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In case any of you still feel any sort of sympathy towards the plight of the major record labels, a group that is currently looking down the barrel of a financial crisis brought about largely because of their continued practicing of treating their customers like criminals, hopefully the following quote from Sony BMG's head of litigation will put an end to that. While giving testimony yesterday at the trial for Capitol Records, et al v. Jammie Thomas, the first RIAA-related case ever to be tried in front of a jury, Jennifer Pariser had this to say on the issue of ripping music from your own CDs:
"When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song." Making a copy of a purchased song is just "a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy.'"
(Quote via arstechnica)
My initial reaction to this, as it often is whenever I read a quote from one of the record label attorneys, is to laugh at the irony of Sony calling out its customers for allegedly unethical - or in this case, criminal - activity. This is the same company, let's not forget, that illegally installed rootkits on the computers of unsuspecting consumers (not to mention the baseless lawsuits that it has pursued as a backer of the RIAA).
It would be dangerous to dismiss this as just another outrageous claim by the record industry, though. This quote comes from the head of litigation at Sony BMG, the woman directly behind all of the RIAA-based lawsuits that the company keeps filing, so it's safe to assume that Pariser is fully aware of the copyright laws in this country, laws that explicitly protect the right to make individual copies of songs. Within that context, I think we can view this quote as a declaration of the plans that the recording industry, with the help of its well-financed lobbyists in D.C., has for the future of copyright law. The idea that copying in any form is illegal is just one step away from what seems to be the industry's ultimate goal: the end of fair use, and the ability to charge consumers a fee every time they play a song.
It's worth noting that Sony, back when it was more focused on being a technology company than a content provider/record label, used to be on the same side as its consumers. Back in 1992, Sony helped get the Audio Home Recording Act passed as an amendment to the copyright laws in this country. The AHRA protects the right to make copies of music for private use, stating:
"No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright based on the manufacture, importation, or distribution of a digital audio recording device, a digital audio recording medium, an analog recording device, or an analog recording medium, or based on the noncommercial use by a consumer of such a device or medium for making digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings."
This amendment was passed in large part due to the lobbying efforts of Sony, a company that was facing the threat of litigation by the major record labels of the time. The labels did not want Sony to release their Minidisc player, which allowed consumers to make near-perfect copies of their music (while that may not seem too revolutionary in the age of the iPod, back in '92 it was groundbreaking).
The Audio Home Recording Act wasn't even the first time that Sony fought for the protection of fair use. Back in 1984, in the now infamous Betamax case (Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc.), Sony argued that using a VCR to make individual copies of television shows was not copyright infringement. The Court sided with Sony, agreeing with Sony's argument that the act of copying did not have a negative impact on Universal's sales.
Even the RIAA, which Sony supports financially, says on their website, "Record companies have never objected to someone making a copy of a CD for their own personal use. We want fans to enjoy the music they bought legally."
For those of you who are as disgusted by Pariser's testimony as I am, why not give her a phone call and let her know your thoughts? Here's her phone number.
Another option would be to just stop buying Sony BMG's music. Without the revenue from CD sales, it might be harder for them to keep an army of attorneys on their payroll. Here are some of the top-selling artists on Sony BMG's roster, should you feel so inclined to boycott them: Sean Kingston, Will Smith, Bow Wow, R. Kelly and Chris Brown. Looking at that list, is a boycott that much of a sacrifice on your part?
10/03/2007 09:31:29 PM posted by Fresh