As other replies have stated, I'm not saying anything about the relative merits of copyright protection of music versus any other IP. Copyright exists because

As other replies have stated, I'm not saying anything about the relative merits of copyright protection of music versus any other IP. Copyright exists because it is intended to create social utility, a temporary monopoly guaranteed the creator and enforced by the government. I don't think social utility is served by Disney lobbying to get copyright terms extended every few decades so that nothing ever falls into the public domain. I don't think social utility is served by laws (e.g., DMCA) that disallow hackers from modifying their own hardware and showing others how to modify theirs. I'm just saying that when rich musicians protest that something must be done to prevent the death of the music industry, we should consider whether the music industry needs special protection.