At the 44th annual Grammy Awards this past Wednesday, an association leader dived into how illegal music downloading was the greatest threat to the record label industry and its artists. I wonder if this person works for the RIAA on the side, because the RIAA is back to its propaganda of misinformation again and with the same message. The latest was a press release about a supposed survey the RIAA conducted. The results supposedly show that the recording industry had an almost 11% decline in product shipments within the U.S. at a cost of over $1 billion. So, who’s to blame? Well, of course, according to the major record labels, their right arm (the RIAA), and major newswires like Reuters who believe anything big business tells them … it’s all the fault of online music piracy, or what they are now referring to as “home piracy.” (Yawn!)
The interesting thing is that the RIAA’s survey or report failed to mention Sept. 11th, the economic recession, increased independent artist or small label sales, and the fact that there is a coalition of artists that oppose the RIAA’s point of view and the way the major record labels treat their bread and butter. Oh, and what about the who, when and where’s of the survey participants? Truth be told, it’s about time the major record labels starting losing money so that they are finally forced to restructure their ancient business practices. Too bad federal and state governments, along with judges, are just as slow at recognizing the need for change is this incredibly rich industry. The major record labels are notorious for embracing new technologies too late. The entire entertainment industry is notorious for doing everything it possibly can to fill its wallets with no regard for the customer’s opinion. Name me another industry that so disregards its customers. Do you run out of fingers to count with? I’d doubt it, personally.
What meaning of the words “cartel” or “monopoly” does today’s government subscribe to? Obviously not the meanings set forth in antitrust laws that same government is supposed to follow. And in that lies the ultimate irony: antitrust laws (and copyright laws) are so outdated for current society, yet, our current government switches between following these laws to the teeth or paving a new, dirty road altogether. Depends entirely on the lobbying group and the big business “gifts” politicians receive that determine when our own legal system follows the letter of the law. In the end, it really doesn’t matter if downloading music becomes as illegal as stealing a car, because the RIAA is fighting a losing battle. You hear me RIAA officials? You cannot win this fight. In fact, you already lost it. The dynamics of the situation are of such grandiose proportions, any efforts to stop even an increase in music downloading is fruitless and a waste of your money. The major record labels need to stop paying for more lawyers and lobbyists, and start paying for new marketing and IT personnel, not to mention better management. But while the record labels continue their reckless business practices and continue to ignore the needs of their customers, the true supporters of music and the arts (the fans) will continue to turn up our speakers, both on our stereos and our computers.
-Wes Royer is a professional webmaster in Williamsburg, VA. In his spare time, he is also the editor of OpenUpAndSay.com, an online music magazine; and the webmaster at NetworkOfMinds.com, a news portal. “Free information!”
Related Posts
- File sharing has increased
- How the spin doctors spun a tale about peer to peer file sharing and piracy
- Hays(Kansas) man faces suit over music file-sharing
- Record Labels: Licensing File Sharing Isn’t So Crazy After All
- Call to legalise file-sharing with taxes
Loading ...
