scottsimpson.net

my bad

So I can't keep a deal with myself, as proven by my morning jaunt to Starbucks. Eh, there's worse things to be hooked on, right?

Score one for the universities, whom are standing up to the RIAA in court. Perhaps a new age of common sense will prevail, forcing the RIAA to look up 'privacy' in the dictionary. Aren't there more important things for law enforcement people to focus on than kids downloading music? Things like, oh, I don't know, murder, rape, corporate corruption, and assorted torts? (mmm, pastries...) OK, piracy is illegal. Piracy is also defined as "Robbery committed at sea. / A similar act of robbery, as the hijacking of an airplane." Only recently was the definition for 'software piracy' added, a term having nothing to do at all with the real definition of piracy: "The unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented material". Perhaps the term was chosen as a psychological impactor? What about the real term, Intellectual Property Infringement? I guess it sounds cooler to be a pirate than an IPI'er. Even the widespread music 'piracy' (which, by definition, should only be able to occur on the high seas or in international airspace) cannot possibly account for the 'lackluster' music sales. Did the advent of the VCR detract from movie sales? Does the recording of audio from a radio broadcast cut into CD sales? Perhaps 'pirates' would be more likely to purchase music if their dollar actually went to the artist. I'd sure as hell rather send my $15.99 to Sting than to a music label. Sure, the label made it happen, but without the artist, the label couldn't exist (except in a few rare cases, such as NSync and their ilk). I maintain that music sales have dropped because the number of quality albums on the market has dropped. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Song of the day: John Mayer - Neon