....The stakes are huge in Mexico's fight. American enthusiasts of free-for-all copying have often argued that a relaxed attitude toward copyright in the information age may hurt established artists but may encourage or help newer acts. If anything, the Mexican experience is the opposite. Mexican record company executives say widespread piracy has forced them to stop developing new talent and focus on their stable of recognized artists to make a profit.

Artists who want to become Spanish-language music stars have always seen the enormous Mexican market as a first, necessary conquest, but executives like Honerlague say piracy is pushing the artists out — to more reliable markets like the United States. Meanwhile many local and international companies are retrenching, trying to squeeze what profits they can out of already established acts, instead of risking big money on creating new ones.

"Artists don't appear by miracle," he says. "There's a whole apparatus of promotion, of marketing, behind them. We can't risk as much as before. Now we have to be much more selective with what we record."

....Apart from the economic questions, there's something the authorities are just starting to get, which is the damage to the musical culture of Mexico," says Amprofon's Davalos. "Now there isn't creation of new talents, new figures of music. The Mexican musical tradition is being lost."

If Mexico's experience with piracy is any guide, the U.S. recording industry is in for some big changes. Mexico's response has been two sided: Push as hard as possible to take out the big mafias that control the manufacturing of illegal CDs, but at the same time, slash investments in new artists, reduce staff and pay, and thereby stop charging music fans so much for a CD.

So far, the American recording industry has mostly followed the first, get-tough, half of this prescription — pushing as hard as possible to take out the Napsters and the Kazaas that control the distribution of pirated music — but they haven't really followed up with the other, get-cheap, half. [Salon] This is deeply serious stuff - though thee are many differences between Mexico and the U.S., this is what can happen when copyright becomes utterly worthless. We need to find a compromise where creators get paid, consumers have reasonable copying and trading rights, and creativity continues to be fostered.