Pop quiz: If a guy pays $675,000 and gets 30 things for it, how much is that apiece? Now, what do you think he's spending $22,500 a pop on? A down payment? A new car? Those Damien Hirst jeans? Nope. As you may have heard on Friday, that is how much a twentysomething named Joel Tenenbaum has to fork over per song for illegal file-sharing online. Clearly I was mistaken in thinking we were done making examples of people who trade music on the web.Granted, the record industry can use all the cash they can get, and musicians deserve to be paid for their work, but in 2009 this feels like faded clipping from a time capsule. Times have changed, and it's time for a new model, folks. Of coure, newspapers and magazine need one too. To me this is just further proof that we have a long way to go before we sort out how the internet and art of any kind can play nice.To read about his plans to appeal, and how he really feels about the RIAA, visit Joelfightback.Will he file for bankruptcy? Will he get off? Time will tell.
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