It's official! The "most important component of a CD is the artist's effort" -Right.

[LiberateMusic!]

Exceptionally laughworthy RIAA blurb about the supremacy of artists: (Taken from the RIAA homepage about the cost of a CD http://www.riaa.org/MD-US-7.cfm)

"Of course, the most important component of a CD is the artist’s effort in developing that music. Artists spend a large portion of their creative energy on writing song lyrics and composing music or working with producers and A&R executives to find great songs from great writers. This task can take weeks, months, or even years. The creative ability of these artists to produce the music we love, combined with the time and energy they spend throughout that process is in itself priceless. But while the creative process is priceless, it must be compensated. Artists receive royalties on each recording, which vary according to their contract, and the songwriter gets royalties too. In addition, the label incurs additional costs in finding and signing new artists."

-So, RIAA, where's the money?

The most laughable part is obviously:
"In addition, the label incurs additional costs in finding and signing new artists."

-"In addition"?!! That's a mighty healthy addition.. considering your average mainstream artist gets about 10 cents per sold copy, if they're lucky, if they've reached break-even..

/
An artist who can't wait for piracy to kill the music business, so that we can finally get paid.