Maybe my eyes are tired or something. I thought both those links were to the same article.
Look: I don't think anyone really disagrees when someone says "Stealing is stealing". Turn about is not really fair play either.
That being said, I have no sympathy for the music industry at all. Like the drowning man, they are grasping at straws and that's just fine by me. They have outlived their usefulness and were never very nice when they ruled the roost.
Kids today have no concept of how it was for us as teenagers. Waiting for Top of the Pops every Thursday then rushing out on a Saturday to pay 10/- for whichever single took our fancy. With the exception of Penny Lane & Maggie May, the 'B' side was always rubbish. 30/- would buy an album with maybe two good songs on it. But we did it.
Folk artists were the Low Budget performers and like almost every artist, had little say in what was recorded.
Still, we were loyal fans.
The record companies ruled with an iron fist, made overnight successes out of many a young artist and kept them in chains. And that was the lucky ones.
Artists and fans alike have paid their dues.
We don't need recording companies any more!
Don't need records, tapes, CDs or DVDs. A complete waste of materials.
They are really hurting. They have lived high off the hog for decades and have been left behind by a technology over which they have no control. So we allow ourselves a little smirk as they go under.
Fair enough.
Just don't get sucked into the whirlpool as they go down.
There will be time enough for celebration when they're gone.
Amen!