We live in a free market society my friend. This isn't directed at you though; sorry to single you out but though
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Hi. The US is not a free market society.
If the market will bear it and people will pay it what the music companies, Apple, and AT&T (not to mention every other carrier) is doing is absolutely fine and acceptable.
A common misconception among Libertarians, sports fans, and middle-aged businessmen. Marketability is not the arbiter of fairness. For instance, even though some people are willing to pay other people to kill a third party, most of us would not say that the practice is fine and acceptable. For most of us, other ethical principles interfere with workable free market concepts -- so while most of us are aware that you could find someone to do almost
anything, given enough money, we would not find the act inherently acceptable simply because the payer and the doer agreed on the task.
These companies don't exist solely for your pleasure (not just directed towards you). They have a duty to their shareholders, employees, and everyone else that has a stake in the company. Quit complaining that they charge you for a ringtone.
Duty to one's shareholders, employees, etc does not determine what is ethically valid or invalid. For instance, even if I could make more money for my family by beheading small children in the Sudan, this would not make it ethically acceptable. This is also known as
The Godfather/
The Sopranos argument -- "He's a good man, caring for his family." B.S. He's killing people, robbing others, etc. The ends do not inherently justify the means.
Quit acting as if you deserve handouts in life. Woe is me! I must complain about a ninety-nine cent ringtone to use on my six hundred dollar phone! How will I come up with the ninety-nine cents?
Cost is not the issue. If it were, the various music companies could simply forgo the $.00 that they would lose by allowing people to create their own ringtones.
It is their right to charge you for that ringtone, and people will pay it - so what's so bad about that? Absolutely nothing at all. Besides, as has been shown, it is a bargain compared to every other carrier out there.
Hmm. I have a Cingular phone with a particular mp3 as a ringtone. I didn't have to hack the phone or anything, just put my songs in the directory that I was instructed to by the directions. What's really funny is that it's a Sony phone, with "Walkman" functionality, but it doesn't have a headphone jack -- so every time I put a song on the phone and listen to it, it'll inadvertently be a public performance
Obviously, since most of the people in this thread are unhappy with this situation, your rhetoric and assumptions need a bit of work.
They're wack?
Protecting one's intellectual property is wack? What kind of statement is that? Please elaborate.
I'll believe in intellectual property rights when every rock band currently in existence travels back in time and gives money to the people who invented:
1) The guitar
2) The 12-bar blues form
3) The jazz drum ensemble
It's an arbitrary distinction. Music, art in general, literature, language -- LANGUAGE! -- are based upon modification and adaptation of others' ideas. Ever since Og first beat two rocks together and howled at the moon, Brg has been there to say "hmm," and repeat with slight improvements. It's the basis of competition.
But of course, competition, intellectual advancement, fairness, and ethics aren't what businessmen and Libertarians are after. They want
money. This is similar to the fact that the biggest talking point for libertarians is individual liberty in terms of the tax burden, and not in terms of, say, gay marriage
