When I first encountered a digital file many many years ago three things occurred to me:
1. the Nth copy of such a file was going to be just as good as the original. With most digital files you either get a perfect copy or you get a corrupted file that is useless. With handshaking (there is constant back and forth checking on file transfers to assure that all data is transferred and received accurately) this is almost never a problem now. So the trillionth copy of a digital file is just as good as the first copy. That is NOT the case with an analog copy. Just make a tape of one of your old albums. Now make a taped copy of that tape, etc. Each iteration adds noise, etc. The copies keep getting worse and worse. That is the first problem with protecting digital music, as compared to the old days of phonograph records and tape.
2. Copying digital files is VERY fast compared with analog (i.e., tape recording) copying. Most people wouldn't have the TIME to copy a few hundred phonograph albums. This can be done, when the albums have been digitized, in a few hours, and you can be doing other things while the download is happening...
3. Storage of digital (music) files takes little physical space and costs little. A single 10 cent CD (burn) can easily have 30,000 .mid files. It takes less space up than a single song sheet! I can make a PERFECT copy of it in a few minutes and it will only cost the price of another blank CD.
Of course, doing ANY of this (sending, receiving, burning, etc.) is theft, pure and simple. For those religious and moral among us, beware that you will rot in hell (or jail) if you ever do ANY of these things!!!!
For the others, those who do drive over posted speed limits, make copies, etc., it is of little concern to them. It isn't their problem. It is the problem of the copyright owners, the record companies (often media conglomerates).
As to 1 - 3, above, these facts about our digital age are not going away. If protections are found there will be some who will defeat those protections. Yes, the cat is out of the bag. We will all need to learn to live with that....
Bob
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