| Bad timing. Given the grim state of the economy and the fact that economic experts are predicting continued job losses, this isn't the best time for the entertainment industry to be lining up for public largess. And make no mistake about it--this will be nothing but public largess; music downloads will not suddenly be free nor will copyright laws be amended to make downloading without paying legal. This is simply the music industry (and movies and tv will be right behind them, believe me) stepping up asking the government to make every citizen who has any kind of access to the Internet (even if it's only as a taxpayer in a community with a wired public library) pay them a monthly fee, just because. You will still see enforcement of copyright infringement provisions, both civilly and criminally. If music gets this, expect to see tv and movie execs step up to the bat. So, if you own cell phone (regardless of whether it's data capable; I just don't see the cellular carriers objecting to levying more fees on all their users) or have an Internet connection of any kind, you'll end up paying somewhere around $20-$30 month more for fees to the music industry (not artists, mind you), tv and movie execs. Before you know it, other industries will try to get in on the act, say publishing. By the time it ends, you may pay more in fees to compensate industries for "pirating" even if you've never violated the copyright act than you pay for the Internet service. On top of that, anyone who wants to download music legally is still going to have to pay for it and those who continue to pirate aren't going to get a free ride--if they get caught they'll still be subjet to criminal and civil legal action. |
