Blogging Ottinger (tim)

The most despised term of 2006 may be “content owner.”

While customers and musicians and software people have made it clear that they want more freedom and more access (sort of the success story of the web, no?) the “content owners” (as opposed to those who create content) are constantly fighting for more restrictions, and less access in attempts to create lucrative shortages. Apparently the Sony rootkit lesson wasn’t nearly enough (and did I hear that their “solution” for the root kit opened up an even worse vulnerability in IE? Is that so?). Apparently now those music publishers want to get their fair share of public hatred as well.

I’m talking about the crackdown on lyrics and tab sites. People have for years and years been able to publish the lyrics to their favorite songs (which I believe has increased the popularity of many songs, though it may have turned people off of some turkeys) and have been able to publish guitar tabs (like sheet music for guitarists, kind-of) for their favorite songs. Years ago, some music publishers started to “defend their copyright” by trying to drive lyric & tab archives out of business.

Now they are wanting to throw in some jail time if possible, in the name of “protecting” their business model . I guess people are still convinced that the way to conduct business is to make people afraid to participate by promoting their works. I guess the ideal customer base is characterized by great fear and vulnerability. I wonder if they’re into some police brutality and torture, too? Does it make sense that I should push to use the legal system to terrorize potential software customers to keep them from popularizing my software? Is that what “a free country” means? Is that “innovation?” Is this the best possible use of a legal system? Should our police be busy arresting those who un-licensed-ly hum copyright-protected tunes in public places instead of trying to stop all the violence and manage the real disasters in our world?

I’m getting really tired of this whole realm of law that punishes people for trying to be involved in promoting and recommending their favorite artists. I’m tired of legislation that creates an atmosphere of fear and a real drag on the so-called “justice system” to protect some corporate business model.

American businesses: It’s not the government’s job to make you successful, or to keep you succesful once you have “arrived”. It is their job to make it possible for people to enter the market fairly and compete on merit, to produce new goods and new categories. When new goods, services, and categories arrive, then it’s natural for old ones to die.

Capitalism, last time I checked, was supposed to be about efficiently providing goods and services that serve the needs of consumers. That means that some companies will have to become unsuccessful when their work or their category is no longer the best of the choices that consumers (aka “citizens”) have. It also means that your customers are your real bosses, not your shareholders. If you don’t believe it, then let your customers go away and see how long your shareholders last.

It’s the government’s job to avoid the kind of police state that you keep pushing for. It’s their job to protect the little guys from the big bullies. It’s their job to make this a place where we want to live, and frankly I think that commercial interests have gone far too far to make this a place we want to leave. You’re screwing up my country. As a citizen, I want more freedom and less ways for people to take that away from me.

American Government: don’t let these things continue. One great statesman once said that this country was intended to be “for the people, of the people, by the people.” Don’t forget us now.