Here is what Johnny Cash had to say on the subject...
Statement of Mr. John R. Cash before the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property
September 17, 1997
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to testify here today. I've made many appearances in my life, but this is my first one before Congress. My day-to-day life is making and performing music.And, while it may not seem obvious, what you're considering here today affects that day-to-day life.
I'd like to start with an example of why these treaties are important. Just yesterday, my
friends at the RIAA did an Internet search with my name. Wouldn't you know it, there
on the World Wide Web was one of my biggest hits, "Ring of Fire," on a web site in
Slovenia.My song, available for users around the world to download -- in CD-quality
sound.
Maybe I should be flattered that someone in Slovenia likes my song, but when he or
she makes it available to millions of people, this hardly seems fair.
This is exactly the problem the Treaties are designed to address.
When I started, it was at a small recording studio that was home to a lot of interesting
singers and songwriters. We were recording on vinyl. We didn't know what a cassette
tape was, much less a computer.We were making music in real life.Cyberspace wasn't
even the stuff of science fiction.
A lot has changed between now and then, but the Copyright law has managed to keep
pace. And today, we ought to make room for copyright on the Internet.
Our founding fathers included copyright in the Constitution, for good reason: it
represents an important American value. It says our laws respect what we create with
our heads as much as what we build with our hands. That's true in real life, and it ought
to be true in cyberspace too.
New technologies bring new opportunities and challenges.We're not recording on vinyl
anymore. We're recording on computer discs.We're a digital industry and music is
changing hands at incredible speeds. Push a button and it's gone.
On one hand, this is great. But, on the other, it presents new challenges for artists.
In the old days, people stealing music were hampered by the fact that it was tough to
get good quality recordings and tough to distribute their pirated products.
Today, digital technology has changed all that. For every legitimate site on the Internet, there seem to be dozens more encouraging outright theft -- some with literally hundreds of songs for
the taking. Slovenia was just one example.
That's why the Treaties are so important.Other countries must change their laws to bring them up to the same high standard we already enjoy in the United States.
I'm proud of what Congress has done in the past to protect American creators and
proud of our country's copyright laws. I'm also proud of what creators have done for
the United States, and want to ensure that musicians coming up today -- including my
own children who are trying to make it in this business -- have their country behind
them and every opportunity they deserve. Because American music is the most popular
in the world, it is also the most at risk in other countries. The Treaties will provide the
protection American artists need.
You know, I've been working for a long time and I've played in front of a lot of different audiences, coal miners, convicts, railroad engineers,
lawmakers, and Presidents. It's the music that brings you there and it's the music that keeps
you going. The music comes from our hearts, from joy, inspiration, pain and heartbreak, from loneliness and love.The music and the artists that create and perform it deserve protection, the protection of copyright, whether it's an old 45 or a song we've yet to hear from an artist who is still waiting for a break.
Please protect one of our country's greatest treasures -- the artists who bring to life the
songs of America's past, present and future.
Thank you.
John R. Cash
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