In reply to:


The scariest part is that the record companies may well be about to bring the MP3 consumer electronics market crashing down. They have the means (backed by the DMCA) to do this, and I'm not totally convinced that there are enough tech savvy consumers to create sufficient backlash to stop them.



You may be right in this but that raises a few questions.

1. What does that mean for the future of the Audio team within SB - since many of these products rely on consumer being able to make legimate mp3 copies of their legally purchased and owned CDs?

WMA is not the answer here either.

2. Even if the music industry had the ability to do this, do you think that the music industry can get its act together sufficiently well to actually do this in a co-ordinated way, without falling foul of other laws in the US (such as RICO), designed to stop such anti-competive behaviour? Their track record to date (no pun intended) is a woeful lack of co-ordination in everything except their desire to maximise their profits at every turn of the way.

3. How long before some influential consumer groups in the US (or a bunch of fed up citizens) take a class action against the record companies for selling copy protected music "CDs" when they clearly violate the letter and spirit of the definition of a music CD as per the Philips trademarks and other (common law) definitions?

Even if the DMCA is used to stop people making their own mp3 (or other format) copies of their music then that will merely push this activity underground and offshore (e.g. to China) - it won't stamp it out.

I know that the record companies try and make everyone believe that "all mp3s are theft", when that clearly is not the current legal situation - in the US at least.

They also want people (especially polticians) to believe that every CDR ever bought by anyone is going to be used to priate a music CD - which is also not the case.

If the US government decides on allowing a "digital prohibition" then like the alcohol prohibition in the 20s and 30's it will not work in the long term.