RIAA is hurting themselves FAR more than helping by trying to "crack down" in music piracy.
And really it can be argued the other way as well. Nearly every one of those illegal downloads began with somebody who bought the music, who owned it and decided to share what they owned, after all...
In any case, I still have hopes that eventually the music industry will realize that chasing DRM and trying to impose ever more stric penalties for music piracy really isn't doing them any good. It's a waste of their money and resources, a stain on their reputation, and is resulting in the alienation of their own customer base, all devoted to trying to stop something that's not actually doing them any harm.
It can still be argued that you stole the music, of course. The fact that "stealing" free music doesn't hurt music sales doesn't mean that you have any legal right to take it.
But on the other hand, I still maintain that the RIAA is hurting themselves FAR more than helping by trying to "crack down" in music piracy.
And really it can be argued the other way as well. Nearly every one of those illegal downloads began with somebody who bought the music, who owned it and decided to share what they owned, after all...
In any case, I still have hopes that eventually the music industry will realize that chasing DRM and trying to impose ever more stric penalties for music piracy really isn't doing them any good. It's a waste of their money and resources, a stain on their reputation, and is resulting in the alienation of their own customer base, all devoted to trying to stop something that's not actually doing them any harm.
