I own about 250 compact discs and 55 vinyl records. All of these have been transferred to my computer and iPod.
This fact worried me after I read a Dec. 30 Washington Post column by Marc Fisher. It told of the Recording Industry Association of America suing Jeffery Howell, an Arizona resident, for copying his legally purchased CDs to his computer.
The RIAA’s president, Cary Sherman, cleared things up with Fisher on a National Public Radio broadcast Jan. 3.
According to Sherman, Howell was being sued not for ripping CDs to his computer, but for moving those files into a “shared folder.”
The Washington Post wrote a retraction to the story.
However, Howell’s case aroused much discussion about the recording industry’s stand on ripping CDs for personal use.
Sherman was not clear on the RIAA’s stance on ripping music for personal use.
“We haven’t taken a position that it is illegal to rip music to the computer,” he said on the NPR broadcast.
When contacted, Liz Kennedy, an RIAA spokesperson, directed me to Music United, an organization closely tied to the RIAA.
“It’s okay to copy music onto an analog cassette, but not for commercial purposes.” the Music United Web site said. “It’s also okay to copy music onto special Audio CD-R’s, mini-discs, and digital tapes (because royalties have been paid on them) – but, again, not for commercial purposes.”
The site goes on with an unclear statement about the seriousness of sharing legal music.
“Beyond that, there’s no legal ‘right’ to copy the copyrighted music on a CD onto a CD-R,” it said.
As long as the music is purchased legally and for personal use it is still in fact “illegal – to give away the copy or lend it to others for copying,” the Web site said.
The ambiguity of the statement “won’t usually raise concerns” makes me wonder if the RIAA is trying to leave room to be able to claim lawsuits in the future.
People have been lending and copying music for years. “Mix Tape” is a staple phrase for any music fan.
People were moving vinyl to cassettes in the ’80s and moving CDs to their cassettes in the ’90s.
That’s the wonderful thing about music, sharing it with your close friends.
In the NPR broadcast, Sherman said, “If everyone engages in non-commercial use, it will still make an economic impact, which is seen now.”
Record companies are feeling the impact of a decline in record sales, but artist shouldn’t.
“First and foremost, illegal copying hurts the songwriters and recording artists who make the music,” the Music United Web site says.
Anyone who knows just a little bit about how record companies work, knows that artists make most of their money off merchandising and touring.
Going to see Better Than Ezra play at the Varsity Theatre and then buying a T-shirt puts cash in the band’s pocket faster than buying the band’s record at Best Buy.
The point of this uproar still boils down to the major issue of how the record industry is dealing with the digital age. More money could be put into embracing it and changing the old business model, instead of taking time out to sue millions of people.
—-Contact Adam Pfleider at [email protected]