Pop music magazine Rolling Stone purchased a stinging ad in yesterday’s New York Times, in which it sarcastically congratulated record labels for what the magazine sees as anti-consumer behavior.
The recording industry, engaged in battles over “peer-to-peer” file sharing of copyrighted music, and royalty issues over streaming Internet radio stations, has been the target of widespread criticism for its tactics.
The ad, titled “A Big Fat Thanks to Record Execs,” reads, “Because of you, millions of kids will stop wasting time listening to new music and seeking out new bands. No more spreading the word to complete strangers about your artists. No more harmful exposure to thousands of bands via Internet radio, either. With any luck, they wont talk about music at all.”
Rolling Stone operates a series of streaming Internet radio stations. However, the magazine does in fact generate significant revenue from record label advertising. It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction this criticism in such a mainstream venue as the Times might elicit from labels.
Read the entire ad in yesterday’s New York Times, or (in Adobe Acrobat format) here. Thanks to Steve Goldstein of Saga for the .pdf file of the ad.
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