Time to put an end to this

Hot on the heels of yesterday post, here is another sign that the Old Guard are out of touch:

Satellite radio irks record industry

Major labels argue radio subscribers can use new portable devices to illegally download songs.

October 5, 2005: 6:05 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The record industry may next aim its legal guns at satellite radio over a dispute involving new portable players that let listeners record and store songs, an analyst and industry sources said Wednesday.

The record industry, led by major labels such as Vivendi Universal (Research), Warner Music Group Corp. (Research), EMI Group Plc and Sony BMG, believe the recording capability is a clear copyright violation and could take revenue away from paid download music services.

Illegal song trading has been blamed by the record industry for declines in sales, and labels have become increasingly aggressive in their legal battles to defend their product. Now that focus includes portable players.

"There are genuine issues here, but it is our continuing hope that we can resolve this on a business to business basis," said an RIAA spokesman.

This is signs that the old guard is desperate. They are loosing the ears of people, and they cannot come to terms that they are an impediment to innovation. People want control, and they want content. The control of this content is along how they use it. Can't listen to Tony Kornheiser when he is on in the morning, time shift it by recording it and listening to it when you can. Any model the Old Guard comes up with will not do away with pirate and the thief. Yet any model that puts restrictions on the individual will force those to become a pirate and take what they want.

We live in an age were technology has given us freedom. Sadly we also live in an age, where no one seems to care that the information is controlled by a small majority. We live in an age where our leaders have no idea how to deal with this technology.

If Microsoft was a monopoly, why aren’t the RIAA and the Music Industry considered one as well?