The USSA fedgov certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on legislative stupidity, but all the same it’s a bit surprising to see that a few states are apparently trying very hard to match its record. And they have arguably succeeded.
Record shops: Used CDs? Ihre papieren, bitte!, published yesterday at Ars Technica tells the sad story [emphasis mine]:
There are a few things lawmakers have decided really ought to be handled with the "care and oversight" that only the government can provide: e.g., tax collection, radioactive materials, biohazards, guns, and CDs. CDs? No, I'm not talking about financial Certificates of Deposit, though that might make more sense. I'm talking about Compact Discs.
New "pawn shop" laws are springing up across the United States that will make selling your used CDs at the local record shop something akin to getting arrested. No, you won't spend any time in jail, but you'll certainly feel like a criminal once the local record shop makes copies of all of your identifying information and even collects your fingerprints. Such is the state of affairs in Florida, which now has the dubious distinction of being so anal about the sale of used music CDs that record shops there are starting to get out of the business of dealing with used content because they don't want to pay a $10,000 bond for the "right" to treat their customers like criminals. ....
In Florida, Utah, and soon in Rhode Island and Wisconsin, selling your used CDs to the local record joint will be more scrutinized than then [sic] getting a driver's license in those states.
The entire article is short, and well worth a clickthrough. More idiocy under the idea of protecting “intellectual” property, to be sure, but that train done left the station and is chugging at full steam now. And yes, it is absolutely reprehensible that someone wanting to sell used CDs in these four states is going to be fingerprinted for the privilege of doing so. But, didja catch this little aside in the article? [link (also worth reading), italics in original]:
John Mitchell, outside counsel for the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, told Billboard that this is part of "some sort of a new trend among states to support second-hand-goods legislation." And he expects it to grow.
Those laws are also referred to as “pawn-shop laws”; and if one reads the Billboard article one will note that this legislation seems to be focused very specifically on music CDs, rather than including other electronic media such as video games. Very curious, that. But what might happen to a Florida music lover who wants to sell a bunch of CDs at her garage sale? Is she exempt from fingerprinting herself, etc.?
Wondering about that also set me to wondering how long it’ll take for states to see this as a way to insinuate its sticky fingers into all secondhand goods sales. Laugh if you want, but the way all levels of government are trending – and spending – right now, I can see it happening. And it’s an ugly, ugly sight.
The IRS is getting into the act too
I covered that part of it at Pagan Vigil, but it fits here too. Here's the link for the article I sourced. Long story short, the IRS wants eBay and Amazon to start collecting personal info and providing it to the FedGovs on demand.
Well Sunni, looks like I have another entry to make later tonight with a hat tip to you.
Sheesh
I knew the IRS was going for what it thinks the fedgov is due from eBay and Amazon commerce, but I didn’t know how. Bastards.
This is nothing new
This is nothing new. The publishing industry has tried to limit the sales of used books for decades. The record companies want to make it so difficult to sell used CD's that people will stop. The same was done here in Washington state with used software. I would never have been able to afford most of the Windows software (especially the programming languages)I had if not for the used market. The destruction of the used software market is what led me to try Linux.
All this will do is make people resent record companies more, and increase piracy. Idiots. CD sales are declining due to the fact that the RIAA's members are putting out crap, and people are beginning to resist their gestapo tactics. So what do they do, but more of the same!
The old way of record distribution is dying. The only way it will survive is to provide value added products and services that make the price worthwhile. Gestapo tactics will kill the industry. And good riddance I say. Artists and their fans should deal with each other without the middleman.
BTW, on an earlier post you discussed perhaps having artists having a patron to fund their activities. There is a way now to do just that with some artists on ArtistShare.com. Check it out. It's pretty interesting.
Messy
Yeah, the whole situation is a mess, and the sooner the music middleman layer dies off, the better.
Did you read the entire piece on that ArtistShare page? I think this is amusing:
I saw it...
I saw that, and thought it was funny. Maybe he needs to start ProgrammerShare!
It seems to me...
That the usage of the quasi-legitimatized concept of intellectual property in the enforcement of this serves as a cover, if an unintentionally assembled one, for the expansion of tax apparati. The expansion of power is (and I suppose I am the broken libertarian phone on this) the ultimate institutional function of all state activity, irrespective of personal intention.