[Ti] [OT} All this 'anti-piracy' stuff

[Michael Bigley]

>Theft is not an acceptable alternative to what a consumer deems as 
>overpriced goods. Last time I checked, music wasn't a life staple, 
>and you could live just fine without it. You don't like the prices 
>the market has set? Don't buy the product.

Yes, boycotts are the most effective tool consumers have to get 
corporate action. The "public" face of the corporate world is to 
downplay boycotts, but from working with a dozen or so Fortune 500 
companies I can tell you that the word sends a panic through upper 
corporate management. The biggest reason is that even an unsuccessful 
boycott causes a certain amount of permanent loss of business. For 
example, there are a some people who still don't buy Chiquita bananas 
because of the role Chiquita played in supporting the El Salvador 
regime that murdered dozens of missionaries in the early 80s.

Another reason boycotts instill fear in the corporate exec is that it 
directly affects the bottom line. This is the way to the music 
industry. It doesn't take a majority of consumers to make a 
significant dent in profits.

Why boycott the music industry? Because they are just as wrong as 
those who steal. When one uses hyperbole in debate it is often 
humorous; but when one attempts (succeeds in) passing laws based on 
hyperbole, that is dangerous.  RIAA et al basically say that ALL 
music sharing and peer-to-peer is evil and want it outlawed. As I 
stated previously, if I already have paid for a song view some other 
medium, but don't have the technology to make a digital copy (within 
the legal scope of copyright), then downloading that music is not 
stealing; it's convenience.

So if we really want to affect change, boycott the music industry... 
or are we so addicted to music that we can't go 6 months without 
making a music purchase?
-- 
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Mike Bigley                Maineville, Ohio
       http://www.norbertrunning.com
Please support an American Indian Elder &
Medicine Man by visiting the above link.
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