Essay Database

For those of us familiar with the RIAA legal and propaganda onslaught against file-sharing and Internet technology, words taken out of context by the powerful trade association are nothing new or surprising. In order to drive its mantra home - simple file-sharing is theft - the RIAA has redefined common words. Let's take the RIAA's most common misusage: theft. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition, defines theft as follows: theft 1. (Law) …

…should not allow the recording industry - primarily composed of large multinational corporations (accused of unfair business practices and price-fixing by the FTC) - to dominate and define the terms of the debate on digital music. Or, for that matter, redefine common words. We need to write our government representatives, send letters to the editor, post on forums such as Dmusic and Cypertropix, and generally make our opinions about the Great Corporate Music Swindle known.