Re: Finance the music industry with a $6/mo le vy on broadband (The Reg)

On Monday 02 February 2004 21:43, Hibbs, Phil wrote:
> Some people don't buy much or download any music. Me for instance. Then
> again I don't have broadband, but there's no way I'm going to contribute to
> propping up a failed business that I despise. Would you have paid extra
> road tax to subsidise DeLorean?

I too would object quite heavily towards paying yet another digital levy to 
keep the music executives in cocaine. I do have broadband, and my primary use 
for it is keeping my distro up to date, and working on large files via sftp. 

That said, I don't object to what is effectively the same thing; the  BBC 
licence fee. Having thought about it, it's because I honestly feel that the 
BBC provides value for money, and they provide a service that a purely 
commercial body cannot.

So if such a scheme were to work, the labels would have to relinquish their 
death-grip on the role of gatekeepers to the world of music; and all their 
actions to date indicate that it's more the power and control that matters to 
them, rather than the money.

Personally speaking, I'd give it a couple more years. Wait till the major 
record labels finally realise that they've driven off every ethical customer 
they had left by their bully-boy tactics and unethical business practices. 
When they realise that DRM actually costs more sales than it gains.

Then they'll be more willing to work for their customer, rather than shaft 
them.



-- 
"They are the gatekeepers. They are guarding all the doors. They are holding 
all the keys, which means that sooner or later, someone is going to have to 
fight them."
Why we should fight TCPA - http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/tcpa-faq.html