Ownership of music and movie containers is futile (cont.)
In the current practice there is too much emphasis on vending media, the physical container of CD's and DVD's. In the Mona Lisa the product of the artist's inspiration forms an unbreakable whole with the material on which it was created. Even with vinyl LP's one could say that. Would it be technically possible to deliver music and movies without the "container"? That, when driving your car, riding your bike, during jogging, in your living room, you listen to your favourite music, delivered directly, and paid for through a subscription or, why not, per item? Yes.
Especially with the UMTS frequencies, for which the telecommunications companies paid so much money, this may be the killer-application they were looking for. Movies over UMTS may be a bit too much to ask, but it is not impossible. For the generation who still klings to those lovely LP-covers from the sixties and seventies it is a final step since covers became so tiny on their new CD's: no more covers. And no more (big) record stores. All music will be directly available from the record companies. Indeed they will be required to bring their full library online.The advantages to the consumer are many: recently published music can be listened to immediately, without waiting for the local CD-shop to put it on their shelves, new movies will be available for watching as soon as they leave the cinemas, and the videorecorder, DVD-player, stereo, digital TV set-top box in the living room will be integrated into a tiny radio/music-on-demand/tv/video-on-demand tuner. That is really clearing your house. Especially with the closet with CD's, videotapes and DVD's gone.
The pending German law might indeed categorise unrecorded CD-R's, DVD-R's and cassette tapes as burglary tools, and brand suppliers as inciting theft. But for what sake would one really want to buy the packaging for "ones and zeros"? Isn't it all about enjoying music or a movie?
The solution to violations of copyrights of recorded CD's and DVD's lies in taking them off the market. They are impossible to protect packages for unprotected fruits of artist's minds. People who are not satisfied with compressed music, the real sound chasers, analogue media remain, like the trustful vinyl. Record stores will become real record stores again. New equipment must be made available to allow both enjoying the products of artists and a just compensation for their efforts. A major operation, indeed. Unavoidable, because the continuation of the production process and service delivery that stem from the times of Edison will lead in the era of the information society to unequal damages to artists. Of course I know of the excesses in the music and movie sector, about the marketing, about the still large profits in the record industry. However, that is beside the argument.
In essence all artists are Creators: they carry the torch of evolution. If we do not motivate them and provide for ways for them to make a living, we loose something precious. The current media CD and DVD are an error that needs to be repaired as soon as possible. If not it may be the end of the current production process of popular music. Of course one can question how important that is in the consumer culture with a new hot number 1 every week and a new talentless singing brat every month.
Category: Policy
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