Editor,

I must respond to the latest letter in the Daily Lobo by a student complaining about the Recording Industry Association of America's lawsuits.

Marco Gutierrez, in his letter published Wednesday, employs an emotionally loaded analogy comparing being served with a lawsuit to extortion and even a contract murder by the mafia.

But there is nothing unusual in the RIAA's procedures. Individuals and companies who believe they are being harmed by the illegal activities of another person or group have a right, under the Constitution, to seek and recover damages in a lawsuit.

Gutierrez himself admits this activity is illegal, referring to "the practice of illegal music downloading from the Internet." The creative works of artists and composers are protected by copyright law, just as the products of inventors are protected by patents. Why should they let someone steal from them?

I am very puzzled by his argument that "Record companies are asking us to pay a lot of money for our music, an amount that most students cannot afford." Back in my undergraduate days of the late '70s, I remember paying about $5 for an album.

I input this amount into the Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator. Five dollars in 1977 equals $17.47 in 2008. What's the price of a CD these days? It has fallen from $19.95 to about $16 and even less, depending where you shop.

So, an album today actually costs less - plus there are often more minutes of music on a CD than LP albums had. Gutierrez goes on to say these high prices are "depriving us of what should be our right." When did entertainment become anyone's right?

I grew up with radio and television, but they were not free. Commercial sponsors brought them to us. As the economist Milton Friedman said, there is no such thing as a free lunch. You usually must pay for everything in this world, either directly or indirectly.

If Gutierrez is like most students, he has come here to learn some profession and, upon graduation, hopes to secure employment and be compensated with adequate wages. But apparently, he feels artists should serve him for free.

What incentive do they have to produce music if they cannot make a living off it? I think it is premature to call the CD obsolete, but I do agree that the "Internet (is) bringing about change in the way people do business. Record companies should realize this and change their marketing models."

Actually, they already have. I understand that you can download songs from iTunes for 99 cents each. Using the calculator again, this is comparable to paying a quarter per song from a jukebox back in the day.

Larry Compton

UNM staff