Music for the People…Sold BY the People
Do you have music stored on your computer that you don’t listen to anymore, but you don’t want to delete, and you want to get it off your system? This is the basis for ReDigi. ReDigiTM is the online marketplace for pre-owned digital music and the only Cloud service that verifies whether each music file uploaded for storage was legally acquired from an eligible source. When you sign up for a free account with them, you receive unlimited storage through their site to store your music.
Caveat: The site has a verification system that will not let you store anything for which you have not been granted permission. ITunes music is okay. Music copied from CDs is not.
The perk of having an account with them is that you can then sell the songs that you no longer want to other users. Why not make some coins back on the songs you purchased?
Sound good? Definitely! But not to everyone.
Not everyone finds this site to be a great gathering place of music. Capitol Records recently has been fighting to get ReDigi shut down. EMI, owner of Capitol, claims that people being allowed to sell “used” music infringes on the copyrights of those songs. It is unauthorized reproduction, according to Capitol.
They have a point. ReDigi only allows songs to be uploaded, bought, and sold if they were originally purchased through ITunes, making the purchase legitimate. Capitol, however, feels reselling these songs, even if they were bought legitimately, goes against the original copyright agreement the buyer made with ITunes.
We all know that when we buy a song off of ITunes, we are doing so legally, because the artist/record company is getting some sort of profit. On the other hand, everyone also knows that the song can then make it to an iPod, computer, or CD, which means you are duplicating it for your own use. If record companies want to pretend duplication does not occur within the original purchaser’s home or even between friends, let them live in the clouds. But it happens; they know it, we know it, and ReDigi knows it. The only difference between knowledge and power is cash, and ReDigi is cashing in on this proudly.
Is ReDigi safe? The company said in court papers that it is protected from liability by the first-sale doctrine, which allows individuals who lawfully purchase music to sell it to whomever they wish. However, Capitol claims that the “digital” copy is being sold, not the original music, thus it already is a duplication.
Capitol recently lost their battle to shut down ReDigi while this case continues—a small victory for ReDigi.
What do you think? Should the ever-powerful music giants continue to collect millions and billions of dollars from us…the collective “us” who just want to enjoy some tunes? Do they need more money on “Capitol” hill for the newest music sensation? For god’s sake people…they gave us Coldplay…haven’t they done enough?? Let music live!
…and in the meantime, check out ReDigi.com while you still have the chance.
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Sharon Foss has been writing professionally since 2000. She began her career in newspapers, but has since moved on to writing for websites, including eHow.com, Terrortube.com, About.com, and Horrorsociety.com, and editing college courses full-time. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in mass communication, specializing in print journalism, from Illinois State University and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Project Management degree.