Charles on… anything that comes along

The music industry says that ISPs should stop people sharing its content online, and take action against them. I say: damn right. But also - take your turn in line, you guys. There’s people in front of you who’ve been suffering from the internet’s ravages for a long time already. Like newspapers, porn, cross-stitch and games consoles.

All this online sharing has to stop explains it:

No, we the print newspaper industry demand that ISPs stop people sharing our content over the internet. In fact, why not a “reading tax” on ISPs? The more of its customers visit a newspaper site, the more tax it should pay.

And..

Next, pornography. You know, there used to be tons of top-shelf magazines, all earning a comfortable living. Then you know what? The damn internet came along and at a stroke destroyed their business model, in which shifty-gazed commuters had to go into insalubrious shops to get “content”. Now there are loads of internet sites (Google reliably tells me) where you can get free amateur porn - exactly the same sort of stuff that people used to pay for! It’s shocking (and what’s more, there are no unsightly staples in the middle of the pictures).

Unlicensed pornography trading has put paid to some of the best-known names in the industry. Name any porn magazine that isn’t 75% thinner now and filled with ads in the back for internet sites. This cannot be allowed to go on. Once again, ISPs bear a heavy responsibility for propelling big porn empires and small corner shops with dimly lit corners - not to mention the makers of high shelves - into penury.

And more. Enjoy.

These posts might be related (the database thinks..):
• What's the future of photography? (18 November 2005; score: 49.42%)
• On file-sharing, lawsuits and the price of downloads (16 March 2005; score: 48.24%)
• The father of articles about podcasting? (13 June 2005; score: 32.75%)