John Kitsco

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Many well known composers and musicians have been speaking out about torrents, file sharing and copyright. Some do not even
mind that their intellectual material is on the help yourself counter - otherwise known as the internet...and others are not
happy about watching royalties go down the drain. Is there a way to remedy all this and keep everyone happy?

E.mail arrived today from Ernesto (TorrentFreak) and he talks
about the ACTA (Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement) - being as good as finalized... although two years ago it was thought such an Agreement would turn the internet into a virtual police state. Now it seems the ACTA is a fairly loose and acceptable agreement. Although up here in Canada it could open the door
as to reforms in Bill C-32.  There was a focus on the liability of
ISP 's (Internet Service Providers) and I think the ACTA simply
strives to hold everyone accountable. James Love's blogs on
www.keionline.org are worth the read regarding file sharing.

I think the bottom line is that the Internet makes a lot of people
a lot of money and getting too agressive would change that picture - yet somewhere in the woodwork there is no doubt that
in a matter of time we shall start to see the three strikes and you're out type of atmosphere start to rule. 

For well established musicians the cost of royalty loss might hurt but for start up musicians - any exposure is probably helpful.  And for the big box companies that produce movies
no doubt the long shadow cast by the re-write of the ACTA
must be a big worry...