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Cringely Proposes a Music Sharing Alternative
WEFUNK writes "The I, Cringely 'Pulpit' column at PBS presents an interesting idea for a new business model to take on the RIAA. He suggests that a publicly traded company could legally and profitably buy a single copy of each record which could then be freely copied and listened to by its shareholders under fair use. His 'Snapster' (Son of Napster) proposal is essentially a digital music co-op that would let shareholders/consumers bring copyrighted material into a quasi-public domain. While fair use and the public domain continue to be lost in our courts and congresses, maybe the capital markets will offer an alternative." While a neat idea, it's doubtful that it'll ever be implemented. Still, it's a good read.
"Say, you're Hilary Rosen, aren't you?" he asks. "You used to work for the R.I.A.A."
"That's right," Hilary says, more than a little surprised. "Ten years ago."
The employee's face becomes sad. "Eight years ago, I was in college and getting pretty good grades," he moans. "But then the R.I.A.A. sued me for downloading a few songs off the Internet. I settled out of court, but had to quit college and get a job to pay the money agreed to in the settlement."
Hilary is unmoved. "That is too bad," she says, "But the law is the law."
Another employee, an old woman, hears the conversation and walks over to join in. "My grandson used my computer to download music," the old woman says with sadness in her eyes. "The R.I.A.A. sued me, too, even though I didn't know anything about the Internet. Now I have to work here to pay the settlement money."
Hilary doesn't flinch. "That is unfortunate," she says, "but after all, the law is the law." The old woman shuffles away.
At this point Hilary decides it would be better to get her food somewhere else and walks toward the door. A thin and attractive woman in her early thirties enters through the door as Hilary approaches it.
Hilary is pleasantly surprised. The woman sold a million records eleven years ago while signed up with one of the record companies the R.I.A.A. represents, and was famous for a while. They had met at parties on more than one occasion.
After exchanging greetings, the two talk about old times. After a while Hilary, pressed for time, excuses herself. "It was very nice talking with you, my dear," Hilary says, "but I'm in a hurry and I have to go now." Thinking of the two unhappy workers behind the counter, and their probable dislike of people connected to music, Hilary adds, "By the way, I don't recommend that you get anything to eat here."
"Oh, you don't have to tell me about that," the former pop star says, "I work here."