Library Versus Music Piracy

I came across this interesting musing from a sci-fi writer by the name of Joe Faust..."Authors Decry File-sharing Network As Piracy." A neat (parody) perspective on whether or not there really is a difference between "borrowing" books from a library and downloading albums before deciding whether or not to purchase them.

"A coalition of best-selling authors have joined forces against a sophisticated network that they claim is eroding profits to publishers through unrestrained file sharing.

"We chose to come forward at this time to bring this problem to light," said Stephen King, one of many authors who spoke against the network at the most recent gathering of the ABA. "There has been much attention paid to music piracy over the last few years, with controversy over systems like Napster and Kazaa. What many people don't realize is that writers and the publishing industry have been plagued with the same problem for much longer. It became clear to all of us here tonight that this network must be shut down."

Michael Crichton, author of such high-tech thrillers as Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain explained at the conference how the network was able to conduct such "wholesale theft of intellectual property."

The key, said Crichton, is that those wishing to indulge in illicit file sharing must register, and are given a membership card with unique identifiers. This gives the operation the air of legitimacy. The membership allows its owner to access thousands of volumes, which are maintained not by individuals, but by a localized central committee. Users can keep the materials for a set period of time and then return them for further sharing.

Crichton explained that the system is so efficient that the range of pirated materials now includes newspapers, magazines, and in some areas, works of art such as paintings or sculptures. "This is really the tip of the iceberg. The network also distributes music and films in a manner that completely eliminates download times. Not even Kazaa can do that.

Admittedly, I have sampled before purchasing an album and in someways I think my cd library has probably grown as a result, not gotten smaller. However, I suppose there are those who take advantage of the existent systems. I personally like to own what I read or listen to, I just find myself wanting the whole package. Reading a book in pdf format is quite cumbersome - I like to turn the pages. Listening to music, I like have a hard copy as well as digital.

Any thoughts?