Copy Cat

Joel Tenenbaum is getting’ jobbed and he isn’t even gonna get a happy ending. He’s the Boston University student who got popped “illegally” downloading music and was fined more than a half a million dollars. JEEZ! Aren’t the record companies rich enough? It’s not like the original writer or artist is gonna see a penny of the fine. But it begs the question: Is sharing music files over the internet really a crime? Here’s my example…

Back in the day I bought the album “That’s the Way of the World” by Earth Wind & Fire. Boy-howdy, I surely do love me some EWF! The 33rpm LP cost $15. Then I bought the 8-track for $12, then the cassette for another $15, then the CD for $20…that’s a grand total of $62 for one album. Should I have to pay for the digital version too? How many times do I have to buy the same friggin’ album?

Can you imagine the auto industry operating like the music industry? Buy a new car, drive it off the lot and when you’re through, drive it back to the lot. Next time you want to drive your car, all you’ve gotta do is go back to the lot and buy the car again. Oh yeah…and you can never, never, ever let your friend drive your car. After all, if they didn’t pay the car company to drive the vehicle, that’d be stealing from the auto industry…right?


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