The problem with comparing writing a song, performing a song, writing a book, taking a photograph, etc to someone who works a "regular" job, is that for some bizarre reason it's been decided that any of the above vocations are so amazing that the creator should get paid forever for doing one job, and after he's dead, his family should continue to get paid for his work, and then, most likely part of the next generation too. Lets compare, for a moment a songwriter to a mechanic who performs brake jobs. Do you believe that the brake mechanic should get paid for his work. Of course. Just as a song writer should get paid for his song. that's where the similarity ends. The song writer goes on to collect royalties forever. If someone else uses his song, he gets paid again. Every time someone "benefits" from his song, he gets paid again. And for his lifetime, this never ends. The mechanic fixes your brakes and gets paid once. To even things out, he should perhaps get a penny every time the brakes are used. After all, you are continuing to benefit from his work. Sure, he got paid to fix them once. Just as the song writer got paid for his song. Then, if someone else tries to use those brakes they should be locked out and not function. Unless of course the second driver also pays the full price of that brake job. And then also pays the penny each time he uses them. But wait. When that car comes to a stop at a four way intersection, all the other cars at that intersection benefitted from those brakes, as that car stopped and didn't crash into those other cars, so they too have benefitted, so they too should pay a fee, lets say 1/2 a cent for every time their car didn't get hit by the first car. of course, each of these cars drivers are also paying their own penny to their brake mechanic because their brakes worked too, and of course our original driver would also owe a half a penny to the other three for his benefit from their brakes as well. This would make things fair. If others who provide services and goods also continue to get paid as their work is used and enjoyed. Why is it, when Carl Perkins grabbed a paper potato sack and jotted down "Blue Suede Shoes" he, or his family, or his record company, or his publisher, should get paid basically forever for everyoone listening to that song, while working brakes that save hundreds of lives daily per car only need to be paid for once? Did Carl also pay the guy at the dance who yelled to his friends "Hey, don't step on my blue suede shoes?" get a cut of the money? Nope. Do you pay a fee to the heart surgeon yearly for the operation that keeps you alive? No, because "Blue Suede Shoes" is more important.
Copyright in the USA originally lasted for one year. Long enough to allow the original creator to earn a living from his work. then publishers and corporations came along and look at the mess we're in now. Remember, the RIAA does NOTHING for the independent musician, writer or performer. They collect millions for the largest companies in the industry. Small labels and companies are forbidden from joining their organization.
Imagine if you bought a chair. You enjoyed it every day. then, you got invited to a friends house for dinner but one of his chairs broke, and you brought one from home. but when you got there it wouldn't work. the legs would just splay out and you'd go flat to the floor. This is a rights managed chair. It works in your dining room but no where else. when things have DRM it's because YOU don't OWN it, you simply LICENSE it. THEY control how and when you use it. They don't WANT you to own it anymore. they want to control it, and be sure that no one else can enjoy what you bought.
When folks scream that they're protecting the creator of that song, game, book or whatever. Umm, didn't they get paid in the beginning? How much is a song worth? Millions of songs get written every year. Most are not hits, but have the same copyright and protection. If someone copies, shares or bootlegs a ****** song that no one wants, that has never sold, and that only 3 people on the planet even know exists, the fine, punishment, and legalities are exactly the same as if you had stolen one of the greatest songs of all time!
There have been books written on how to write songs, books, articles, etc to create a lifetime income on a couple years work. Oddly, the very books that explain the details, have also created a lifetime of income for those books as well!
Perhaps all people should be paid forever for everything they do!
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