She’s just a girl who swaps my songs on the ‘net…
Some would argue that music swappers could use a better spokesman than a baby-dangling, surgical mask-wearing paleface with a Peter Pan complex, but every little bit helps, right?
“I am speechless about the idea of putting music fans in jail for downloading music. It is wrong to download, but the answer cannot be jail,” Jackson said in a statement released Monday.The pop star’s comments referred specifically to a bill before Congress that would make it a federal felony to obtain copyright works over the Internet without permission.
All tabloid freakshow angles aside, Jackson does have a point. A mindlessly optimistic one, but a point nonetheless.
The point that jackson has made in a shocking moment of clarity is that it is wrong to trade copyrighted works without the artist’s permission, but there’s really no reason to put internet traders behind bars. There has to be a better way.
While we’re marvelling at Jacko’s momentary relapse into reason, let me just slip this thought into the mix. The record industry is blaming their slump in sales on internet file swapping. Maybe they have a point. But I think that their sales might possibly see an increase if, say, they stopped treating all of their customers like they were thieves. Or if they started treating their artists fairly. Or if they actually produced something worth listening to. Come on, guys. I payed $11.99 for Jewel’s 0304, and my level of satisfaction is clear to anybody.
But, wow. Mikey made sense. Hey, everybody! Mikey said something that makes sense!
Jackson, who’s seen his own record sales lag in recent years, suggested the music industry and music fans work together to figure it all out.
D’oh.
For those of you keeping score, I’m a consumer of music. I pay for my music. I follow independent bands, and I do purchase the occasional used CD. I’m known for complaining that the music industry does not produce worthwhile artists and for complaining that the industry charges too much for an inferior product. I’m also known for constantly bellyaching that the labels mistreat their artists.
So far, the music industry has called me a thief, a liar, a communist, and a no-good, low-down, dirty, ungrateful brat.
I get the feeling that the RIAA will “work together” with us when their kids are held in front of a flamethrower, if then.