| RIAA | 2003-01-22 23:59 1 comment |
 by Flemming FunchRIAA, the music industry's main organ, has been a lot in the press the past couple of years, because of their ongoing battle with ...just about anybody who wants to enjoy music in new and different ways, without paying them each time. Wired: "There are a lot more voters downloading music than there are music company executives," Hayes warned. "If the RIAA was my client, I'd advise them to think this one through again."Wise words from an entertainment industry lawyer. But think about it for a moment. We all know, of course, that there are many more voters who would like to share music they like than there are music company executives who want to own all music in the world. And this is a democracy, no? Well, if it were, there wouldn't be any problem at all. If we each had one vote, no problem. But music industry executives can buy power and media coverage that is equivalent to millions of votes and millions of voices. That will probably still eventually put them in the minority, but only barely. Hillary Rosen, CEO of the RIAA, 'The Most Hated Name in Music' as Wired put it, wants to force ISPs to pay her for the losses she thinks she's incurred from online piracy. Well, obviously she has MUCH more than one vote, since such a scammy scheme even will be taken seriously in the major media. It is taken seriously because she might very well have bought enough politicians to actually carry it through. Luckily she's stepping down at least. And here's some other good news: British pop star Robbie Williams says that he thinks that music piracy is a great idea. |