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When you purchase music, are you purchasing a right to music and physical media, or are you merely purchasing a license to play the music? The recording industry says that our dollars only go towards a license. If that's the case, why haven't we been given the opportunity to transfer this license to a new container format? The recording industry appears to be selling us the disadvantages of music and licenses while retaining the benefits for itself.

There's is a scene in the movie "Men in Black" (the first one) where Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith are in the alien technologies room. Jones shows Smith various items on the table then picks up what looks like a one inch CDROM and says, "I guess I'll have to buy the Beatles White Album again".

Why, "again"? Based on that statement, He apparently owns it already. What he meant was that he already purchased The Beatles White Album, but in order to play it on this new one inch disk, he'd have to buy yet another.

Spending Spree

I've purchased the Beatles White Album several times. My first was the 12" vinyl LP. Not long after that, I picked up the eight track, then the cassette and more recently I purchased the CD. Looking at these licenses not only caused me to realize how old I really am, but caused me to ask a few other questions.

Is there a way to return the CDROM and upgrade to a new container (LP, cassette, CD etc) format? Unlike Will Smith, I wont be buying a 12" CDs just yet, but it'd be nice to know that I could when they come along.

Tape Loop

The answer is no. The recording industry has not, does not, nor does it seem likely that they will ever implement a means to transfer a license to a new format. But what if my CD cracks or gets scratched. I have the right to a new copy... right? Nope. Unfortunately, I'm out of luck here as well. If the container to my music gets damaged, so does the license that the container holds.

This means that after all these years, as each of us filled the recording industry's coffers, buying what we *thought* was music, we instead were only buying a mere license to play that music.

I'm having difficulty accepting the fact that we -- the consumer buying populace -- have exuded so much passion over a mere license. A LICENSE! How pathetic.

No Copying!

The container housing my license is a fragile one. This explains why so many of us felt the need to make a backup copies of these items. We unfortunately, ought not get too attached to those backups, as we're on the brink of having this right taken away from us.

Today, you can still make backups with your computer, but the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is working furiously to keep you from making these copies.

A Decent Proposal

To end this injustice, I would like to propose that the recording industry provide us with a means to transfer our license to a new container format. There's money to be made on these exchanges. I believe that a moderate transfer fee would be acceptable to most consumers.

If consumers purchased the rights to music, let us retain those rights. Allow us to distribute our property accordingly. However, If what we purchased was merely a license, we should be given the opportunity to retain and transfer that license as necessary.

If the recording industry can hear me... You can't have it both ways!