How about $222,000 reasons?

On October 05, 2007 a Minnesota woman was ordered to pay six major record labels (who brought the lawsuit against her) $220,000 dollars for "illegal" music downloads (a total of 24 songs).

Any company, who for any reason, sues its patrons, fans or audiences, needs a swift kick where the sun don't shine and a real world reality check.

For centuries, record companies have bullied their way up the industry ladder of record breaking sales. They have charged whatever they liked, as much as they wanted, for as long as the public is willing to pay their price tags. In the same amount of time, most marketable industries today have been forced to increase prices to reflect the current uprise of production costs in our war ridden economy. But record company's production costs are about the same as they've always been, yet, record prices and profits have increased by far the most in any market, including oil.

Someone has to pay for all the hype, hummers, parties, promotions, red carpets and masses of useless products generated by music industry giants. Think they will? Think again. The star-struck public pays, so that record companies can continue to monopolize the industry with even more delusional propaganda.

Copyrights should in no way apply to the sharing of Cd's, tapes, videos, or downloads because sharing a file is no different than sharing a dress or a pair of shoes. If I record my music channels on my DVR and share my DVR with my friend, can a record company sue me for copyright infringement for sharing my own music on my own DVR?

Technology has evolved faster than any other market on the planet. Industry corporations, like record labels, refuse to keep up with the times. Why should the public be both overcharged and criminally prosecuted because the music industry doesn't want to comply with a whole new generation of technology? Does this mean, record companies don't know any other way to sell records?

Hate it or love it, there's no turning back. The information highway known as the internet is here to stay, therefore, all these mainstream record companies, stuck in a 60's way of doing business, need to get it together, before they all end up in the dust.

Not only has the world wide web provided a means of instant information to the public, the web provides the public with an unlimited amount of access to everything from online shopping, to starting and maintaining independently owned businesses. The smartest thing for record companies to do at this point, would be to embrace 21st century technology and just, roll with it.

The people make the music industry what it is and we the people also dictate in dollars what the industry is able to do or not do in our society. Without the people, record companies wouldn't make a single dime. If every music fan all over the world, who downloads music on the net is sued and forced to pay ridiculous high costs for such downloading, will there be any fans left? Bye-bye big wig record labels. Technology is ending your world-wide tyrant and industry control.

Learn more about this author, Michelle Ann Newton.
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