Downloading in The Free World

A cynic might see an irony or two in Apple’s launch of its “revolutionary iTunes Music Store.” The service—offering downloadable songs for 99 cents each—is being positioned in part as a boon to recording artists, who have seen their work stolen by users of other online file-sharing programs. And yet to promote the service, Apple feels just fine appropriating a line from Neil Young, the grizzled rocker who so opposes the use of musicians’ material for commercial purposes that he once riled MTV with a song (and video) called “This Note’s for You.”