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30 Sw. U. L. Rev. 295 (2000-2001)
Karma or Golden Opportunity: A New Business Model for the Music Industry Launching into Cyberspace

handle is hein.journals/swulr30 and id is 307 raw text is: KARMA OR GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY?: A NEW BUSINESS MODEL FOR THE MUSIC INDUSTRY LAUNCHING INTO CYBERSPACE I. INTRODUCTION As the new millennium gets underway, the five' major U.S. re- cord labels, also known as the Big Five,2 face an ominous challenge. They must find a way to exploit the Internet by digitally distributing their vast catalogs and collecting revenue from these digital distribu- tions,3 while simultaneously preventing the unauthorized use of those works. But the task of providing authorized distribution of music on the Internet while preventing unauthorized reproductions and distri- butions is plagued with conflicting results. Ironically, the very same advances in technology that allow authorized distribution and protec- tion of music on the Internet also enable the unauthorized reproduc- tion and distribution of music via the Internet. The task is further complicated by inexpensive or free technology4 that allows anyone to upload (rip) music from a compact disk (CD) that they purchased at a retail store for their computer, where it may be readily accessed, reproduced, and distributed over the Internet without the copyright owner's authorization. 1. Deborah Collcutt & Jack Grimston, Record Companies Block the Sale of Cut-price CDs, SUNDAY TIMES (London), Sept. 24, 2000. 2. The Big Five consists of EMI, Warner, Sony, BMG, and Universal Records. Id. 3. Congress has not specified which of the rights under 17 U.S.C. § 106 a digital transmis- sion of music will implicate, or whether new rights will be defined, or both. But based on a report from the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, it undoubtedly appears that the distribution right will be implicated. INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE TASK FORCE, INTELLEC- TUAL PROPERTY AND THE NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE: THE REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 213-17, app. 1, Sept. 11, 1995 (hereinaf- ter White Paper). 4. A free Windows program called Music Match Jukebox (available at musicmatch.com) allows a user to rip music from a CD onto their computer where it may be downloaded by any one with access to the Internet. Lauren Willoughby, The Sound and the Fury; The Basics for Beginning, THE COURIER-JOURNAL, Apr. 10, 2000, at 6D.

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