The fact that actual works of art still manage 2 seep thru the cracks of this huge profit-driven industry does not change anything about the fundamental equations that have been driving and still drive the industry, 2day more than ever — i.e. that art = money, artists = money-makers, and art lovers = consumers.

As a simple xample of how little music is valued as an art 4m by the industry, it is estimated that only about 20 percent of music ever recorded is currently available — and, of this 20 percent, what proportion is actually readily available 2 music lovers? What proportion is not the current 100 top albums on the SoundScan charts?

It simply appears that the instinctive reaction of the lover of art (b it music, TV shows, movies, or other 4ms of art) is such that, if the industry has no respect 4 his or her identity as an appreciator of art, then he or she has no reason 2 have any respect 4 the industry as a purveyor of art. By making digital copies of so-called cultural products, many people r not demonstrating their lack of respect 4 art and 4 artists, but r xpressing — consciously or not — their frustration with the way the entertainment industry profits from art at the xpense of both art makers and art lovers.

The consumers of the commercial products of the entertainment industry r only as cynical as the industry has deliberately made them, by dumbing down their products, by xploiting artists, by making profit-driven choices and decisions, and by providing their own kind with obscene compensations and legal impunity that r completely out of touch with the real world of ordinary people.

Don't Get It Twisted
That being said, the whole debate about file sharing and digital piracy is, most of all, a convenient way 4 industry conglomerates 2 deflect attention from their own shady business practices and dubious alliances.

4 xample, it is worth noting that the Warner Music Group is heavily involved in the recording industry's fight against piracy, but that its own parent company, AOL Time Warner, is directly benefiting from file sharing, as a provider of Internet access 2 millions of Internet users worldwide. When AOL Time Warner repeatedly flaunts its ever-increasing number of members (34 million and counting) and the billions of hours that they spend online, is there any doubt that a good part of this growth involves the "unlawful" xchange of computer files at the detriment of recording artists?

In other words, the real "thieves" r not necessarily those that r currently getting the blame... Rather than a "nation of thieves", the current situation looks, 2 us, much more like an "elite of thieves".

And the real victims of this thievery r very much, as usual, the recording artists themselves, who will never get their share of AOL's profits as an Internet access provider, even though these profits r partly based on the content that they originally provided. And the real victims also include authentic music lovers, who already suffer from restricted access 2 the full range of music that they would like 2 xplore, and who r also likely 2 suffer from technological restrictions that will soon prevent them from making legitimate copies of the works that they have lawfully purchased 4 their own enjoyment.