Such a clearheaded, well written argument by Ms. Ian--not only because her views on this topic are similar to ours, but because she offers the plain truth. Her analogies are perfect.
One reason the record company folks get so possessive about the intellectual property, IMO, is because they feel they are largely responsible for the success of artists who do break--that is, in terms of their development, on an artistic, fashionability, or stylistic level. In one of the most blatant examples of egotistical ramblings, Jerry Wexler (former Atlantic honcho), in his autobiography, actually tries to take credit for turning an Otis Redding song into a smash because of his input. I'm sure that privately these record company people pat themselves on the backs every chance they get, and downloading music spares you from having to actually look at the names of these people on the CD booklets. Don't get me wrong--let's give credit where credit is due--to the musicians, arrangers, producers, engineers. As Janis states, control is definitely a key point.
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