THE CELESTIAL JUKEBOX. Jim Capo introduced me to the concept of the “Celestial Jukebox†the other night (the term was coined by a law professor, Paul Goldstein). The idea is that technology will soon permit a person to hear any music ever written, at any time and at any place. There are a variety of economic and legal regimes proposed for this new world. I was taken aback when Jim said that one of the proposed regimes is that technology will permit the copyright holder (the song writer) to charge for each use of his material. Many think that the copyright holder should be able to do this. Kids, think of paying a royalty fee each time you play a favorite song on your iPOD. Jim pointed out that there is going to be a huge legislative struggle about these issues. Jim also sent me this link and this link about the issues.
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Eventually record companies will find a way to charge you when you think about your favorite song.
Oh, Lee, can you imagine how happy record companies would be if they could do that? I think we’d hear their jubilant cries from several states away.
It’s unthinkable to pay for every use of the song. EVERY SINGLE TIME? What’s next, charging for every time we watch a DVD we purchase? It would sure discourage me from purchasing and consuming these goods, let me tell you. I’m not so addicted to music or movies that I’d be willing to flush my money down the toilet like that. I really hope that this possibility will just quietly go away.
I understand that artists deserve to be compensated for their work, but this is really going overboard.
I can’t help but be reminded of the old Qwest commercials for its business broadband services. “Do you have Plato’s Republic in the original Greek?” “Would you prefer Attic, Athenian, or Pelagic Greek?”
Now if only there were more bands making music it’s worth listening to…