That’s the title of an article in this month’s Wired magazine. Its an article that those interested in the copyright debate should take a look at.

The article basically makes the argument that the music industry blew it by trying to stop file sharing and implementing DRM – and that the video industry should learn from that.

About the music industry it states: Today, their industry in shambles, music execs are trying to turn back the clock, remove DRM, and finally give us what we should have had in 1999

Other comments: The lessons from the music fiasco are clear: Trying to limit the inherent advantages of digital files is a losing strategy. The way to stop piracy is to make everything available — easily, legally, and at a fair price.

Entertainment executives tend to find what they expect to find. If they fear theft, they’ll see piracy; if they’re looking for opportunity, they’ll discover ways to profit. The music labels ignored the opportunity for so long that it has all but evaporated. The television and film industries still have a shot, but they need to move fast.

So it leads me to a question. Is the proposal to add a fee to everyone’s internet access to allow downloading not mired in the same old thinking?

Read the Wired article