As the owner of the UK's first CD ripping service I've felt the force of the music industry. They were upset and made their feelings known. They were the powers that be and they were going to close us down, forthwith. Letters and meetings followed, and quite a few threats too.
Eventually it all calmed down. The PRS issued a statement saying nobody would be prosecuted for CD ripping provided it was for personal use. And Apple sold a few more million iPods, along with the train loads of other MP3 players, quite a crowded market a few years ago. In all these years I don't believe either our activity or that of any iPod owner has significantly impacted on the issue of file sharing or music piracy. How did anyone think that all those iPods got their music, other than from CD ripping?
Now, faced with the undeniable fact that everyone has been ripping CDs, the Uk government is planning to allow "format shifting" for CDs and DVDs. That's to say, if you own a plastic disc with music or film you will be allowed to rip those into a digital format, provided it's for your own use. Given that everybody is, and has been, doing this it's a recognition that even if this practice is frowned upon it's unprosecutable.
We moved into DVD ripping. Our clients demanded this and we gave in to requests. At the outset we were mainly ripping home movies and from that we got into converting video tapes into DVDs and computer files. People wanted several things. First, the greater ease of use of the DVD compared to a video tape (even for those who still had a working camcorder); second the ability to edit footage given the greater power of PCs and good software; and thirdly the better availability of film at home via video streaming technology.
Today we are in the position that music and film is better, from virtually every perspective, as a digital file rather than a plastic disc. It is a recognition of the inevitable. It's a dose of legal fresh air in what had become a rather stuffy room.
As a small footnote, and maybe an example of clever timing, action is being taken against two solicitors who zealously initiated procedings against alleged file sharers. I don't have any sympathy with people who steal games and movies, but solicitors sending letters simply demanding large sums of money to avoid prosecution is simply wrong. It was employing the weight and more importantly the cost of legal procedings to scare people into paying.
Today's announcement will bring a much needed dose of common sense to this area.
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