Thanks Chum Man! - Read on!

What many people don't realize is that it is not theft by law. For every burner/recorder sold in the USA, as well as every piece of blank media, a royalty goes to the music industry. That royalty is compensation for copies. Now they want to change the game and are on a campaign to make people think their legal fair use is a crime, unethical or immoral. Don't believe it!
(Note - Thanks Roboto)

In 1992, Congress passed the Audio Home Recording Act ("AHRA"), an amendment to the federal copyright law. The AHRA provides for a royalty tax of up to $8.00 per new digital recording machine and 3 percent of the price of all digital audiotapes or discs. This tax is paid by the manufacturers of digital media devices and distributed to the copyright owners whose music is presumably being copied.

In consideration of this tax, copyright owners agree to forever waive the right to claim copyright infringement against consumers using audio recording devices in their homes. This is commensurate with the fair use exception to copyright law, which allows consumers to make copies of copyrighted music for non-commercial purposes.

It is clear from the language of the AHRA, and subsequent judicial interpretations of the statute, that Congress did not anticipate ten years ago the impending home digital recording explosion that was galvanized by the Internet. However, the CBDTPA bill and the new anti-piracy technologies appear to be the music industry's effort at making an end run around the AHRA.

Instead of passing this new legislation, it would be more appropriate for Congress to amend the AHRA, which strikes an appropriate, albeit outdated, balance between music distributors, electronics manufacturers and consumers.

See: "THE MUSIC PIRACY AND THE AUDIO HOME RECORDING ACT"