Music Downloads, the RIAA, and the Future of the iPod
- 2003.09.12
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As many of you know, I got a 5 GB iPod shortly after it came out. At the time, no one else had one - they were new, expensive, and not as many people had computers that would support it then as do now.
Today I see many iPods. While I was in Rhode Island taking summer classes this summer, at least three people in my class had one. I saw several other people walking around with them. Out in California, I saw four iPods in one day. These things have really become popular. And now you can store 40 GB of music with the latest version.
But our friends at the RIAA are starting to take action against those who download music. While technically you aren't supposed to use downloaded music* on your iPod (or any other MP3 player), I'm sure many people do. Currently, the RIAA is spotting people with lots of files shared on Kazaa, finding their IP address, and forcing their ISPs to reveal the identity of the user.
- * Under the fair use provision of copyright law, it is probably legal to download MP3s of music that you already own, whether on tapes, CDs, or LPs. It's the rest of the downloads that violate copyright. dk
Is this fair? Should the RIAA be acting like the Internet police and going into your computer to see which files you have, then forcing ISPs to divulge your information so they can sue you?
Some people say it's not right, such as one user who is charging that the RIAA's search of the files she shared on the Internet is unconstitutional. She basically says that since the RIAA is not a law enforcement agency, it has no right to act as one.
As I've stated many times before, one of the major factors for the decline in album sales are CD prices. Who wants to spend $15 at Amazon.com for a Vines CD from an RIAA affiliated company when you could buy the Agenda's CD Start the Panic from KinderCore records for $11 (and, in my opinion, the Agenda is a much better band).
Don't care about the format your music is in? You can typically get LPs for as little as $7 (my choice format) - or occasionally cassettes for around the same price.
The other major factor is that a lot of music on major labels just plain sucks. I'm sorry to say it, but most of the music being pushed into the market today is trash, and a lot of the older bands such as Metallica and AFI have changed their sound (as I see it, so that they can fit in with the other bands and hopefully sell records).
Some record companies are starting to reduce their prices; the "magical" price seems to be around $12.98, and Universal has begun to sell some CDs (the question is, is it the ones that people want to buy) at this price. I will be interested to find out whether this improves sales.
But what does the RIAA going after people sharing music on Kazaa have to do with the iPod? It really depends on what happens. However, I'm speculating that if the RIAA is successful at putting fear into music downloaders' minds, iPod sales may slow down.
Yes, as I said before, you're not supposed to put downloaded music on your iPod. That doesn't mean people don't do it - and I am thinking that those afraid of the RIAA tracking them on Kazaa will decline to buy an iPod if they think they can't download music to put on it.
Of course, I could be wrong, because you can always copy CDs to your computer and load them onto your iPod - the method that Apple had promoted (until they launched the iTunes Music Store, that is).
Today someone approached me while I was listening to my iPod: "Which one is that?"
"The first one."
"You like it?"
"Yes."
"Would you recommend it?"
'Definitely."
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