Will Your Books and Music Die With You?

theodp writes "Many of us will accumulate vast libraries of digital books and music over the course of our lifetimes, reports the WSJ, but when we die, our collections of words and music may expire with us. 'I find it hard to imagine a situation where a family would be OK with losing a collection of 10,000 books and songs,' says author Evan Carroll of the problems created for one's heirs with digital content, which doesn't convey the same ownership rights as print books and CDs. So what's the solution? Amazon and Apple were mum when contacted, but with the growth of digital assets, Dazza Greenwood of MIT's Media Lab said it's time to reform and update IP law so content can be transferred to another's account or divided between several people."

Comments

Too personal to be widely desirable

[petes_PoV]

Since everyone has their own collection of (digital) words and music, it's unlikely that you will suddenly develop a taste for someone-else's just because they've died and left you theirs. You may have a brief look through it, to see if it contains anything you've missed from your own collection, or you may hang on to it as a way to handle your grief.

However you may also decide to delete the whole lot, unseen, just in case it contains the sort of "material" you'd prefer not to remember your departed loved one by.

Yes, this is a valid problem

[ThorGod]

...and just one of the many reasons I have hundreds of CDs lying around. I've bought some music and videos from iTunes. I prefer buying CDs because they're physical and tangible. Google or Apple can't decide to "close the service" and take all of my CDs away.

For that matter, there are still recordings only to be found on vinyl. There's either too weak of a modern interest in certain albums or "not enough profit" for record companies in re-releasing them. Either way, I don't see physical media going away anytime soon.

Re:Yes, this is a valid problem

[Knuckles]

And then there's the frequent problem of "where the hell are the master tapes?"

You never bought them in the first place

[pointyhat]

They are just licenses these days. They are not tangible so it's hard to apply property rights to them.

It's a great business model though - you have to buy it again rather than passing it on through death or disinterest.

This sort of shit disgusts me, so I still buy real books and CDs. If new content is not being produced in this way, there is still plenty to read and listen to.

Re:You don't "own" anything any longer

[thegreatemu]

copyright law?

Re:You don't "own" anything any longer

[Anonymous Coward]

Copyright law doesn't prevent that - it just makes it illegal.

Re:Not all of us.

[jamstar7]

But what about your porn????

Re:piracy is superior once again

[russotto]

You possess a copy, you don't own it.

I own the damned copy. Ownership of a copy is recognized in copyright law, and a separate thing from ownership of the copyright or a license to any of the rights which make up copyright. A lot of publishers attempt to claim you don't even own the copy, some convincingly (e.g. a rental DVD), some rather less so (e.g. a product with an EULA printed within the packaging of a product you bought from a middleman.)

Buy hard copies.

[suprcvic]

This is why I buy hard copies of any book I really like. Partly to show off that I've read it but also to pass along to my children or others who may be interested.