Then there is a whole discussion wrapped up about the fact that you can give your MP3.com password to your buddy and bam! he's got access to your entire (well, that which MP3.com has) CD collection. Or you can borrow a CD from a roommate, drop it in a computer that has the Beam-it software installed, and, as far MP3.com cares, you have proved that you own that disc and they'll add it to your rotating music list. One side argues that MP3.com facilitates the illegal "copying" of music through its services. The other retaliates with the point that these actions are not how the service was intended to be used and actually is a violation of their lip service policy that everyone signs when they initiate the service. They can't be held responsible for those who use their product in a manner that it wasn't intended.

It's a cop-out argument. You can't go too far down this road before you run into a similar argument that has been used for gun use. Can you hold the gun manufacturers responsible when some whacko uses their merchandise to kill an innocent in cold blood? That wasn't the intended use of the handgun, they argue, batting their eyelashes and saying "in good faith" rapidly under their breath. MP3.com is jumping on this same wagon and using it to dodge responsibility for their inventions. I've always been an advocate for personal responsibility so I can't entirely say that what an individual does with a tool or a service or a piece of film or literature should be the responsibility of the creator, but I do believe they should be cognizant of the potential for abuse and the ease of abuse should be actively considered by the inventors during the creation process. The fine line here is that if utilization of your invention is more engaged in criminal activity than not, then your intent of usage was no longer relevant.

Don't believe me? Pretend you are Ken or Scott for a minute and jaunt on over to Napster and do a search for The Crystal Method. Hmmm...is that most of Vegas that I see completely available for download to my computer? Am I getting paid for those transactions? I might want to go check my last royalty statement.

The CEO of Napster has been quoted as being surprised by the lawsuit slapped on her company by the RIAA. "For chrissakes, we're still in beta." Hey, honey, just because being in "beta" absolves you of any wrongdoing when your software doesn't work properly doesn't mean that you can't get into trouble. The implication here is that the illegal sharing of MP3s through Napster is a bug of the program--let's be generous and call it a Category 1 bug, you know, a showstopper that must be fixed before going Gold.

I feel sorry for the RIAA. They have been forced into the role of the villain. It is readily apparent to anyone with half a brain and a couple of seconds of time on their hands that most of the safeguards against illegal trading of music through MP3.com's Beam-it software or through Napster's technology are lip service to protect them from the eventual lawsuits which will be thrown their way. Which is why the RIAA has been snapping lawsuits out faster than a kid working the grill is slopping McBurgers during a lunch hour. The RIAA has got to be riled up about every possibility or they'll lose the ability to do so later. If they don't show their teeth now, they will have no bite when it really matters. They're not against the digital distribution of music, they just want to ensure that the artists get paid. Yeah, it is easy to share MP3s and impossible to prosecute every last one of us that is doing so illegally, but that doesn't make it right.

Consider the global community in which you act when you slap those MP3s online. I've seen guys whine for a CDR of some artist's latest release on mailing lists, crying that they can't afford to buy the record. And these idiots always pick an artist who is online, who is a part of this mailing list. Can you imagine the effect this has on the guy making the music? What did he give up to make that album? What sacrifices were made in his life to put out that little piece of laser-etched plastic? And some little shit is whining for a free copy because he isn't willing to make any sacrifices on his own.

You know what these guys should do? Start a barter system. Send this kid a copy of the CD, but only after he's distributed 100 flyers in his hometown advertising the artist. You could even send him a copy of the artwork. At a couple of pennies a page (less if you use the copier in your local corporate behemoth), it'll cost this kid less than half the price of the CD to actually do some good for the artist. Or maybe he should do some civil disobedience and wear a T-shirt of the artist when he gets arrested and shown on the six o'clock news. In fact, all of us should do this. Next time you accept an award or get arrested or do something in front of a large group of people, wear a T-shirt of the band that you last ripped off an MP3 file from. It won't even the score, but it'll go a long way towards karmic redistribution. No one wants to come back as a frog; take positive steps.

The way in which we listen and buy music is going to change. That is last year's news. What is next year's news is how it is going to be distributed and how we are going to have access to it. We're going to have to pay for our music; that's a constant ugly truth. But how much we pay for the pleasure of listening is still in question. The digital immediacy of the Internet makes the question of ownership one that can be very thinly sliced, and these large corporations are going to spend a lot of money slicing down to the thinnest portion possible. I can guarantee you this, though: none of the portioning will be done with the best interest of the artist and the listener in mind.

Want to know what you should be supporting? A little site called Garageband.com. Former Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison is throwing a regular contest for unsigned bands to win a recording contract through a democratic process of voting on uploaded MP3s. You want to have a positive impact on the recording industry? Get your MP3s here and vote often.

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