I've seen this before but always forget about it.. Not that I actually watch TV though.
10:28:43 AM   []

And us iPod owners know they come with a Don't Steal Music sticker. (Unfortunately it's small and not as cool as I thought it'd be).

But instead of these doom and gloom messages of 'Don’t Steal', 'Don't Pirate', 'Obey the LAW', that chastise the user wouldn't it be better to promote the message of 'Support the artist'? We should steer the user towards doing the right thing instead of threatening them.

But hey, what do I know? I'm just a consumer after all, and the record industry could give a damn about what I think or want.

Update: I posted some of the above to Pho in response to the message orginally sent and the National Director of Promotion/Online Digital Technology from Sony Music has responded saying he does care about what I (we) have to say.. So here's what I said:

Those ads/statements may not have been produced by the record labels but they were certainly influenced by the record companies litigious nature. When record labels and media companies have a history of going after the producers of potentially infringing devices (i.e. the RIAA vs. The Rio, RIAA vs. Napster/Morpheous/..) and they've spoken out against hardware companies (Eisner's comments to Jobs) computer manufactures are naturally going to start covering their asses and you and both know that when the labels come after them they'll have a better chance if they explicitly till the consumers not to steal instead of saying support the artist.

In general, I believe that the record labels are approaching this situation from the completely wrong marketing angle. Don’t shame, scare, or force me into buying your CDs because I won't. Instead show me what I'll gain by paying and by this I mean don't show me that I'll gain not going to jail or a $1mil fine. Show me that my $0.50 of a CD purchase really is going to go to my favorite artist and help them produce more good music for me to enjoy.

Make love, not war.

Update: CNET now has as story on Gateway's advertising campaign: Gateway croons for copying tunes
10:23:14 AM   []