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Now we all know that there's a battle going on between the music industry and those people who seek to rob them of their legitimate revenues by illegally and unfairly copying music CDs.

I doubt any of Aardvark's readers would disagree that such piracy is not a good thing and can't be endorsed.

However, I suspect that the vast majority of readers (and Kiwis in general) would argue that they, having forked out up to $30, should have the right to back up the music they've legally bought so as to guard against damage to the original CD.

Unfortunately, the recording industry isn't smart enough to allow a legal distinction between the two forms of copying -- and as a result, they're doomed to failure in their attempts to stop *real* piracy.

The most interesting aspect of The Herald's story is this bit:

Readers Say (updated irregularly) cd copying and live... - Selwyn CD backups... - Rob Music Cd's... - Robert RINZ And Radio... - James From yesterday... HOW MUCH?!?!?!... - Richard cost of web sites... - Robert Walker Wireless... - Dennis Have Your Say

Duh!

Hands up everyone who buys two copies of every album they like...

Hmmm... I see no hands.

So how much would such a provision cost the recording industry?

Nothing, zilch, zip, zero!

Why then are they opposed to a revenue-neutral law-change that would benefit consumers immensely? The only reason I can think of is that their unbridled greed has scrambled their brains and this whole copy-protection issue has nothing at all to do with piracy but is simply a power trip.

If the provision for "format shifting" is not included in the government's pending revision of copyright law then, in effect, all manner of audio recording gear will become illegal to use.

That nice little MP3 player you bought yourself a while ago would be useless -- unless you were prepared to break the law that is.

Now the recording industry have been positioning themselves quite cleverly with their "Enhanced Audio" (aka: copy-protected) disks by including a session that contains tracks in a compressed, computer-readable format.

These tracks however, are not in MP3 format had come complete with strong DRM (aka: copy protection) attached. They're still not going to work on your MP3 walkman are they?

It would appear that RIANZ are simply being way too greedy for their own good.

If they eased up a bit and showed that they're prepared to be fair and reasonable in respect to *personal* copying rights, I'd wager that people would be a lot more accepting of the general copyright protections.

However, it's really hard to feel any sympathy for an industry when they're picking your pocket with one hand, slapping you around the face with the other, and have their boot firmly planted between your buttocks.

So let's summarise what the RIANZ wants:

• They want us to buy their product for as much as $30 a pop.
• They want to stop you from copying that product in any way shape or form -- even though you may just wish to protect your investment, which would have *zero* effect on sales revenues.
• They want to use technology solutions to stop you protecting your investment.
• They want to use the law to stop you protecting your investment.
• They want to see MP3 players disappear (they're useless if you can't [legally] rip music to MP3 format aren't they).
• They want to triple dip on every track that's sold (CD sales, broadcast performance rights, and stinging cafe owners who leave the radio on for customers).

If it's going to be against the law to make a backup copy of their *legally* purchased CDs, or ripping them so they can be used on an MP3 player then why not just download the stuff from the Net or burn a copy of a friend's CD anyway.

Most people are basically honest and are happy to comply with laws that are fair and reasonable. Roll out a patently unfair an inequitable set of laws however and you can expect a major lack of compliance.

Is RIANZ looking to ensure that everyone gets a fair deal or are they just trying to screw the public for every last cent? Will their attitude simply encourage the public to try and screw them back through blatant piracy?

If the RIANZ would like to respond to today's column then they should select "Right of Reply" and "for publicatoin" on this page. Come on, justify your apparent unbounded greed!

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