Doncha just get the feeling that it comes down to this: Fred Von Lohmann says it's about pricing points and the RIAA thinks it's about controlling their content no matter what. They are two different arguments, and in a way, they are both right. Legally, the RIAA can, under the current copyright regime, control the content in whatever way they wish, including locking it up, letting no one listen or they can charge whatever they choose. Practically, that will never happen, under the current Internet regime, and so Fred is also right, the cat's out of the bag, and it's stupid to sue your customers, so just agree on a pricing point and we'll do compulsory licensing.

The only problem is, there are practical reasons compulsory licensing won't work. First, that I know of is that it's not yet technically feasible, yet, and may not be for a long time. Not to mention the privacy and payment collection issues which may actually be easier to work out than the technology issues. Because EFF probably can't defend any of the people who are being sued by the RIAA, because it's too expensive, they are left with promoting a solution that isn't technically feasible, in order to drive home the point that if the RIAA just let the stuff out at a reasonable price, people would pay, and this whole problem would go away, and 12 year olds could get back to being kids.

Hiawatha Bray/Boston Globe is right (htm): The palpable dishonesty of all parties in the file-swapping wars is more entertaining than any disk ever cut by Madonna. The music companies overcharge their customers and underpay the artists. The file swappers denounce the worthless drivel being put out by the recording firms, even as they steal as much of it as their hard drives can hold. And last but not least, we have guys like Michael Weiss of Morpheus, who swear they have no idea what their products are used for, and not the least interest in finding out.

None of this controversy will go away until we have a solution that is practical, and reasonable, and possible. Rather than just yelling positions loudest, suing people, or forcing solutions we can't do, can we compromise? The $64,000 question is, I guess, what the technical aspects of that solution will look like. Maybe the policy solution is to relax the controls copyright owners have over their work, at least for personal use, and then force payment as Fred proposes. I don't have any idea what the technical answer might look like. It may be that the DarkNet is the answer, where private distribution just takes care of this problem, both in keeping the RIAA out of people's computers, and making compulsory licensing unnecessary.