More on the RIAA's delusions

The interview with Cary Sherman, the President of RIAA, was even more timely yesterday. Yesterday, Apple announced that their catalogue of DRM (Digital Rights Management) Free music would be reduced in price to 99¢, the same price as a DRM restricted song. That announcement means two things. First, at this point there is no difference between purchasing a song on a CD and purchasing one electronically. But second, the Apple move reinforces the very thing that Sherman's organization has been trying to eliminate - the fair use of purchased music. Sherman's organization has made some outrageous claims about whether owners of music can share their music in various ways. Apple's announcement, which will simply reinforce the trend to this type of purchasing, will help to make his voice even more absurd.

Let me be very clear. Artists should be compensated for their music. But that principle should not be interrupted by Luddites who want to hold on to their outdated theories of distribution and compensation.