[IP] A Phony Moral Debate Against P2P
Title: A Phony Moral Debate Against P2P
------ Forwarded Message
From: Barry Ritholtz <ritholtz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 05 Apr 2005 09:14:28 -0400
To: David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: A Phony Moral Debate Against P2P
Hey Dave,
There was an extremely obnoxious WSJ op/ed about Grokster on Friday. It appears the recording industry expects to lose the Supreme Court case, so they are now gearing a new line strategy -- "Don't download cause its wrong."
After reading it on the train home, I did a slow burn over the weekend. Being lectured on ethics from the Recording Industry was simply too much for me to bear. The result is a suitably scathing response. Its probably too long to reproduce for IP, but you can see the piece in full here (http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2005/04/new_arguments_a.html)
Here's an excerpt:
New Arguments Against P2P: The Phony Moral Debate
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2005/04/new_arguments_a.html
“Its Illegal.” That’s the phrase the Recording Industry have been chanting nonstop for the past 5 years. It has been the mantra of the big labels and studios ever since Napster winked into existence.
But a subtle shift is already underway. As we await the Supreme Court’s decision in the Grokster case, the industry -- or in this case, its apologists -- is positioning itself for a defeat on the merits. They want and need a fall back position, in the event the Supreme Court decides not to overturn the well settled law -- "substantial non infringing use" -- of Sony BetaMax case.
If the Betamax decision is not overturned, than on the law, the case is over: Articles such as this one -- File-sharing case worries Indie artists (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=611968) -- incontrovertibly demonstrate the inescapable conclusion that not only are there substantial non infringing uses for P2P, but they are from direct business competitors to the Big Labels. If P2P is quashed, it would have the effect of limiting competition to the majors from the small, underfunded, scrappy independents.
And that’s even before we get to the issue of stifling technological innovation.
Indeed, knowledgeable observers have long since figured out that P2P is not about copyright at all. Instead, its about disintermediation -- getting the Labels out of the middle, removing them from between the artist and the listener. Of course the labels are horrified about P2P -- it makes them irrelevant. Who the hell wants to be replaced by a collaborative filter?
So a new approach has been hatched: Apologists for the industry are replacing the catchphrase “Its illegal” with a new mantra. Are you ready to hear what it is? (Hold onto your seat): “Its morally wrong.”
Allow that to sink in a moment. One of the most corrupt, decadent, morally bankrupt industries the planet has ever seen is now making the argument that people should not use P2P -- due to the ethical considerations.
I find that approach utterly fascinating, more than a little infuriating, and outright hilarious -- all at once. The Recording Industry must be hellbent on getting into the Guinness Book of World Records for the most hypocritical, disingenuous, cynical, and intellectually dishonest arguments in the history of mankind.
You want to play that way? OK, I'm game. Let’s go along. If the industry wants to have a discussion on morality, lets have a closer look at this black kettle, the house of glass they want to throw stones from. Let's examine how the industry arrived at where it is today -- but according to their wishes, from an ethical standpoint . . .
Cheers,
Barry L. Ritholtz
Chief Market Strategist
Maxim Group
405 Lexington Avenue,
New York, NY 10174
(212) 895-3614
(800) 724-0761
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The Big Picture: Macro perspectives on the Capital Markets, Economy, and Geopolitics
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