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In this story [Stuff.co.nz]. Gladding is quoted as saying that the proposed change to copyright legislation which would allow purchasers of CDs to make a *single* copy of that disc for their own private use would "open the floodgates" to unrestricted piracy.

Someone really ought to take Mike aside and let him into a little secret: the vast majority of the NZ public aren't as stupid as he alleges they are.

It's obvious that Mike is rowing with just one oar in the water, is a sandwich short of a picnic, and has lost touch with reality.

If he honestly believes what he says (which I doubt) then he's telling us that this amendment to the copyright law (if passed) will see a good percentage of those who presently don't burn CDs illegally, suddenly become blatant lawbreakers.

Mike, please explain to us exactly how this little law change will prompt otherwise law-abiding citizens to become criminals...

But wait, Mike hasn't finished treating us like cretins because he also expects us to believe that "At the end of the day, you're sending a message that it's okay to copy, and that is going to kill our business. It's taking away people's rights to earn a living, and that's horrendous"

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Oh, the humanity!

Get a grip Mike, you're whining like a little baby who's thrown his dummy out of the pram for the tenth time.

Let's look at some of the *facts* (do you know what facts are Mike?)

This proposed law change doesn't make piracy legal and won't allow anyone to legally deprive an artist (or flashy record exec eh Mike?) of a single red cent.

Hands up all those readers who buy two copies of a CD so they can have one in the car and one in the living room?

What? No hands?

Oh, that's right -- I forgot, there's no point is there. Because Mike and his cronies consider all their customers to be evil pirate-types who are just waiting to rip them off, they've crippled many discs (via copy protection) to the extent that they no longer play in your car's stereo anyway?

No, I'm sorry Mike but people simply never have and never will buy two copies of the same CD just because you'd like them to -- so giving someone the legal right to make a single copy for their own purposes won't cost you a single penny.

And where's the evidence that copying is "killing" the recording industry?

Gosh, I guess that the local recording industry is doing something wrong. After all, The Australian Recording Association seem to be doing very nicely despite the best efforts of those evil pirates (oops, I mean "customers").

Across the ditch, where they appear to be a little more honest than our Mikey, the Aussie industry has actually seen an 8 percent increase in music CD sales -- and that's in the face of dramatically rising competition from music DVDs.

So what Mike is perhaps really trying to tell us is that the NZ recording industry are such a bunch of useless sods that they can't possibly survive unless the government introduced what amounts to a tax on the music-lovers of this country.

Without the legalised ability to extort incredibly large sums at every turn (by expecting customers to buy the same music multiple times and by way of a multitude of licences for any other kind of use), it would appear that the NZ recording industry will surely crumble -- yet, strangely enough, their peers overseas seem to be going from strength to strength.

So exactly what is Mike admitting?

By the way, did you realise that the Recording Industry Association of NZ (of which Mike is President) is a non-profit organisation?

I find it a little disturbing that a group of profit-oriented companies can form an entity that claims to be non-profit yet serves only to complain about the alleged loss of profits a law-change would produce. Mind you, when it comes to the recording industry and their outlandish claims, nothing surprises me any more.

Here's a hint for the NZ recording industry... If you *really* want people to respect you and your products enough not to try and rip you off then don't treat them like idiots by letting Mike run off at the mouth.

Go get a dictionary and look up the word "honesty" then the word "credibility".

Now find someone who can present your case to the public using both.

After all RIANZ, do you really think it's a good idea to have your case presented by a man who works for the same corporation that actually encourages the very behaviour ("Most current Net MD models allow you to record from a range of additional sources including a PC, portable CD player, DVD player and radio") that you're arguing will "kill" the industry.

While you've got your dictionary out, maybe you ought to go look up "hypocrisy" as well.

Mike, you may be a very nice guy (I don't know) and perhaps even really good at your job over at Sony Music -- but when it comes to playing spokesman for RIANZ, you are pratt.

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