creative deconstruction

The Darknet and the Web Apocalypse

Posted on 01. Apr, 2009 by refe in MUSIC INDUSTRY

The Chicago Tribune ran an article a couple of days ago by music critic Greg Kot. In it Kot talks about the way that the ‘Darknet’ – closed networks where users engage in illegal file sharing – may cause the government to impose tyrannical restrictions on the Internet in order to protect copyrighted materials.

Kot paraphrases Rick Carnes, the president of the Songwriters Guild of America and one of the major proponents of this conspiracy theory:

“When the government starts putting the screws on rogue Internet traffickers, ‘You won’t be able to get on the network unless you have total identification,’ including finger-printing and complete background information.”

Sound a bit extreme? Kot does point out that the music industry has friends in some pretty high places, but Carnes’ picture of online doom and gloom is nevertheless more sensational that rational.

While the RIAA and other industry groups here in the US still appear to be taking a primarily legal and political approach to combating online file sharing, the fact that the four major labels back Google’s ad supported MP3 search  engine in China is a good indication that the recording industry has realized that they cannot stem the tide of free forever.

It’s a shame that by the time the music industry tires of lawsuits, crackdowns and threats enough to embrace the change that has already progressed so far without them, there may not be much of an industry left.

Tags: business, business models, file sharing, free music, music, MUSIC INDUSTRY