Why the RIAA will soon be redundant

[Old Git]

I have been reading these pages on Zeropaid for a little while now, intrigued what I see as the saga of the RIAA versus the people. Whilst they obviously have the ear of powerful politicians in the USA the issue clearly not as simple as it may seem at first. I would suggest though that it is simple but in a slightly different way.

I am a middle aged person writing this in North East England, in a part of the world that over the last twenty years or so has seen whole communities destroyed, families ripped apart and lives driven to despair, occasionally suicide, all in the name of economic progress. Coal mines with reserves shut, steelworks closed, ship building gone. Some of these industries had been around a few hundred years. The newer chemical industry is now a shadow of what it once was. All these industries employed thousands of blokes, most of them husbands and fathers. In turn these industries supported a region of approximately two and a half million people. Other parts of the world have similarly gone through such experiences. No doubt there are plenty such places in the USA, where firms have said to their workforce, ‘We’re moving on, we don’t need you anymore, so go and get ‘you know what’.’

Today, many of these men are still without work. Many have not had meaningful employment for twenty years or more. The politicians here in the UK say that unemployment is no longer a problem. Where I am they either don’t know what they are talking about, or they are lying, and I am less than twenty miles from Tony Blair’s own patch!

How do I justify what I say? I have been doing research of an academic nature around all these blokes that can’t get jobs. I at least do know what I am talking about and there are other academics that can verify the facts.

The bottom line is that all these thousands of blokes, millions worldwide probably, are without proper work for two reasons. Firstly, that technology moves on, that in many cases their skills are now redundant. They effectively become unskilled. Secondly, that the current political climate, much the same here as in the USA, deems that somehow it’s these blokes own fault, that they won’t work for a low enough wage, so shareholders can live via unearned income through the efforts of these people. Seemingly they should all work for the minimum wage and be grateful.

What’s all this got to do with the RIAA ? (or IRAA as I once accidentally called it! – Given the hard work Sinn Fein and others on the opposite side are putting in to bring the whole sad saga of conflict in Northern Ireland to an end, it would be improper to link them in any way with what appears to be nothing more than a bunch of money grabbers, given the lack of payments made to musicians and others).

Basically, what had occurred, thanks to computers, is that the skills that propped up the record companies and made some people obscene amounts of money for minimal effort, often of questionable artistic value, are now redundant.

Look over most of the audio recorded commercial material since the invention of sound recording techniques. Is there anything there that could not be duplicated, recorded again from scratch using musicians etc.- not copied, using appropriate software and hardware, none of it expensive, on a home PC?

The future of recorded music, at the moment, looks the best it has ever been. Artists themselves however will have to rely more on live performances for income, but is that such a bad thing? Forms of merchandising can also help. It is the recorded material itself that gives the artist exposure to the listening public. Musicians themselves thus can do what musicians like doing most, entertaining us. There is some real talent out there. There always has been. We’ll be able to listen to it now.

The RIAA and its members in this context are no different to those steelworkers who were told they are no longer wanted. Many of those workers finished up in poverty, some homeless, and were told that it was their fault. Government’s don’t give a damm about steelworkers, factory workers, shop workers; basically those people that actually create the wealth we all need to survive in the western world.

The RIAA however has influence and clout. They represent giant megabuck corporations, as well as smaller less well known ones. Politicians listen to them. They have financial power where it can influence.

When I am told by RIAA members that it is immoral to download music from these people what does it tell me? It tells me that business and politicians work hand in hand when it suits them, and I can assure that is not just in the USA as well. Anyway, when they bleat about morality, ideas around expressions relating to stones and glass houses come to mind (people in glass houses should not throw stones – if you don’t know what I am referring to).

What of course this does mean is that the RIAA can perhaps delay the inevitable a little longer, that of course being their own redundancy, along with the corporations that support them, though I have no doubt they would move to pastures new.

At the end of the day it boils down to, how can the speed up of the end of the stranglehold the RIAA and its equivalents elsewhere in the world be put into place? Because once that straightjacket of control has gone music can burst through creatively, original, sometimes awful no doubt. The music industry however, musician and audience led, should surely flourish.

[shawners]

Wow!!! awesome speech old git!! Great post too, The idea of the riaa isnt to protect the artist, rather then to profit from them. They will use every means available to protect their bottom line, they cut out workers by making machines do more work.. And yet alot of families go unfed. So if they want to live in 2100 century, their going to have to share with technology and a consumer whos more aware of the product thats at display.

[DudeAsInCool]

Thanx Old Grit; you speak with pure wisdom--an excellent post. Speaking of which, I posted something similar in the ZP Technology Section today: Neil Postman on Technology and Change Worth a read.

[Wolfie]

Nice analogy there, man. Large companies are always claiming they protect the rights of the people who work for them, but what do the CEO's do the first sign of economical trouble?

They start handing the pink slips to the same people they got rich by riding on thier backs.

[DemonusAE]

Inspirational post. My props to ya for taking the time to post it.

I give it 4 of 5 bouncing frogs:

:fire :fire :fire :fire

[Malicious Intent]

Very true Old Git. Lets not forget that ship building and coal mining didn't go down without a fight.
I often wish the north of England could sort out its problems. Like the current situation with the music industry and what a post RIAA era would look like, I just don't know the answer.
In reference to the RIAA/IRA comment, its a shame the peace agreement has just been put on hold again. :-(

[origin]

greatly put old chap! its the truth aint it ;)

l8

[cjules13]

Awesmoe 1st post Old Git...

Great analogy there... and there's even closer ones than that! How many other factory jobs, assembly, data entry, telephone operator, etc etc jobs have been replaced by computers?

As shawners said, they aren't out to protect the artist, more about protecting their Yukon Denali's! An artist could put up their own mp3's (even with DRM if they wanted to) on their own website and charge $0.25 per download, and still make more from music SALES than they do now! Where the artists really get paid anyway is the live shows, videos, Pepsi commercials, etc.

The RIAA (used) to promote the music to make it popular... now Kazaa does. Whups, you're obsolete! Adapt or end up like a busted steelworker bloke in North England.

[killswitch1968]

Redundant? Well the RIAA are a lobby group, and the only lobby group of the major labels, so I wouldn't say they are redundant.

However I would that the entire music system is in for an overhaul. With p2p technology the way it will be more streamlined, efficient, and most importantly private. And who will buy CDs when free ones can be downloaded off the nets? It's hard to compete with $0.00. And then what happens? Making music simply isn't profitable, labels dissolve along with the RIAA. REJOICE.

Now music is free, without the royalties and restrictions as before. Free competition of the music world, and since this is an unprofitable world, bands will play for the only reason they should: They love making music.

Of course this is idealized but it's a hopeful prediction. :tilted

[momditty]

The end of the RIAA can't happen soon enough for us. Along with the subpeonas and law suits, and bull shit music.

[Travis982]

Old Git wrote:
"The RIAA and its members in this context are no different to those steelworkers who were told they are no longer wanted".

No longer wanted "or needed."

My guess is that's what scares them the most.

I really feel for the steelworkers and such because they were honest working men. I can't feel for the RIAA or its member recording companies because they have been bleeding artists, retaillers and consumers for years.

[M3ta7h3ad]

...who will buy CDs when free ones can be downloaded off the nets? It's hard to compete with $0.00...

I have to say I disagree with that opinion, Music should be free to download over the internet sure... just like Radio stations, however replacing music with free downloads is not only flawed, but damn greedy. I am sorry but if I download an album I like, I want a cd of it, I want the label professionally printed, I want the Jewel case inserts professionally done, I want the shiny packaging.

Downloading music is all well and good, but manufacturing and the selling of music on hard media will never go out of the window. There will always be profit to be made.

It is like the difference between a computer printout of a picasso, and the real thing.

Artists will always make money, and they deserve to. After all would you write songs day in day out, for free?. Just like the steelworkers mentioned above, the artists/bands are musicworkers. They produce music for the benefit of others.

Just because people can download the music on the net, doesnt mean that CD's/Cassettes/LP's will all become defunct. It simply means people will buy more of what they like. The filesharing ethos means more choice, it gives people a chance to discover what something is like, and for them to choose between living with a shiny silver disc, or buying the album to get the nicely printed artwork.

As for the RIAA being Defunct...

It is an American organisation trying to take on the world when it has no jurisdiction to. It has no real power, yes it can sue the hell out of folks, but do you really think that will change anything?. Its basically a media front end, it covers their backs, with the RIAA in place it means they can basically say, well we are trying to stop piracy... (even though they are doing a crap job of it).

If I recieve a letter in the post asking me to delete all my files, I'd kindly write back to them and inform them that as I am in Wales, and it is an american organisation trying to sue me over american laws... I shant be doing so.

The RIAA isnt becoming useless... It is useless.

[HolyMoly]

I am sorry but if I download an album I like, I want a cd of it, I want the label professionally printed, I want the Jewel case inserts professionally done, I want the shiny packaging.

Some people feel as you do. But frankly, I think you're in the minority. If the popularity of P2P has proven anything, it has proven this. By and large, most users download songs ... not entire albums. And they do this because they can. Before P2P, individual song-sharing was problematic at best.

What I think we're seeing now is something that has been around since the beginning of the industry ... a frustration by consumers over the album concept of marketing. The reason is simple. Most people who buy albums end up buying them for one or two songs on the album. The other songs, the ones that don't make the charts, don't make the charts for a reason. They're fluff - filler songs with little artistic merit that musicians perform on the QT so their labels can release an $18.00 piece of merchandise ... knowing that most consumers will end up paying that price just to get those one or two songs they want.

P2P changed all that ... and let me use an analogy to explain. Let's say you went into a grocery store and said to the grocer, "I'd like to buy two apples, please." And let's say the grocer replies, "Sorry, I can't do that. In order to buy those two apples, you also have to buy these twelve lemons at the same time - otherwise, no sale." If you were used to that kind of deal, you'd buy it. But if you knew of another store that would gladly sell you the apples without the lemons, you'd go there. P2P heralded the beginning of the end of the album concept of marketing. Apple's iTunes song-by-song download service, while not a panacea solution to piracy, has been judged a success based on that truth. Or, as they might say in Britain, "The King (album concept) is dead. Long live the King (song-by-song concept)."

And this is what scares the beejeezuz out of the music industry. Pandora's box has been opened and music consumers have tasted the song-by-song concept and like it. If they pay out $18 for 14 songs, they now demand that all 14 songs are songs they like. Or, as the old song once said, "How ya' gonna keep 'em down on the farm, after they've seen Pareee..."

BTW, Old Git, your post was the most intelligent and provacative analogy that I've ever read to date. Don't be a stranger in this

[Afn]

At the end of the day it boils down to, how can the speed up of the end of the stranglehold the RIAA and its equivalents elsewhere in the world be put into place? Because once that straightjacket of control has gone music can burst through creatively, original, sometimes awful no doubt. The music industry however, musician and audience led, should surely flourish.

People are being marketed a product, told what to buy and when, and if they do not buy, they will change the laws to create more societal control while systematically closing the factories and replacing middle class jobs, with undeducated labor force.

How do they do it? hire illegals and tech them one task.

The solution is a national income, meaning full employment at middle class standards for all citizens, regardless of nation.