I'm A Criminal!

I officially became a criminal yesterday.

I'm a big fan of live music, especially the Texas indie scene. I never once used Napster when it was so popular. It seemed like thievery to me. I never used any of the alternative services either. Something about music file sharing just didn't seem right.

Until the recording industry decided that it would just be easier to treat me like a criminal, AND expect me to continue to pay exorbitant prices for the privilege!

No more. Over the last few days, I've been having a blast downloading MP3s of all sorts of songs I've purchased at some time, and quite a few that I've never purchased. And I've even found some old favorites that aren't even available any more. I've become a huge fan of AudioGalaxy, and a sometime fan of the current incarnation of Morpheus. I'm beginning to wonder why I ever held out.

Are these services a replacement for non-compressed audio? No, not in my view. The sound quality of MP3, even at the highest sampling rate, doesn't compare to what I can crank out of a true audio cd on my Yamaha sound system. And yes, discerning listeners DO notice, and will pay for the difference. And most people are willing to pay, in some fashion, to be able to acquire the music they want, in a format they can use as they see fit.

Of course, the industry doesn't care about any of that. It has a (flawed, obsolete) model that it wants to perpetuate. But the model is dead. And all the industry seems to be doing is alienating its customers. People who really aren't thieves.

But what do I know? The recording industry has turned me into the criminal they always knew I was. Very impressive.

[Posted at 22:17 CST on 03/04/02] [Link]