> That's why we have one dominant iTunes Music Store; they got to be the first mover on "downloading music not for free" when the whole industry was getting she

> That's why we have one dominant iTunes Music Store; they got to be the first mover on "downloading music not for free" when the whole industry was getting shellacked by pirates. I largely agree with your points (that musicians are getting screwed), but this seems to place too much blame on technology. The record labels actively fought digital distribution for a decade before iTunes won. If the record industry wanted a better position, maybe it should have been more strategic. > I have a diagnosis. At least with regards to the geek mindset. We're bullies....It's bullying when you break contracts, promises, and the law just to get convenient access to a piece of music by a guy who's making less than a McDonalds manager I'd argue it's not that techies are bullies, but that techies are human, and humans are lazy. One person builds DeCSS or Napster because it's fun and cool, and then someone else downloads because they're lazy, or they don't feel like spending $20, or they get irritated by unskippable ads at the beginning of a movie. I've certainly done all of the above. I don't want to say "That's human nature" and let it be, but any economic/political system should take into account the skills and motivations of several billion humans.