Paying for downloads is like buying air

The record industry is as outdated as shipbuilding. Artists no longer need it to get their music out The record companies are once again crying over spilt milk. When they experienced a windfall from the compact disc in the Eighties, instead of giving back the love, the industry made the customer feel guilty with its “home taping is killing music” campaign. Now it is trying to stop illegal downloads by brokering a deal with internet service providers to reduce internet speeds for transgressors. But the £1 billion that the industry estimates it will lose in the next five years due to file sharing is already long gone. The game changed years ago, and a generation has grown up believing that it doesn't have to pay to hear music. It's hard to see why even younger fans would feel different. The BPI, the industry's trade... [read full story]