Not content to just sue college kids for sharing or stealing songs across networks, the RIAA is now saying it's illegal to simply rip a CD to your own computer or mp3 player for your own personal use .Washington Post Article
As Motley Fool recently observed with regard to Sony's stock outlook, "a good sign of a dying industry that investors might want to avoid is when it would rather litigate than innovate, signaling a potential destroyer of value." This has been the case with the music industry for years with the download battle, but with this new wrinkle, the RIAA has taken away every last reason anyone would want to buy a CD. They are cutting their own throats
I own an mp3 player, but I do not buy my music via download. Call me old fashioned, but I like CDs and LPs. I like having something physical to hold and touch, and I like to look at the album art, liner notes, etc. Also, I hate the way data compression makes music sound. But I love having access to lots of CDs on a tiny little mp3 player I can carry in my pocket, and I use my computer for theatrical sound designs, so I often rip music to my hard drive to edit and mix for sound cues. CDs give me the fidelity and tactile advantages I prefer, with the flexibility of being easily ripped for portable/professional use.
But if I have to worry about being sued for copying a CD to my laptop or ipod, why would I want to buy it? What the hell is the music industry thinking? This is the final nail in the coffin.
