Started: 7 May 2004, 11:54 UTC
Finished: 27 October 2006, 7:35 UTC

comment by INeedAttention.com

"Anything I missed?" One other great thing about the recording industry right now is that it enables entire other industries, such as the "foiled, plastic disc" industry to fluorish. In a digital world, people would no longer have a reason to buy plastic discs, as the disc can easily be damaged. Also just as downloading music sometimes may expose the listener to a virus via a P2P network, there's just as good a chance of buying a disc with a Sony rootkit. So the recording industry also helps the rootkit programming industry fluorish. But it's not just the plastic discs and computer viruses that are booming because of the recording industry -- it's lawyers too. Just ask anyone on the street and you'll find most people agree: the world needs more lawyers. But finally, without a recording industry, who would convert artist's songs into ringtones and then license those ringtones to marketers selling perpetual ringtone subscriptions over SMS at rates as high as $30 per month?

Seriously though, the recording industry is a lot like the health care industry (at least in the U.S.). A lot of people have jobs because of how inefficient it is, and no one wants to lose their job, so groups lobby against change. It's only natural to want to protect your self-interest. However, that doesn't mean reform isn't necessary. So if they won't adapt, let them die. Industries serve needs, so if we simply don't need them, they'll have to adapt to fill some other need or cease to exist (vis-a-vis the "removable collar" industry around the end of the 19th century). As for the people that will be put out of the job as the market innovates its demand: life is a matter of adapting, too. If you make plastic foiled discs right now, consider figuring out how to make a car foil that shines like a CD. If you program Sony rootkits right now, apply for a job at Microsoft, they'd probably be dying to get a hold of someone with scruples in about the quantity you have. And finally, if you're a lawyer, consider finding an island, moving there, and staying there until the end of your days.

Oh and don't forget... Home Taping is Killing Music. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Taping_is_Killing_Music

   
The recording industry's contribution to society
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