Reply #18: I agree. [View All]

[JohnnyRingo]

When digital cameras were introduced, did Kodak sue to stop people from switching formats to save their film labs? That's what the record labels did when cassettes were invented. They were shot down in court, and did it again when rewritable CDs came out. If it was up to the recording industry we'd still be cranking up an Edison cylinder on a Victrola.

I argue too that downloads are the only reason prerecorded CDs don't cost $50. Even without the expensive vinyl pressings, we still pay nearly $20 an album. It just happens to be the same price when we legally download bits to our music players.

Here's an argument in favor of downloading music from Janis Ian, who points out how she doesn't own her out of print music and is not even allowed to release her old albums. Without downloads, no one would ever hear her (and many, many more artists).

http://www.ru.org/janis-Ian.htm