But one only has to look at a parallel like the history of radio to see where we're headed. Sure initially, all the big-wigs balk and freak out, declare the new format to be apocalyptic to the welfare of the music industry, and manufacture all sorts of statistics to support that rant ... but it only takes a few years of increased revenue for every denim-clad wireless-whatever-toting-Johnny-A&R-Face to reverse discourse (word to Joe Beats) and pledge allegiance to the new format.

Sizeable labels like TVT (Sevendust, Nothingface, and more) and BMG (who defied the RIAA and signed a deal with Napster to utilize it's pay-for-play technology) are making strong efforts to embrace the technology, and the results have been eye-popping for the floundering majors surrounding them.

What's so strange about this debate is that it's actually taking place and being decided on a person-to-person level in the social domain. Call me a cynic, but that sort of thing is unheard of. It is conscientious objection on such a massive scale that it makes the 60's look like a student council meeting. I have no idea if what I just said is true or not.

We have two things to thank for this rare public participation:

1) An actual large-scale public domain in which to argue – hello Internet.

2) A remarkable number of catalysts forcing the issues into every home.

Think about it; since Napster basically began the argument in 1999 (yes, the argument had surfaced in lesser forms when dual cassette decks were introduced on a consumer level in 1975, and then again with VHS/beta recorders in 1984, but both were quickly quelled before most common folk even knew they were issues), we've had the issue approached loudly and from all angles.

It must be a big deal if large corporations are utilizing an appeal to the country's morality (these are the same people that brought us The Swan?). Some of the spotlight-grabbing moments in piracy history are:

· Metallica's bitching: unfortunately, the last people on earth to cut their mullets managed to be heard the loudest and represent musicians as money-hoarding misguided has-beens

· RIAA's hilarious lawsuits against consumers: similar to the Metallica shenanigans, the major labels try to shape the public opinion with weak scare tactics and celebrity testimony.

· The Grey Album/Grey Tuesday: 'copyright infringement' artistic and thorough enough to have people questioning the term itself. This is another arm of the debate – major labels' iron grip on copyrighted material.

· Musicians publish complaints in NY Times, Rolling Stone, and more: Courtney Love, Don Henley, Steve Albini, and others go public with their major label contract gripes.

· Janet Jackson/Howard Stern debacles: though these incidents may seem unrelated, they do in fact play a role. The FCC's leniency with big business indecency has come under fire, thanks to the ease with which conservative Americans can file a complaint via the Internet. In December 2003, complaints jumped from 351 to 19,920.

So with all this publicity, you'd think everyone would have a good idea of what's going on, right?

Not likely.

We're witnessing the convergence of several small wars that have been bubbling for years, and the Internet is what ties them all together beautifully.

· The Decency War: good ol' young vs. old, genitals vs. bikinis.

· The Consolidation/Deregulation War: is it ok for there to be 2-3 companies in the US, and everything else a subsidiary? Is it ok for Clearchannel to monopolize most of the nation's media outlets (1240 radio stations, 95% market share of all concerts, etc.)? Should limits be placed on broadband companies (namely Comcast) to ensure competitive markets?

· The Copyright War: should producers have to pay exorbitant fees to use slices of music in a collage format?

· The Payola War: will anything ever be done about the fact that major labels purchase airplay, despite it being outlawed long ago?

· The Property/Piracy War: are the limitations to media usage too strict? Will the government do anything about theft on such a massive scale? Is downloading truly costing the industry money?

· The Bad Contract War: Will anything be done about the horrible stipulations of the standard major label contract?

· The Artistic Diversity War: given the horribly similar playlists of today's 'modern rock' radio stations across the country, should something be done to facilitate a broader musical spectrum in media?

What is this really about? This is about a playing field standing on its head for so long that all the pieces scatter, and something has to give ... the field must be levelled.

This is about an industry so bloated with middlemen that the artists they are exploiting can't afford to produce anymore.

This is about the FCC, the sole public watchdog agency, traveling the world on the dime of Viacom and other conglomerates, and utilizing mainly data from private sectors to form it's regulations.

This is about congressmen enjoying campaign donations from the Record Industry to extend copyright laws and encourage deregulation.

This is about reaching a potential limit point for greed (at least, in its current incarnations). And without the Internet, we wouldn't stand a chance at doing anything about it.

These, then, are the problems. I'll discuss their solutions in the next issue.

Note from editor: I would like to give special thanks to p2pnet and Brickley Paste for allowing us to post this article.