A lot has happened in the world of music over the past few weeks. The industry, more so than even Hollywood, is a flashpoint for conflicts that highlight the intersection of politics, technology, and culture. As a result, the ongoing soap opera that characterizes the battle between the many stakeholder’s in music’s future is something we all should watch. The following are a few of the “news” items that caught my interest.

Criminal Sharing

Pundits have long proclaimed that the only solution to widespread “piracy” of music files is to prosecute those who do the sharing. In the past, this argument was made with the understanding that this legal action on the part of the RIAA was both logistically impossible and a veritable public relations nightmare. Well, apparently the situation has gotten so bad that the struggling industry is willing to give it a try.

In an eye-opening move described in an article published by Wired, the RIAA has decided to sue four college students for running private file sharing networks that allegedly offer access to more than 2.5 million “pirated” music files. The damages being sought? Only $150,000 per copyright infringed. Multipy that by 2.5 million and your calculator will explode. Even setting aside the legitimate concerns about fair use rights, the arrogance of the RIAA in seeking these kinds of damages astounds me. It is one thing to prosecute those who violate your copyrights, but it is quite another to use the law as a weapon to ensure that overwhelmed college students accept a plea bargain. Ridiculous.

Not only that, but it turns out the so-called “local area napster” program is the result of an RPI student’s master’s thesis. The site for the network application, called Flatlan, is now offline, but ENN reports that it “carried several warnings that the software was to be used only for academic purposes.” Once again, the industry is reinforcing its position that those who develop a technology are responsible for all the ways it is used by others. The article correctly predicts that “taking aim at college students — one of the music industry’s most enthusiastic consumer groups — is a dangerous move for the Association, which also runs the risk of being accused of stifling technological innovation among some of the country’s most promising computer science students.”

It will be interesting to see how this suit turns out. The industry has certainly crossed a previously untouchable boundary and it won’t be long before individuals who use file sharing networks are put in the RIAA cross-hairs.

Apple Music?

In other news, it appears that Apple is interested in purchasing Universal Music from much-beleaguered Vivendi Universal. Talks have apparently been underway for quite some time but the first reports last Friday caused Apple’s stock value to plummet. It turns out that Vivendi is having a tough time completing the deal and Apple may no longer be interested. Rumors have circulated that Microsoft may be making a move to buy the company, although the seriousness of their interest is still in question. If Steve Jobs and company do purchase Universal, it could be groundbreaking in the music industry’s move from obselescence back to relevance in today’s high-tech world. Again, it will be interesting to see how the shakeup at Vivendi works out.

Remainders

  • Texas Representative John Carter is seeking to greatly increase efforts to enforce anti-piracy laws. The out-of-touch Republican is hoping to make examples of college students by applying draconian sentences to those convicted of file-sharing. Yikes.

  • The Navy apparently was way ahead of the curve when it confiscated more than 100 computers last November due to suspected piracy. Those midshipmen whose hard drives contained copyrighted movies or music obtained illegally were subject to a number of punishments up-to-and-including a court martial.

  • The best debunkment of the RIAA’s claims that “piracy hurts sales” is a recent article by Tim O’Reilly that quotes George Ziemann, one of the most persuasive critics of the industry. Ziemann, himself a musician, became involved in the anti-RIAA movement after he had difficulty selling his own music on Ebay. As Ziemann writes, “When the majority of the public is guilty by default, then something is terribly wrong.” Read the article - it is definitely worth the time.

If you’re looking for ways to support musicians who don’t follow the RIAA’s party line, check out dmusic and Garage Band, two excellent sites that feature lots of free downloads. Music wants to be shared… I don’t know a single person who does not listen to music at least once in a while. For most people, it is an important part of their cultural lives. Music, fundamentally, is good. The industry, on the other hand, is not. Don’t steal music… support labels and artists who want you to hear their music. When enough of us jump on this bandwagon, the RIAA will finally reach the pinnacle of irrelevance that it so justly deserves.