I’m not a proponent of downloading music/videos through P2P sites. Claiming ignorance, I used to…having Napster, Grokster, Bearshare, LimeWire, and Kazaa (sometimes all at the same time). The more I gave it thought and researched it, the easier it was for me to just get rid of it all. When dealing with personal entertainment, it’s not worth it.
With that being said, I still have a strong dislike with the regulation by the RIAA, and their views on their copyrights. Being a member of the ‘creativity industry’ through photography, I understand the importance of retaining your copyrights, and the financial loss that could amount if there was no regulation. I wouldn’t be overly excited to have a client scan a picture that I took of them and then make 5,000 copies to send out all over the US (why 5,000 people would want there picture, I have no idea).
But then I stumbled upon this article, which blew my mind. I mean, seriously? Basically, they are claiming that copying the CDs to your computer for personal use is stealing. What? Ultimately, they are saying if you want to do that, then buy another CD. Now, I provide a CD of web images to my clients. What if I told them that if they wanted to copy it to their hard drive, they would have to buy another CD of web images, and then destroy the CD after copying? Ridiculous? I think so.
General consumers are not trying to steal at every opportunity they get. When you provide a way for them to fulfill their desires, they in turn will support what you offer. Once the big companies break down the barriers separating them from the people, and start building ‘relationships’, there will be a much greater balance on both sides of the ball.
[…oh, in case it was unclear…you have the right to copy your web images to your computer, post them on blogs, or email it to families/friends…we’re cool like that…]
