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 September 15, 2003 - 06:22 PM | chris
My 99 Cents

Everyone else already posted about the RIAA's latest revenue stream (suing their customers), so it's time for me to add my two cents.

I went on KaZaa last night to look for some songs by rather mainstream bands that I like that are only available on imports or as b-sides on singles. I have no problem purchasing a CD for 12 bucks, but I do have a problem paying $30 for a Japanese version of an album that has 1 extra song or paying $5 for a single with one new song on it. As a result of the latest legal wranglings, songs like these and other rarer songs are no longer available on KaZaa, but all the album songs and popular singles that are actually cutting into profits are still there ad nauseam.

So basically the RIAA has succeeded in making it harder to find rare and unreleased songs, seemingly a legitimate use of file sharing, while not having any effect on the rampant "stealing" of popular music. As perhaps the only person who actually uses file sharing as a "try before you buy" medium, it's rather annoying.