The Recording Industry Loses One...

It's about bloody time. With the recording industry running about trying to tax everything that could be used for storing a song, one of our courts finally has called bullshit on the ever expanding levies imposed on the assumption that users are all pirating recordings.

Traditionally, levies have been applied to products such as blank tapes in order to compensate the recording industry for any duplicates made on those tapes.

But analysts noted that MP3 players act as both the medium and the playing device and such a levy would be the equivalent of taxing both the blank tape and the tape recorder.

Analysts also noted the levy assumes that people are not paying for the music they store on their devices.

I object to those levies on general principles - starting with the fact I resent the fact that they are essentially a "prepaid speeding ticket". Frankly, punishing or suing your market is a great way to lose markets entirely. It's long past time for the recording industry to "wake up and smell the coffee" - the days of making vast amounts of money by being the "only game in town" for music recording and distribution are past - long past. Time to figure out some new ways to compete in a changing marketplace - like any other business has to do when the competitive environment changes.