Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman's own kids are music pirates, he admitted in an interview. "Naturally, his kids were forced to cough up thousands of dollars to the RIAA to keep from getting sued. Right?" Ars Technica asks rhetorically. Of course not -- Bronfman says he disciplined the kids (he says he prefers to keep the details in the family) and gave them a talking-to about stealing music.
Of course, music piracy is wrong, but the problem with the current system for dealing with piracy is that punishments are far too draconian. Casual music piracy is morally equivalent to shoplifting -- but we treat it like grand larceny, dragging people into criminal court and ruining their lives. Bronfman understands this principle when it comes to his own children.
