boycott-riaa.com - Article: More on the "Fisher Plan" for Compulsories

More on the "Fisher Plan" for Compulsories

Posted by George D. Ziemann on February 1, 2004 at 1:39 PM (printer friendly)

Harvard University Professor Terry Fisher has completed the first comprehensive examination of various alternative models. According to Andrew Orlowski of the Register, at least one "offers such tantalizing social benefits, that even the most jaded sceptic ought to pay attention."

Rather than spoil the ending of Andrew's tale, I encourage everyone to read the entire article, with special note of the following.

The last three paragraphs are the most important part - Andrew's conclusions, which illustrate why the record labels don't want compulsory licensing.

Even the most jaded sceptic ought to read it.

User Comments (These do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of this site)


compmore	Date: February 1, 2004 @ 2:10 PM George I think this is an interesting model here. He seems to have thought it out throughly. Compulsories (and I still have my doubts about them) do seem like the fairest way. neither side gets everything they want but all sides benifit. I wish there was an easy simple answer. The die hard Anti RIAA people (and I'm one of them) would rather see the RIAA collapse in favor of a more artist and comsumer friendly model but realisticly the RIAA is going to be here in some form and I think most realize it. On the other hand, the Recording industry refuses to compromise and wants total control so will probably rejet this model outright because they only get what they really lost and not some overly inflated figure they've contrived. In short I'm not sure what the answer is but this seems to be the most balanced and logically thought out answer I've seen so far

gdZiemann	Date: February 1, 2004 @ 2:32 PM The thing is that if this, or something along these lines, doesn't happen it ends up with the Cary Sherman scenario -- iPods pre-loaded with RIAA DRM-infected goods that you have to pay to unlock. You won't be finding any Hayden's Wall tunes on there, either. Or Electric Gypsy or any of the rest of us. As you said, Code, the RIAA wants it all, plain and simple. Understand that taking anything away from them is a victory, not a compromise. It is ground gained, since the RIAA thinks everything belongs to them by default.

independentm...	Date: February 1, 2004 @ 7:08 PM Yes, compulsory licencing will occur eventually, like it or not. (I am against it at least until the RIAA and the labels get beat up quite a bit more and loose even more power and influence.) The most important question is will it be fair ...at least to some degree where independent non-RIAA artists get paid too? And there are a trillion implementation questions... for example, should a compulsory licence model apply to other forms of "IP" in addition to music? I fear the major corporations will have all the influence on writing these laws regarding compulsory license. Shmoo, of Electric Gypsy Support Local and Independent Music!

W-B	Date: February 1, 2004 @ 9:23 PM Actually, the RIAA and their behavior are symptomatic of the elites in general -- insofar as such elites WANT IT ALL, and are systematically dismanting and usurping all our freedoms and safeguards, i.e. the reduction of OSHA to a mere lapdog in workplace cases, the exporting of once well-paying jobs to overseas venues where the workers there earn a mere fraction of what American workers used to earn, the looting and eradication of the middle class in America so our society only has the very rich and very poor classes, a la the Roman Empire in its final few centuries . . . I could go on and on, insofar as this is just the tip of the iceberg . . . There is a phrase used by political commentator Jim Hightower to describe such individuals. "Kleptocrats."

CodeWarrior	Date: February 1, 2004 @ 9:24 PM As a writer and occasional thinker :)... I appreciate the kind of serious thought expressed in the article. And, to be honest, whether or not compulsories are a good idea or bad idea, I look for the RIAA, MicroShyte, Apple, and the rest, to do everything they can to push DRM down our collective gullets, along with that Trusted Computing Architecture Crap... The MPAA , video rental stores, RIAA, and everyone else will not agree to compulsories unless they are somehow forced to... Now, let me concede something.... I believe most ISPs, most kids, and most parents, would be happy to pay an extra 6 bucks, and not have to worry about a subpoena because little Johny was sharing some idiot's rap song like 50 Cent, on Kazaa....and WHY...because of the idiots at the RIAA.... But, why would compulsories be compelling? Because people believe that without it...the people in Congress are going to pass some serious legislation against filesharing.... Now, if we're talking about the lesser of two evils, OF COURSE compulsories are more acceptable than either laws outlawing filesharing or lawsuits...but, it causes little pockets of boiling plasma in my circulatory system...(especially in the Circle of Willis)...that we are trapped into being victims....with a legal Sword of Damocles either being suspended over our heads by Cary Sue, or some a-hole like Carl Levin doing a tag team with Orrin Hatch. I guess, I am saying....I am really getting tired of the victimization of our population by everyone under the sun...before long, we'll have a color warning system for viruses... People who have been trading copyrighted songs on P2P don't do it because they have no money....they don't do it (until June 2003) because they hated the RIAA, or the artist they were trading the songs of... they have done it because it is fun and free.... there was no sinister plot... you could find OLD songs on P2P that you couldn't go down to the record shop and buy...you could find songs there for free...that you couldn't get from Amazon.com....or from iTunes, or from Wal*Mart, or MicroShyte...or anyone else. By the way...for anyone wanting to read Professor Fisher's paper on alternative compensation... http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/tfisher/PTKChapter6.pdf It's a 94 page long document.

CodeWarrior	Date: February 1, 2004 @ 9:29 PM My vision is that the RIAA will go out of business. The Chinese say : "With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown." Clearly, patience is power. One person I have always admired was Da Vinci...he said : "Leonardo Da Vinci had a similar idea, for he wrote, "Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will be powerless to vex your mind." - Leonardo Da Vinci

DeadMan2003	Date: February 3, 2004 @ 10:22 PM There is a flaw in his theory. His 'plan' incorporates paying the RIAA and it's members. Why the f00k should they get money for doing NOTHING but persecute their customers and ripoff the artists? I say he needs to change his model to reflect this.