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I could have checked "all of the above," but it's still too soon to say which is the proper road to follow. The way music distribution is evolving, it may NEVER have a hard, fast set of "rules" to follow -- and won't the lawyers just LOVE THAT !! As soon as any parameter is established, you can bet your ass someone out there will be upsetting the apple cart. That's just human nature putting technology in its place. Hey, everybody -- let's get used to this already !

You can't tell me that the record industry doesn't have it all figured into the profit margin. the real pirates are in the third world making 1000's of copies

I find the RIAA stats interesting in that those of us who are over 45 buy the most music as a group and have possibly proven we are not interested in MP-3 quality or downloads. I am only interested in improved sound, 24/96, 24/192, and SACD. The figures from RIAA seem to indicate the flat-line sales have for younger listeners due to possible Napster/MP-3 quality downloading. I will be very surprised to see the 30 and under age group make a major move to SACD, although they will probably buy cheaper DVD players and listen to some DVD-A discs through lousy converters. It is hard to imagine them buying music CD's in any format that will be over $20 each. I doubt many Eminem(sp) SACD's would ever be sold.

No matter what they do, it will not stop technology. What they are really afraid is their monopoly on the music distribution.

The industry execs are acting like paranoid children in severe need of a spanking.

Bootlegging and piracy haven't put them out of business yet, have they?

In the desert, a blind bunny meets a blind snake they start feeling each other the serpent says you are all covered with hair and have pointed ears, you must be a bunny. The bunny replies you are all slimey and have no ears: you must be a record company executive! Force them to lower the prices of records and take in less proffit so they may give the musicians a decent part of the pie.

What I don't understand is why DVD-Audio is watermarking the audio content --- on SACD the watermark is on the text portion of the disc so it doesn't degrade the music! This is just one more reason SACD will win as Sony is smarter. Is it too late for DVD-A to change their mind and watermark the data instead? If not their format is dead and SACD wins!

As usual the record company is screwing the public that it serves. Now when we are close to what is perceived as near perfection they are really nervous about individual pirates. If they would charge 5 bucks for a cd, it wouldn't be worth the time to burn the cd and scan the covers ect...If the artists where getting most of the money(as they should after subtracting production costs)you wouldn't see the RIAA getting isn't panties all rolled up in a bunch. It is never about the art, or the artists. It is always about GREED. They should worry more about putting out quality, then worring about these trivial things. Besides how can they say they would be losing said money, most likely the people that pirate the albums wouldn't have paid the high price to begin with, so their point is invalidated.

Past experience with video cassette recorders shows us that they generate far more business than they take away. If you have ever listened to MP3 on a good system, you know it's just a hook to reel you in to buy the big fish, or if you don't like it, throw it back. I can't believe anyone seriously listens to Napster downloads on a $5-20K system.

Just because the artist and their cadre think they deserve total control of the "art" they create does not make all the rest of us thieves. There are many of us that actually enjoy music without finding it necessary to copy it and give it or sell it to others. I also go to concerts with no intention of taping, just enjoying. The artists and agents, etc, do deserve their cut of the pie, but not at the expense (and it is becoming an expense) of the people they are putting off with the ever increasing limits.

I have no problem with protecting property. I just don't want to have to pay for their (record industry's) protection. Amazing how software companies seem to have survied illegal copying. In fact, it's the after the sale services and offerings that make me want to buy them in the first place. What value do the record companies create? I buy because of the artist and not the label in most cases. However, companies like Chesky, RR, DCC, Telarc do create value for me. They create it through their recording techniques, sponorships of audio forums, and other activities that are of interest to me. Those are things I'm willing to pay for and cannot be obtained otherwise.

Well who hasn't recorded a copy of a friend's record, cassette, or CD? If this is piracy, I can't think of anyone I know who hasn't pirated, can you? I usually follow up and buy a copy, but not always. It got me interested in new artists, so if I didn't buy that one I bought another. Do they really loose here? I don't think so. I have bought more music and been introduced to more new artists by trading with friends than I would have any other way. I will be sorry to see Napster go. All of a sudden I have 8000 friends to share music with. Talk about a way to experience new artists and their music.Another issue with Napster is the old stuff. I like progressive rock and many bands CD's are out of print or just not available at all in this country. Well, when I did some searches on Napster there was a whole bunch of recordings that had been rescued from vinyl oblivion or had been released as imports but not available here that I could finally get copies of. It was great. Well now this resource will be lost to me or anyone else, many of who bought the rites when they purchased the original records but no longer have them. That closes the door on all kinds of music that the industry won't make money on but we can't share? That does not seem right to me. As far as the file sharing is concerned the files are MP3. Sure they are digital but they can never be exact copies not in that format. If I can record a song from the radio whats the difference? Or tape a movie on my VCR? Now lets see the price of CD'S was going to come down well I have not seen that! I currently go to the used CD store to purchase most CD's because the 17.99 list prices are a little high. Lets say I am a student in college and I have a choice of listening to the MP3 or buying the CD. What would you do? Do you think the industry could do something about the pricing? I don't think I am alone with that feeling either. They are not offering any alternatives which is why MP3 is so popular in the first place. I think they are targeting the wrong people. Go oversee's after the real pirates not some people sharing files. Anything they try to make secure will have its code broken. And oh yes I forgot, macrovision for CD'S. So now I can't make a personal copy of a CD to take to work, that's a great idea. Its obvious the industry has taken pains to keep the average consumer in mind. I will stop ranting now.

people will always want the right to make copies of the music they buy the record industry must keep in mind that sometimes they sell a cd to a person that purchased it with only one track in mind. that person should have the right to make his own compilation. if not then that cd would probably not have been sold in the first place. bottom line i don't see that the recording industry is in any danger of vanishing. after all as more technologies are intoduced there are more recording companies introduced to the market.

why bother you never print it anyway..!

The record companies are completely wrong - and all computer protection schemes (including "hardware fixes" as per above article) will fail. Why? because the record co's only pay the artists cents in the dollar, and no scheme cannot be bypassed (e.g. deCSS)

The music industry is screaming about piracy while making record profits and working on ways to force the consumer into a pay-as-you-play scheme. If the entertainment industry gets what they really want, you won't be able to listen to a song or watch a movie or television program without sending them another payment. Whatever happened to the notion of fair use? Are we going to tear down all the libraries next?

As Americans we do not realize how widespread piracy is in other countries. I know that in China you can buy movies that are showing at U.S. theaters on dvd about a week after they are released. Pirated cds are also dirt cheap.

The industrial copy will always exist, the protection imposed by the industry is simply agains poeple making copy for temselve or friends. The copy is an emulation for the market, it is an access path for poeple to dificult music.

Most of the time, they are a pain in the ... They should find better ways of restriction.

Isn't it amazing what money can do? And this is exactly what this is all about!

The recording industry will build it's little impregnable fortress and shrivel up and die inside, while MUSIC and life go on without them.

I feel that true music lovers and audiophiles have no need or reason to "bootleg" or copy recordings other than for their own private use. I think that there is a potential bootlegging problem that watermarking and restricting digital outputs does not address. The true bootlegger or music pirate will find create his bootleg recordings regardless. The person willing to purchase a bootleg recording (whether it be from a pure digital source or not) probably doesn't care about sound quality anyway. Record companies should let the FBI go after the real criminals and let us hear the music the way it was meant to be heard.

The RIAA is an impediment to development of both the marketplace and technology, they are dinosaurs.

I am _legally_ allowed to make a copy of my music, I don't appreciate that being taken from from me. The music business spends far too much time treating us like potential pirates, and far too little treating us like potential customers.

Artists and the companies who back them have a right to be compensated for their efforts. Clearly, there needs to be a profit incentive if we want people to keep writing and performing. However, the problem with the music industry today is that they seem entrenched in their current business model and are unwilling to change with the times.

Gosh darn it! They are loosing more money right now fiddling around with there encrption schemes instead of getting the frigging software to market where I would run out and buy it. However, because of the ridiculus mess they are making I am inclined to invest in a top notch CD player in the "A" recommended components and save myself the agony required to get into "A+" Funny how the Grateful Dead gave their music away for free, yet today more GD records are sold then when their leader was alive and well. Oh yea, they also approve of downloading their music via the web so long as it's not for commercial ventures. How many folks do you think are going to start their own bootleg company copying CD's DVD's etc and start distributing them to record stores across the land???? The bootlegers are really and underground group that will always be that way and hence have negligable impact on the market. The RIAA are creating more troubles for themselves than they realize. Right now DVD-A is going the same as HDTV, a few pissed off customers who ran out and purchased their HD ready tube and are still waiting 2 years later for broadcasts to start showing up. Now the talk is that broadcasters, because of the same pirating fears will actually "dumb-down" the resolution of many of their broadcasts. I ask what is the purpose of running out and buying either a HDTV or DVD-A machine only to get screwed by the powers that be??

They thought the cassette would ruin them. Then the CD-R. Now Internet music. It has not hurt music sales and it won't.

Who has the time to invest in composing an effective scheme to steal music? Why screw up the CD,SACD,DVD-A media with watermarks? Go after the hardware manufacturers. Can't copy music without the hardware. On to digital downloads: MP3's are okay for obscure songs or testing new music but build a collection? No thanks, too time intensive and it doesn't sound so good. Sell the damn CDs for $10 and the world will beat a path to their door!

While there are pirates out there, the music industries approach is all wrong. Joe Blow can't make any difference. They need to worry more about the people making 3 million copies a year, not three copies for friends. (yes I know that it is illegal) Just so you know, I don't own a CD burner.