Article:
The MP3.com Controversy
January 27, 2000
Many who know me have long heard my championing the MP3 standard before: the music compression format that allows CD-quality music in a small, downloadable file size. Anyone who has seen my vast CD collection could easily grasp the benefit of fitting 10 of those CDs onto one disc. Many also know of MP3.com, the company that lets you download free (and legal) MP3s to listen to them on your computer or MP3 walkman.
I'll be honest. I have said before I wanted to see MP3.com fail for a variety of reasons: some of them valid, some of them me just talking trash. But MP3.com is seriously on the verge of failing (in the form of a potential $8 billion lawsuit), and for a reason that threatens all of our futures.
Here's the deal: MP3.com recently announced My.Mp3.com with Beam-It! technology. MP3.com lets you listen to streaming MP3s of your CD collection, from any computer connected to the Internet. This is possible if you register, for free, with MP3.com, download the Beam-It! installer (very small download), and then every time you insert a CD into your computer, it will send MP3.com verification that you own that CD.
MP3.com, however, has come under legal fire for providing users with this new technology. The RIAA claims that MP3.com is making unauthorized copies of and digitally broadcasting users' music, an act clearly not protected under the Home Recording Act of 1992 or possibly U.S. copyright laws. The RIAA also has concerns over the security measures MP3.com has employed, albeit not very legitimate, saying that My.MP3.com assists CD pirates in creating illegal copies of albums. As one who has benefited greatly from the ease of MP3 dissemination, I could lecture at end, with confidence, about how much easier it is to duplicate a CD with a CD burner than it is to "jack" streaming MP3s.
Many legal experts say MP3.com doesn't stand much of a chance; and they're probably right. The RIAA is a force to be reckoned with. Despite publicly encouraging new technology, the RIAA has vigorously attacked the MP3 format over the past year. And, regardless of their disdain for MP3s and consumer interests, they do have valid claims concerning MP3.com's breaking of the copyright law.
So, if the RIAA is in the "right," why not let MP3.com learn a legal lesson or two? I believe there is a bigger issue at play than first occurred to me.
When I originally heard of My.MP3.com, I figured it didn't have much use for anyone other than Web nerds like myself. However, I recently began to understand the very wide implications of this technology. Ever since I got my first CD player and began hefting around cumbersome, breakable CD cases, I hoped for a universal, transparent music database that knew all my albums. Whenever I was home, in my car, at my friend's house, on a plane, no matter where, I would always have access to my collection. Granted, I had not an inkling of how to see that dream come to life, but that idea is beginning to come to fruition with MP3.com's Beam-It! Obviously, we're still quite a ways off from that day of which I dreamed. Cars, jets, and indeed some of my friends, have yet to be wired for fast Internet access.
But what if the public began getting a taste for what is possible? I'll be the first to say MP3.com's implementation is far from perfect. In its defense, though, it is the first service in some time to provide a truly revolutionary view of how consumers can access their own personal music collection. As our society continues to search for more and more ways in which to be fully mobile and connected simultaneously, technology breakthroughs like MP3.com's become very important. Old laws, designed to protect corporate, not consumer, interests need serious revisiting. Ethically speaking, there is very little wrong with providing paying customers a truly convenient medium in which they alone can access their music. And, still ethically speaking, there is a wrong when corporations are more important the people they represent.
So what efforts do I encourage others to take concerning this controversy? Since I can't imagine Congress revising national law because they see the value of this sort of innovation, I have created a list of action items that we all can take.
First off, I recommend reading up on the lawsuit. This article in its entirety is nothing but my opinion. I have provided several links below that provide further information on the many intricacies of this issue and should help in seeing the case from both angles. Secondly, I encourage registering at My.MP3.com. The more users that experience this new method of accessing their music, the bigger the push becomes for a resolution that satisfies more conusmers' needs. Even if you have no intention of using the service, I strongly encourage experiencing this technology, if but once. Consumers should be informed of the many possibilities yet to come. Lastly, I encourage evangelism of this new technology. There are so many ideas this service alone spawns that it deserves widespread attention.
While My. MP3.com looks to have a short shelf life, because of the lawsuit, its service, and associated issues, should be recognized as pioneering. I cannot believe MP3.com's goal was to flagrantly defy the RIAA. Rather, they focused on creating a product with real value for consumers. Even if the legal system finds MP3.com in violation of the law, consumers should find them in the right for their bold attempt at improving our access to our possessions. The lawsuit against MP3.com will assuredly not be the last in a series of old establishment against the new, in which consumers' rights and freedom are judged by courts favorable to big money corporations. I can only encourage others to experience this new technology, so that when it no longer exists after the lawsuit, there will be a strong enough consumer movement that demands change.