Charles Arthur at the Register ponders the fate of Fiona Apple's third album and how it illustrates the difficulties Sony are having with the digital age in entertainment.
"nobody wins. Fiona Apple's album goes mostly unheard. Sony gets no revenues from its being downloaded. And all because the idea of selling music online has to be made to fit into the strategies used for 90-odd years. You've adapted your job and your business to this interweb thing. But the record labels still think the Net should bow to their thinking.
Oh, and there's a final irony in it all. Sony, the company at the centre of all this, should be celebrating whoever wins that case. For it's arguing on both sides. That's right. Check the dockets at this page (http://washingtonpost.findlaw.com/supreme_court/docket/2004/march.html#04-480) and you'll find that one of the "petitioners" (http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/mpaa/petitioner12405brf.pdf) (379KB PDF) along with MGM is Sony Music.
Look further down at those "supporting respondents" (ie backing Grokster), and you'll find the Consumer Electronics Association's amicus brief (http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/mpaa/cea030105brf.pdf) (273KB PDF). And among the members of the CEA? Sony Electronics."
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