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Take the latest outrage for instance...

In the USA, the industry was found guilty of price-fixing and was hit with significant penalties by the courts.

Part of this penalty was to provide over US$75 million worth of CDs as a form of compensation to those who had been disadvantaged by the price-fixing.

While many industries might have simply bit the bullet and accepted that they'd been a pack of lawbreaking fools, the recording industry obviously saw this as an opportunity to display their contempt for the law and their customers.

According to this story in the Stephens Point Journal, the industry, instead of negotiating with those large institutions entitled to receive CDs under the award, have apparently chosen to dump large amounts of unsold stock on their doorsteps.

Yes, instead of allowing those owed the compensation to select from a range of recordings, the recording industry seem to have seen this as an opportunity to clear their warehouses of all those dud disks they know they could never otherwise sell.

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For instance, what else would you do with 1,235 copies of Whitney Houston's 1991 recording of "The Star-Spangled Banner"?

Well that's exactly what they sent the Milwaukee Public Library.

Can you believe it?

Unfortunately, this high-handed contempt is unlikely to disappear any time soon, especially with the news that Sony and BMG are to merge, thus providing even more consolidation within the industry.

As we all know in our dealings with big Telcos, the larger and more dominant a business is, the less likely you are to get a fair deal and be treated as a valued customer.

I'm just glad I've given up buying music.

No, it's not any highly principled stand against the tyranny of the recording industry or a preference for piracy on my part. It's simply that (perhaps as a result of my advancing years), It's been quite a while since I've heard any new albums I'd want to waste my money or time acquiring.

From where I stand, the recording industry are putting themselves out of business by publishing crap.

The interesting thing is that either my tastes in music changed very suddenly in about 2001/2002 -- or contemporary music did. I honestly don't know which it was.

However, even if I did come across a CD I considered worth buying, I don't know that I would -- and *that* would be a decision driven by principle.

But my question has to be: If the recording industry really is treating its customers like idiots, why do those customers still patronise their wares?

Why haven't indie performers enjoyed more success than they have?

Why haven't new music publishers come out of the woodwork and created very real competition to the established labels and their god-awful formulaic hit-making methods?

Is it just that the average customer *is* an idiot and a pirate, therefore feels quite happy to be treated as one?

You tell me.

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