“Sen. Orrin Hatch, Utah Republican and songwriter, told music retailers Monday that the federal government will be the driving force in deciding the future of online music distribution. “Politics is going to determine whether this business succeeds or fails,” Hatch told an audience of several hundred people at the annual conference of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers NARM.” Click here to read the full story at Wired.com
In my opinion, I don’t think politics should play such a big role in this debate, at all, unless the politicians themselves (1) are actually knowledgeable about the issue at hand and the technology involved, plus sides of the issue; and (2) can debate this issue objectively, not influenced by big business campaign contributions or “soft money.” Hatch is the perfect example of what I’m talking about: he is a songwriter and his hands are dirty green with gifts from the major labels.
