Re: The evil record empire

["Kevin B. O'Brien" <kob1@ix.netcom.com>]

On Thu, 3 Aug 2000 09:47:02 -0400, "Mark R. Leaman"
<mleaman@sccoast.net> , late of Pablo Fanques Fair wrote:

>>advertisers. All off the hard work of the un-paid artists. Why is
>everyone's
>>well placed anger towards evil record companies turning into wildly
>>mis-placed justification for stealing from artists?
>
>Shawn:
>
>That's my question exactly. And not one person has been able to answer it so
>far.

In any case, the situation has changed so much that no matter how
many people RIAA, Metallica, et al, sue it won't make the least bit
of difference. No one is going to take away digital technology and
the Internet just because RIAA would prefer it that way. This is
called Creative Destruction, and it happens all of the time when a
change in technology makes previous technologies, and the property
rights based upon them, obsolete. The record companies have been
taking advantage of a monopoly to earn monopoly profits, but this
also creates an incentive to find a way around the monopoly. The
question is whether any of those dinosaurs can adapt to the new
reality.

BTW, 78% of the people who have downloaded Stephen King's latest
on-line work have paid for it on the honor system. That suggests
that someone who is intelligent can use the technology to advance
their careers.


-- 
Kevin B. O'Brien                  TANSTAAFL
kob1@ix.netcom.com
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That 
   will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
 -- Ernest Hemingway 

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