Candy Chan refuses to give in to a file sharing lawsuit by some record companies… and they countersue trying to get her out of the way and appoint a legal guardian in her stead for this lawsuit.

I’m so sick of the jack-boot tactics of the record industry.  It’s just appalling.  

I really hate piracy and intellectual property theft.  I have several talented artists in my family and they suffer when it happens.  And I make my living selling intellectual property.

So please don’t take my message as being “steal from the buggers”.  Because that just hurts the artists.

But it is just mind-numbingly stupid how the record industry is going about this attempt to fix the problem.  All they’ve done is piss people off to no end.  

Hey, to the showbiz people out there suing kids:

1. Boost your revenues by making a product something that someone actually wants.  I’m sorry, but much of the music and movie fare these days is largely crap. 

2. Make it affordable. $15 a CD for a kid in college and you wonder why they pirate? 

3. Embrace technology, don’t fight it.  

4. Stop blaming piracy for your revenue problems.  See #1 above.

5. Stop attacking 12 year olds.  I’m a parent and I can assure you, a cease and desist letter warning a parent is very potent.  But going after kids with real  lawsuits and demanding financial settlements is just sick.  I really feel for these parents who are getting attacked.

6. Look at your business model. MBAs the world over know that there are four “Ps” in marketing:  Product, Price, Place and Promotion.  So your Product isn’t there (see #1 above).  Your Price is too high (see #2 above).  Your Place (distribution) has changed (see #3).  So now all you have left is Promotion.  Well guess what: The Internet can find the next talented musician faster than giving payola to DJs (see #3 above).

And finally, pick on someone your own size. 

See my earlier blog for more of my viewpoints on p2p.

(Side note:  I have a great solution for music in my household.  I set up an account on iTunes and my kids download the few songs a week that they really want.  It comes out to just a few dollars a week and everyone’s happy.)  

Alex Eckelberry
(Thanks John Murrell)