Archived - Baboi, Andrei

I grew up during the Napster generation, so I was exposed to music sharing at a fairly early age. This is something which had a very significant influence on my musical preference, as it allowed me to try out many different bands I had not heard of and actually led me to financially support bands which were not necessarily played on mainsteam music stations. More importantly, it meant that when I purchased a CD, I knew I would be satified with the purchase because I was able to listen to it beforehand in the comfort of my own home. It also meant that I would go out and attend the concerts of various indy and alternative bands because I was familiar with their music. This exposure to music happened when I was young and did not have much disposable income, but it had a profound impact on making music a significant interest in my life. I would be very dissapointed if changes to copyright laws would prohibit future generations from experiencing all the great bands out there.

I understand the need to compensate artists, but Canada has always been a country which has promoted sharing of different viewpoints and cultures. I don't think that treating Canadian customers as criminals does anything beneficial for these industries. What I would like to see is a bandwidth tax on downloads, similar to the current tax on CD sales. This would allow the internet to remain a place where ideas and cultural items are freely shared, while ensuring that there is still compensation for artists and creators. I think the television industry has done a much better job of combating piracy by realizing that the reason many people downloaded shows was because of convenience. They responded brilliantly by offering on demand programing online, which allows them to controll the distribution and maintain their advertising revenue stream even in the age of the internet. This is the kind of proactive thinking which must be promoted by Canada. Valve's Steam should be looked on as another success story when it comes to digital distribution of entertainment. This is a company who has managed incredible growth in an age of downloading and whose director of business development has argued that "pirates are under served customers".

Weekend Reading: The Quiet Anti-Piracy Revolution Represented by Valve's Steam

I'd like the government to look at the success stories and see what the successful companies are doing right, rather than simply submit to the RIAA and implement a set of laws which protect an industry which has fought any technological change with tooth and nail.

Thanks for taking my imput. It would have been easy to pass a law without taking the time to listen to Canadians, so I'm glad you took the time.