Wha'ts the difference between selling an mp3 player loaded with music vs. selling a record collection?
A while back I asked if the RIAA would have issues with selling an mp3 player on ebay loaded with music. Most people came back saying the RIAA very much would have a problem with that. However I still don't get it. How come it's ok to sell used CD's, DVD's, VHS tapes, records, etc? There is a legal market for all of these items. How come I can't resell my mp3 collection??? Isn't an mp3 just another form of media?
The RIAA would have a problem with it ONLY if you kept the music also. For example, I load 200 songs of music onto an iPod then sell it. I have to delete those 200 songs from my computer once the iPod is sold because I no longer own the rights to that music. Additionally, if you purchased the songs through a service like iTunes, redownloading the songs for free is also illegal, again because you no longer own the rights to the music, you would have to repurchase each song.
Also, the legitimacy of the songs on the MP3 player is also in question by the RIAA. By selling a used CD you’re selling something legally obtained, by selling an mp3 player full of songs, there’s no way of knowing how those songs could have been obtained, either downloaded legally or illegally.
It depends on the license agreement attached to the original purchase of your songs. Go back and read them - VERY carefully. Different artists/labels/songs can have different license agreements.
People who create content are allowed to sell them with any crazy license agreements they want. Totally free, ONLY to you, with or without rights to transfer (sell) the songs, …
People who BUY content are allowed to say "No, I don’t agree with your license agreement, therefore I refuse to buy your song".
Generally speaking, all original content is automatically under copy write protection, so you get very little rights at all to copy music. Of course, selling your ONLY copy of a record at a garage sale is probably OK. So, selling your ONLY copy of purchased music (stored on an MP3 player) is probably also OK.