Did "home taping" kill music? No. Did VHS video tapes kill the movie and TV industry? No. Do sky complain when you record their TV? No, they sell you the box to do it with, and give you instructions on how to copy it to DVD. Did these record-company execs never make a mix-tape for a friend?
What do the music industry do when faced with a new technology that puts control in consumers' hands? Freak out and threaten to sue every fucker on the planet for copyright infringement.
Maybe, if it were possible to buy reasonably-priced, drm-free digital media online, the piracy issue would be of little concern. Maybe, if there were actually a way to legally download the entire back catalogue of a particular artist, that would help. Maybe, if i could buy music online and then use it on any playback device, on the pc, mp3 player, car, phone, and also back it up, that would also reduce piracy. Maybe if, when you bought a CD, you knew what you were buying (the media? the licence? the digital rights?), it would clarify the situation a little.
If i buy a piece of art, and hang it on my wall, then decide to photocopy it and hang it on another wall, nobody gives a damn. If i lend it to a friend, that's cool. If he takes a photo of it, then hangs that on his wall, and gives me back the painting, nobody's going to come knocking my door down and asking for damages. Why is music a special case?
Case in point: a friend of mine, a couple of years back, recommended i listen to to some Biffy Clyro. So i downloaded a bunch of tracks from limewire (this was a while back). Really liked it, and downloaded loads more. What a bastard i am. Since then, i've bought four albums, and been to two (quite pricey) concerts. So yeah, the music industry really lost out there.
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