Thick as Thieves

Just when you thought officials from the recording industry couldn't possibly top themselves with outrageous statements, we are treated to this interesting interpration of the fair use doctrine by a lawyer from Sony BMG:

"When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song."

For an industry desperately trying to hold on to a shrinking customer base, I'm not sure why they would characterize the ones they still have as thieves. I guess we could interpret this and similar pronouncements we've been hearing from these people over that last few years as signs of desperation. They've probably figured out the jig is up. It's only a matter of time before more artists follow the lead of Prince, Radiohead and others by opting out of the current system that is rigged in favor of the labels.