I Just Don't Get It

I was feeling in the mood to post something in the old "Jeff's Jukebox" category this morning, so I went on You Tube to see what was up in some of my subscriptions of users who would film the playing of old records. Well, as it turns out, all of those accounts have either been suspended, or removed from You Tube entirely. My guess, though I could be wrong, is that this was the result of the big media conglomerates deciding once again to clamp down on the use of what they feel they rightly own.

For the sake of argument, let's assume that I'm right.

That the record companies and conglomerates would do this has never made sense to me, and is probably one reason why record companies have become increasingly irrelevant as the years have gone by. Let's play this out - say I peruse a bunch of really cool videos of old reggae songs, and find one that I like. Isn't that going to make it more likely that I'll go out and buy the song, either on CD or one of the online music services? And if I were to make a mix tape and share it with a friend, and he/she hears something that they really think is cool, isn't that going to make them want to go out and buy the song or album?

The whole thing just feels so self-defeating. It would be one thing if the conglomerates were offering something as a substitute for us, the great unwashed, to sample their product. But no, they'd rather just clamp down, make threats against college students, and try to put people in jail. And then they sit around wondering why theirs is a dying industry.

I just don't get it.