OT: AAC > MP3

[Charles Martin]

> From: Illovox Media <illovox at oz.net>
>
> I suspect that for many, music sharing on a "check this one out" level 
> is
> more akin to hearing a song, then telling your friends about it by 
> humming
> it or singing it for them.  This form of artistic sharing used to be 
> the
> norm...EVERYWHERE.  Now that art has been commoditized as more 
> toasters for
> multinationals to reap profit with, it has become criminal.  I don't 
> know
> where I stand, both as a writer and a visual artist.  I know I like 
> seeing
> people let other people know about my work by sharing it, and I also 
> like
> getting cash.  My experience has been that people who "sample" my work 
> also
> buy it if they like it, as a positive consequence of the 
> commoditization.
>
Many of you may remember (and even still read) a magazine called 
"Goldmine" that chronicles music and is mostly comprised of ads from 
record and CD dealers. Many of these ads openly advertise bootleg 
recordings, which are illegal.

Goldmine has reviewed this policy many, many times over the decades as 
the law changed and as tastes changed, but the reason they have opted 
to carry those ads all these years is that in every survey/test they 
have ever done (and they've been at it for decades) indicates that the 
vast majority (greater than 90%) of the people who buy bootlegs have 
already bought every legal product available and would buy the boot 
legitimately if they could.

In short, the FANS of an artist and their work are not REALLY the 
problem; they'll pay if they can do so easily (something I think the 
iTunes Music Store has made abundantly clear).

For the benefit of Gerhardt I will explain that this does NOT make 
bootlegs legal, but DOES offer some insight on them that is of value 
(and should be heeded by the copyright holders of the world).

_Chas_

Claiming that the Macintosh is inferior to Windows because most people 
use Windows is like saying that all other restaurants are inferior to 
McDonald's.