It’s kind of like the war in Iraq.  With every victory the content companies proclaim, the more their position no longer comports with reality, the more it appears they’re out of touch, lying or just plain devious.

Make no mistake.  That victory in the Supreme Court on Monday was hollow.  Although we’ve got Larry Lessig decrying a chill on tech innovation, seemingly every major newspaper is now weighing in that the RIAA and MPAA position is a joke.  That file-trading will continue unabated.  That THEY are the problem, not the thieves.

It’s kind of like the Vietnam war actually.  Oh, the turning point was 1968.  THAT’S when all the zealots finally scratched their heads and asked…CAN WE REALLY WIN THIS THING??

It won’t be long before the duped artists will realize they were sold a bill of goods.  That they aligned with big business that didn’t have their interests at heart.  OF COURSE creators should be paid.  But, where is it written that they should be paid by the same entities the same pittance forevermore?  How come the PUBLIC knows this and the artists don’t?  Actually, it’s very simple.  The public is tech-savvy and the artists aren’t.  At least the elder artist blowhards.

So, it’s clear, the labels can sue themselves into marginality, or join the future.  Then again, one theory being posited is that the labels and movie companies really don’t care about piracy.  That it’s merely about insuring that THEY control the future.  Think about it.  If they were really interested in money, stopping piracy, wouldn’t they have CHARGED FOR FILE-TRADING for the last five years?  The reason they haven’t is that in the legalized file-trading world the indie is on the same level playing field as the major.  Able to not only get distributed but PAID!  Think of it like the advent of cable TV.  Suddenly, the networks no longer controlled the landscape, they had ninety plus percent of the audience before cable, now they’ve got in the neighborhood of thirty percent.  Don’t think the fat cats don’t know this.

But, suddenly, they’ve been outed.  Oh, we’ve known all of the above for EONS!  It’s just that the RIAA and MPAA campaigns of deception were so good, and so little reporting was done, that the truth never came out.  But, with facts no longer comporting with the distorted reality they’re dishing out, reporters are now listening to the other side, people like Eric Garland, of BigChampagne, who combats the inane posturing of the RIAA with the actual statistics of people file-trading.

In the last week, the "New York Times" has gone on record.

First, there was the John Pareles story on Wednesday.

Then, the story on Saturday breaking the content companies’ strategy.

Then, today, INDEPENDENCE DAY, the paper is blowing the lid off the whole fiasco.

In case you didn’t know, the "New York Times" sets the national news agenda.  Even for Fox.  Without the "Times", they’ve got nothing to react to, since they’re hardly doing any reporting.

Stunningly, the big Grokster victory is now looking like the worst thing that could happen to the content industries.  Now, light is being shined on reality.  And it doesn’t square with the ridiculous story they’re telling.

July 4, 2005

The Imps of File Sharing May Lose in Court, but They Are Winning in the Marketplace

By TOM ZELLER Jr

July 2, 2005

Big Media’s Power Plays

By DAN MITCHELL