Internet users can be banned

What is the difference between child pornography and downloads of music from the Internet? Well, according to the music industry, someone who can be banned by Kazaa for downloading child pornography could also be banned from downloading music. The music industry in the court hearing agains Kazaa is saying that there is a warning at Kazaa's website, saying that "if at any time Kazaa finds that you are using Kazaa to collect or distribute child pornography or other obscene material, (the software company) reserves the right to permanently bar you and your computers from accessing Kazaa and other Kazaa services." They are turning it around and say that it should also be possible for the company to terminate the accounts of those who infringed copyright,

This is a heavy comparison but let's understand this in the context that the music industry is upset when people download music. This despite the fact that people still want to own hard-copy music and 92% of people said that CDs are their preferred music format.

I don't want to bring the old argument that the music business as it stands now, needs to change in order to survive or that a ban of Kazaa would only lead to the proliferation of other services. But I also think that it is pretty tasteless to throw child pornography and the downloading of music into the same basket.

May be the music industry should know that the way musicians are promoted and build-up is not necessarily a way to build a business as well, since, for example, over 80% of Britney Spears album owners said they had grown tired of her records. May be with better music, the decline of CD sales could be arrested as well.

(By Asia Business Consulting)