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As regular readers of this column will be well aware, I have little time for
Michael Glading and his ridiculous comments and attitudes in respect to
the thorny issue of music piracy.
Glading has been a doomsayer for quite some time, predicting that the
introduction of proposed legislation such as the legalisation of
format-shifting would spell the end of the music industry in New Zealand.
It was with great interest therefore that I read
this story
in today's NZ Herald in which it is revealed that "Glading has nothing to
hide, he does own an iPod and it's bursting with more than 400 albums".
Um... how did he get those tunes onto that iPod without engaging in a little
of the illegal format-shifting he has spoken so strongly against?
But the most interesting element of that NZ Herald story is the news that
Mr Glading is now out of a job, having been dumped as the head of
Sony Music NZ.
And, wouldn't you know it, he's not blaming his own inability to accept
the need for things such as format-shifting -- he's blaming those dastardly
music pirates -- you know, the ones that would copy CDs onto their iPods (gasp!)
Now have your say
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The Herald quotes Glading on the subject of CD burning and music downloading
as saying "if it wasn't for those things, these companies wouldn't be
merging and the merger has cost me my job".
Or could it simply be that when selecting candidates for the job of managing the
newly merged entity, his employers were looking for someone who was more
willing to acknowledge that the shape and format of the music distribution
business has changed more dramatically than Mr Glading could accept?
I'm sure this man is exceptionally good as a manager and has a truly fine
understanding of the music production business but quite honestly I reckon
that Sony Music/BMG's reputation within the tech-generation can only improve
now that his blinkered opinions are somewhat defused.
Maybe now they'll acknowledge that the proliferation and popularity of
solid-state MP3 players and the arrival of the Internet as a viable retail
distribution channel means that we must make format-shifting legal and that
those who legally purchase music must be allowed to create backup copies for
their own personal use.
Maybe now NZers will finally get access to the kind of legal download
service that our peers in most other countries already enjoy.
As for me -- well I won't be buying any new CDs until they stop assuming I'm
a thief by copy-protecting them. In the meantime I'll just listen to my
existing music collection and whatever happens to be on the radio.
Only when the recording industry changes its tune and decides that once again I'm
a customer and not a music pirate will I'll go back to buying new music.
Let's hope Mr Glading's replacement is listening.
But what do you think? Will the departure of Glading and his myopic
perspectives help or hinder Sony NZ and the local recording industry
in general?
Have your say on today's column
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