In Florida and Utah (with Wisconsin and Rhode Island following suit) you’d think shops dealing in used CDs were cogs in a vast piracy machine given the way state legislators are starting to regulate them. Florida so far is the worst, according to Billboard:
In Florida, the new legislation requires all stores buying second-hand merchandise for resale to apply for a permit, would be required to thumb-print CD sellers and get a copy of their state-issued identity documents, such as a driver’s license. Furthermore, stores could only issue store credit—not pay cash—in exchange for traded CDs, and then would be required to hold them for a 30-day period, before re-selling them.
DVD and video game sellers aren’t entirely off the hook, either.
Stores selling used videos and video games have to hold them for 15 days (undoubtedly meaning they’ll gently remind you to screw yourself sell your games back sooner to stock the shelves) but don’t need a permit.
http://kotaku.com/gaming/notag/the-sound-of-gamestop-stalking-237948.php
The recording industry’s not exactly upset by the new laws, since they’ve always begrudged the money they “lose” on second-hand sales, as have game publishers. But since they’re so big on preserving record stores “anywhere near a campus,” I wonder if the inherent conflict over the damage this will do to independent record shops is ripping their tiny, black, industry-executive hearts in two? Not that it matters, since they can always fill the gaps with money.
https://gizmodo.com/a-heart-warming-message-from-the-riaa-245090
Where’s the last spot you bought a CD?
https://gizmodo.com/big-box-retailers-why-we-need-itunes-and-other-online-256034
New Laws Threaten Used CD Market [Billboard via Ars Technica]
Image via Flickr
