"To The Point", a Public Radio International (PRI) news program, discusses emerging intellectual property issues in the music industry. Guests include Peter Trimarco, President of Farenheit Entertainment, who released the first copy-protected CD in the US; Robin Gross, attorney for the EFF; Carey Ramos, legal counsel for the National Music Publishers Association, the Harry Fox Agency, and the DVD Forum; Paul Boutin, writer/editor for Salon and Wired; and Todd Boyd, author and USC professor of critical studies. This discussion starts at about 7 minutes, 42 seconds into the 50 minute audio program. Summary: Digital technology allows computer users to make and distribute exact copies of the music they get on CDs. While music producers have attacked the practice as "piracy," consumers insist it's "fair use." In an attempt to stop it, the industry has developed a hidden electronic lock that prevents CD owners from producing an exact digital copy and burning it onto another CD or uploading it onto the Internet. Has a new generation of listeners been spoiled by technology? Should the industry establish subscription services and other new models for compensating artists? We talk with industry insiders, civil libertarians and cultural critics about the recording industry's assault on the digital reproduction of music. |