Not that I think this will change anything, it is interesting to read this story about a New York teen fighting the label’s illegal downloading suit against him. Two things jump out:
Part of the countersuit is that the recording companies first promoted file sharing and then turned against it. Hmmm
They are also accusing the normally competitive recording companies of acting as a cartel making extortion threats.
Before you go read the article, let me make one thing absolutely clear: I am NOT a proponent of “illegal” file sharing and my definition of that is in line with the major labels. Intellectual Property is the single most important property there is. Nothing happens without an idea, and if you don’t reward the creative person behind the idea, what incentive is there to BE creative?
Now, with that said, IMHO, the problem here is that the industry allowed themselves to be caught off guard by the greatest opportunity EVER. They are now playing catch-up and that is unlikely to work. What IS likely to work is a completely revamped business model focused on the end-users.
