It’s like the grumpy old men from the muppets!

Here’s CBC’s report on the issue.

The list of things that are just plain wrong, downright stupid, or probably illegal is pretty long. This is my favourite bit:

“The record companies should never again allow industries to arise that make billions off their content without looking for a piece of that business.”

Specifically, he seems to be making reference to device manufacturers and internet service providers.

But… record companies should never ALLOW it? He’s basically suggesting that record companies should get a vito on any new product/industry. It’s not the place of record companies to allow or ban industries - if the record companies want to keep record share, they should do it like every other company. Give me better products and services, cheaper then the competition.

As for the “looking for a piece of that business”, he’s referring to special “music taxes” on mp3 players and internet connections.

It’s taken some 10 years for music companies to finally realize that people see DRM as a big negative. In that time, people have developed the impression that music should more or less be free (agree or disagree on the morality, but that is the reality). Music was the music industry’s to lose. Like a lot of companies, they couldn’t keep up with market demand. Now they’re trying to rely on regulatory and legal crutches to hold themselves up.

Why is it that the recording industry feels that it should have music as its exclusive and eternal domain? When refrigerators got cheap, ice…delieverer…people…. didn’t rely on lawsuits and lobbying to stay in place - something better and cheaper had come along, and old businesses fell by the wayside.

Aren’t we getting a bit ahead of ourselves here? I mean, sure, music is great and all, but it’s just one relatively minor aspect of most people’s lives