Perhaps the RIAA is like the train, it's engineer dead, slumped over the controls leaning on the throttle.

When first unleashed the RIAA targeted companies which were attempting to create new business models which were unfortunately based on the act of distributing a product they didn't own. Not a good foundation for any business and not surprisingly the model failed.

I agree that RIAA is out of control. The ones who unleashed this beast are probably hemorrhaging cash on legal fees and there is no end in sight. The lawyers have tasted flesh and smell of blood in the water.

I am going to pause now and flip the coin. It's not a popular thought but I'm going to say it anyway:

Downloading commercially produced music is theft.

I can imagine the screams of outrage, the pounding of desks, and the self righteous diatribes that might follow a comment like the one I just made. I am not going to hide behind a shield of innocence. I doubt there are many who have access to the Internet that can claim innocence these days.

When you stop talking about how the music industry has been abusing the privilege of distributing music from artists to people and how the current business model just doesn't work anymore, you are taken back to the source of the issue. The music itself.

Someone wrote the lyrics. Someone wrote the music. Someone performed the song. The product is a distinct pattern of sounds created from a unique collaborative experience.

This is all before you get into the host of other people involved with creating and distributing the physical manifestations, the recording industry. I'm not going to talk about them yet.

A very long time ago, our society determined that such products needed to be recognized as having an owner. They created a law that would protect the rights of those who go to the expense of creating a product. This protection would allow them to build a business model that supported the act of creating more products.

This law hasn't been rescinded and the products it is applied to haven't changed. The technology available to us all has just made it easier to ignore.

It doesn't really matter who holds the copyright to the music being downloaded. Evin if it was held by Satan himself, the act of taking copies without fair recompense to the copyright owner cannot be justified as it is breaking the law.

The law is not unjust. Perhaps those who are currently benefiting from it are not thought to be worthy of its protection, but the law is blind to such things. As it must be.

Don't get me wrong. I want a better business model. I think the music industry has poisoned the concept of distributing music. The fat cats need to be kicked out and a new way needs to be designed.

But make no mistake. The new way MUST continue to enforce the protection of copyright. Those that create must be allowed to benefit from this precious skill.

Another echo from the Internet.

I completely agree with what you are saying. Copyright should be enforced. But the Mp3 phenomenon is out of control. There needs to be a significant shift in the way music is distributed to the public, otherwise, the theft will continue. Once someone can obtain it for free, there is little reason for them to turn around and pay for it when the cost of a music CD has been static since 1987. Apple's $0.99 per song service is a step in the right direction.

The biggest problem that I see is that these threats are simply a way for the RIAA to justify its existence. They are the epitome of the "middle man". If the bands did not sign a contract, they alone would hold the copyright and complete creative control over their own material. As it stands now, the industry makes the artists sign over their souls while marking up the price of CDs where maybe 1 or 2 songs are actually worthy of human ears. It is absurd, and the business model *has to change*.

It grieves me that there is no middle ground on this issue. The internet is made out to be a den of thievery and no morals - whether it be stealing music, movies or pornography - by the mass media. Until the major artists wake up and realize that they can make money by directly interfacing with their fans, the Industry will continue to reap the benefits by screwing the artists *and* the fans.

Facts:

1) It takes a lot of money to create a superstar.

2) Almost every musician wants to become a superstar and believes they will be one.

3) The market will only absorb just so many before it becomes saturated and fails to support new attempts.

4) The lifespan of celebrity is extremely short and must be fueled by increasing amounts of money to sustain it before it sputters into oblivion.

5) The energy and creativity levels needed to sustain the interest of the fickle fan base is almost beyond human endurance.

6) The industry will only lend its considerable support to those it believes are salable. Others are cut loose at the earliest sign of diminishing interest.

All of the above facts are symptoms of a sickness our society continues to support, Celebrity.

As long as there is a drive to become larger than life there will be an industry to support this need and feed from the victims. This can be seen in more than the music industry. Movie stars, sport superstars, even book authors are affected.

Conversely, as long as society craves bold new leaders, shamans to show us the way, there will be an industry to fill this need.

The music industry has taken to creating it's own superstars to increase its return on investment. They create the impression of talent where little exists. Boy bands and young tartlettes shaking their goodies for the thronging masses of adoring fans. Generating millions to feed the machine.

All of this said, money is a key ingredient in the process of stardom. No one involved in the star making machine wants to give up any of the benefits of the process. A new model that generates many small transactions in place of fewer large ones is too much of a risk for the existing system to take. It might just take a complete collapse of the existing structure to allow something new to be born from the ashes.

However, there is little chance that the desire for stardom and society's need for celebrities is going to change in any significant way. No one really wants to give up their desires even for the greater good.

Defining a solution that allows artists to reach a satifactory level of success while their fans get enough of a fix is a daunting challenge.