Today I was reminded of the difference between a rant and a good argument. Tuesday & Wednesday I spouted off about the RIAA and this afternoon I caught a well thought out post over at Bitch Has Word. (Side Note – If you are not reading this blog you should be, it’s been on my link bar for a while now)
I can’t argue a lot of the points BHW made, but I did want to clarify my rantings. I agree from a legal standpoint file sharing is copyright infringement. I also agree the issue has become an issue because the Internet exponentially increases the accessibility and volume of pirated media.
Perhaps BHW is right, maybe most people don’t care about whether the RIAA is a greedy corporation or if they work in the artist’s best interests. Downloaders think “No harm, no foul” and when the pressure is finally put upon them they’ll either make the purchase or find something else to spend money on.
I know that thousands of people downloading my sister’s CD would directly impact her pocketbook. It’s only sold for $10-12, but the production costs were significantly higher than anything the RIAA would pay.
A co-worker made the point the other day that he believes in a free market economy and if you can make $20 million a picture as Jim Carrey can than more power to ya. Cause if it were a matter of trading places almost everybody would volunteer.
It’s mid afternoon and I have no idea where my point went. We can all agree the RIAA is very bad. I guess I’m frustrated because I see life as we know it becoming too commercialized. I see a growing distinction and larger gap between the Haves and the Have-nots. I want to believe that most people are decent folk and it’s easy to get caught up in the Robin Hood syndrome when it comes to taking on the RIAA. I still stand by the points I made earlier this week; they could pay a little more attention to what their customer actually want and improve on their products.
Of course, I also wonder if my site turned pay-per-view would any of you still come by?