November 17, 2004, 4:52 PM — Dear Music Industry,
You owe me some music.
Here's the deal - I lost my Beatles White Album. I bought it in high school
and recently came across the receipt in some old school papers. This means I
can prove I have the legal right to listen to the music. But the physical
part is gone, so you need to provide me with the means to listen to the
music I legally licensed.
Unless I misread all the arguments about copyright and licensing, the
physical media isn't the important part - the music is. I say this because I
can't do whatever I want with an album or CD, such as copy it. The music is
the key, and I don't own it; I just license the right to listen to it. Let's
call them aural rights.
I do understand the licensing arrangements correctly, don't I? I don't "own"
the music, I license it via some media. This means I can listen to the music
I licensed forever, since there are no time limits mentioned on the receipt.
The physical part of the equation doesn't matter because you claim control
over it rather than giving me control over the physical matter (a double
album, in case you've forgotten).
I didn't sell (transfer) my license to the White Album so I still have the
legal right to listen to the music. If I sold the album, it wouldn't be fair
to trick you and ask for you to replace something that I sold. And we know
that fairness ranks at the top of your concerns for music consumers like myself.
It seems the electronic music I bought works the same way. You treat e-CDs
like you treat a CD: I don't own it, I license it. I can't copy the file
because the file isn't really mine; it just represents the rights I have to
listen to the music. That brings up another situation.
Windows XP Professional crashed and I had to reinstall and I lost my music
files. Do you owe me the file back or do I call Bill Gates at Microsoft?
Since I paid for the music license and you tied it to something as fleeting
(at least on Windows systems) as a digital file, my rights to listen to the
music remain even after the file gets destroyed. That makes me think you owe
me the file, not Bill. I came to this conclusion because you say I don't own
the files because I can't copy them. Feel free to put the files on a CD and
FedEx them to me. Or you can send them via e-mail.
By the way, my daughter lost her first Good Charlotte CD, and I still have
the receipt. You can combine that with the White Album to save shipping if
you wish. I'm happy to save you some trouble.
I really appreciate your new stance aggressively protecting my rights as a
music consumer. It's good to know that when I buy a CD, you will make sure I
can listen to the music I licensed forever. After all, I don't own the
physical part, but I do have the rights to use the aural part. That's what
you said, right? Good.
Please hurry. I want to play the Beatles "Birthday" for my daughter on her
birthday. As every parent knows, those birthdays get here before you know it.
Your faithful music consumer,
James E. Gaskin
