I am not sure what most of the readers of this site think about the RIAA and MPAA or if they even know what those acronyms mean. If you are even a casual reader of most news sites, you have to be aware of the ongoing battle between technology companies and the entertainment industry.
I can honestly say I understand the plight the entertainment groups are faced with, which is that emerging technology always seems to be providing a way that could harm their profit margin. What I cannot appreciate is how they typically go about dealing with the dilemma, which is to fight it tooth and nail. Methods are employed to limit your ability to use technology, and even worse, untold millions of dollars are used to “influence” lawmakers to pass legislation in favor of businesses at the detriment of the people on the whole. This is clearly against the purpose that our government was designed for.
My opinions are strong in this area. I feel like the business in any industry has to evolve to meet the ever-changing market demands or something “fitter” will win out in the fight for the ever important dollar. The problem, in this case, is that there are serious dollars at work, and people are willing to do anything to keep those dollars flowing their direction.
I am not literary king, so I have often avoided commenting on this subject because I don’t think I can do it justice. I think another little part of me believes in conspiracy theories, so I am afraid that I will wake up to find my house being ransacked after bringing up topics such as these. I read an article today that I thought made a great point on the use of DRM (Digital Rights Management). It is titled Privately Hollywood admits DRM isn’t about piracy.
I think over time I will try to continue to point out articles I think are pertinent to this argument. The problem exists for the music as well as the movie industry. I have personal experience working in the music industry and have seen how even a seasoned entertainer has to fight against the insider bubble to try and make it in the industry. There are a lot of things wrong with the business, but in the end what matters to me most is that my rights as a citizen of my country cannot be infringed upon for the interests of a specific industry or business. That is just plain wrong.
Sorry, not a lot of humor in this post because I couldn’t really find much to laugh about. The consequences of what is happening with our laws and the current environment on this topic are truly frightening.
