Prior to the opportunities now provided for by the advent of the world wide web, finding historical music for enthusiasts, and for archival purposes had been tedious, and nearly impossible. Public tastes have been manipulated by the RIAA, and by other "promoters" within the music industry. Many extremely talented musicians have been unable to penetrate these inherent barriers. There are countless examples of brilliant compositions and performances that would otherwise have been completely passed over, were it not for the internet and the platform thus provided. Furthermore, many of those who have been recorded and promoted in the past, have now fallen into the abyss of obscurity; their wonderful, and important musical contributions forever lost. Much akin to the Celtic tribes preserving the history of mankind during "The Dark Ages" when it would otherwise have been forgotten, we now have this exceptional opportunity to preserve audio recordings that have been deemed "of little interest" or "out of print!"

Example: My father, "Gordon Chris Griffin" was inducted into The Music Hall of Fame for his contribution to the ground breaking concert of the Benny Goodman band at Carnegie Hall in 1938. Had it not been for the fact that many years later, Benny "found" the acetates in his closet, this historical performance, now universally acclaimed by the industry and by the general public alike, would have been lost for all eternity. The world wide web is now our closet! Occasionally it becomes necessary to "get to the bottom of our closet" and see what might have "slipped through the cracks." What might we be missing were it not for an accidental discovery, or rediscovery by Someone? Somewhere? Sometime? (My father, along with other members of the band, was a co-author of the ubiquitous arrangement of Sing, Sing, Sing, and for which he has received not one penny. Benny Goodmans' estate has been the sole beneficiary of all duties paid. The system of compensation has never been fair or just!)

Each individual has a different concept of that which is important. Should the RIAA be the only "gatekeeper?" Should they be the sole purveyors of a knowledge base? Should they have despotic determination over that which should be preserved, and that which has little or no value? Well just look back and ask yourself how much have we already lost? Money talks! The rest gets lost! We have the ability to preserve our musical history; not a biased, self-serving history, but a complete record of our musical culture. What is to be our legacy?

Some people were not particularly interested in Elvis Presley, or The Beatles. Some of the best "Big Band" music, that was a natural progression of all that had gone before, happened in the 1970's and 1980's, and continues to this day, basically unsupported by the media. It has been relegated to insignificance by the recording industry. Thus, whenever the industry decides to "revisit" the big bands, it always goes back to Glen Miller--the last remembered point of reference! (Besides Woody Herman, Buddy Rich or Stan Kenton, how much of the general public, or even some big band enthusiasts themselves, were aware of the mind expanding bands of Onzy Matthews, Duke Pearson, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis, Rob McConnell, Gordon Goodwin, etc., etc.) (BTW: Woody Herman died a pauper. His musicians took up a collection to have him buried!)

The "Sonny Bono" bill/law, extending copyright beyond the accepted fifty years is counterproductive. The court sanctioned, Gestapo enforcement tactics (invasion of privacy, and sting operations) employed by the RIAA (and their cronies) are an inhibitor to the free exchange of ideas and damaging to the perseverance of human artistry. As a composer/musician myself, I understand the need for "fair market value" for intellectual and creative efforts. But, we don't need to "throw the baby out with the dirty water." Were you to scratch the surface of the music industry, you would find many self-serving "promoters" deciding which music sees the light of day, while true artistry is often lost. "Pay For Play" has been the rule since the beginning of commercial airwaves.

If all "great societies" are remembered by their art, do we really want to be remembered for "inappropriate urination?" Is this truly representative of our society! The damage done by one sociopath with an agenda and a venue, reflects on each of us. John F. Kennedy once said, "if some of our great artists have been the most critical of our society, it is because they are the most sensitive to its short comings." Let us be sensitive to the sensibilities of our fellow countrymen and women. Let us each play a role in the preservation of our history, by allowing us to utilize the available technology for mutual artistic expression and archival purposes.

Too often, America has fallen behind as it prefers to eek out the last ounce of profitability from old or dying tecnologies while the rest of the world's entry level is with the new, and innovative technologies. We have even allowed unstable technological inhibitors to invade our consumer grade, AND our professional recording equipment. (CPMS! Itunes! Windows Media Player Version 11!) Music is meant to be shared so let's accept the fact that it's a new dawn.

I believe that once the initial public appetite for a musical product has been realized, and that genuine efforts for compensation have achieved near-maximization, that product should then fall into "limited" public domain. That is: Not to be used for commercial enhancement of another product, or for contributing to the monetary benefit of anyone other than vested parties. Otherwise, to be freely exchanged amongst "enthusiasts" for archival purposes.