Proof of how powerful (& misguided) the music industry is led this week to the proposal by the US Congress to create yet another government branch that will enforce illegal MP3 file sharing.
This is a ridiculous piece of news for myriad reasons. First of all, this is almost as impossible to enforce as the war on drugs and the war on terror. Now there is a war on illegal MP3 file sharing? It seems like most legal actions taken by the RIAA (The Recording Industry Association of America) are against teenagers and college students who are going to have to pay for the silly multi-million dollar lawsuits from their lunch and allowance money. When will this stop?
The RIAA says it is interested in protecting intellectual property but in reality the RIAA is a lobbying group like any other and is headquartered in Washington, DC. The RIAA is interested in making as much money as possible and in trying to control an open internet system that allows for MP3 file sharing.
Here’s my point, (and thanks for sticking with me through a few muddy paragraphs): The music industry was pretty sure that radio would kill the record industry and history has shown that playing music on the radio only increases sales of music. How else is a music fan and consumer supposed to find out about new music?
So how do the artists who are allegedly represented by the RIAA and NARAS (the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences aka The Grammy people) feel about the potential threat to their intellectual property?
Janis Ian has some strong opinions: “They (NARAS) told me downloads were destroying sales, ruining the music industry, and costing you money. Costing me money? I don’t pretend to be an expert on intellectual property law, but I do know one thing. If a music industry executive claims I should agree with their agenda because it will make more money, I put my hand on my wallet…and check it after they leave, just to make sure nothing’s missing.”
Many other artists have spoken out against the RIAA and their tactics to control the leaky sieve that is the music industry. Canadian artists such as Avril Lavigne, The Barenaked Ladies, Sarah MacLachlan, and Sum 41 have very strong opinions also. They do not think it is productive to sue their fans and generally seem to agree that the more exposure fans get to their music the more CDs they will sell.
American recording artist Moby has also been outspoken about the RIAA. “The record companies and the RIAA have up to this point been like Nero fiddling while Rome burned. The record companies are faced with an inescapable fact: the music business has changed and will continue to change. If the record companies can’t change with the times then they will quickly become obsolete.” Apparently one of moby.com’s own board members was sued in 2003 for illegal music filesharing.
While it is always precarious to protest one’s own organization many musicians have taken steps to protest a music industry that asks much of musicians and seemingly takes too large a shore of the profits. Musicians such as Cheryl Crow, Don Henley of The Eagles, Billy Joel, No Doubt, Carol King, Courtney Love, and Dixie Chicks have protested the RIAA lawsuits.
Other artists have left the industry to become independent distributors some with their own record labels. These rabble-rousers include Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead and Ani DiFranco.
The silver lining to all of this debate is the birth of Indie rock. This is a strange category of music that is really all about artists who are more concerned with expression than with contracts and making money for the record companies. Visit CD Baby to check out this new wave of record selling and distribution.
And Just Say NO to new branches of the government who want to regulate what is unregulatable, a free and open internet.
This is a ridiculous piece of news for myriad reasons. First of all, this is almost as impossible to enforce as the war on drugs and the war on terror. Now there is a war on illegal MP3 file sharing? It seems like most legal actions taken by the RIAA (The Recording Industry Association of America) are against teenagers and college students who are going to have to pay for the silly multi-million dollar lawsuits from their lunch and allowance money. When will this stop?
The RIAA says it is interested in protecting intellectual property but in reality the RIAA is a lobbying group like any other and is headquartered in Washington, DC. The RIAA is interested in making as much money as possible and in trying to control an open internet system that allows for MP3 file sharing.
Here’s my point, (and thanks for sticking with me through a few muddy paragraphs): The music industry was pretty sure that radio would kill the record industry and history has shown that playing music on the radio only increases sales of music. How else is a music fan and consumer supposed to find out about new music?
So how do the artists who are allegedly represented by the RIAA and NARAS (the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences aka The Grammy people) feel about the potential threat to their intellectual property?
Janis Ian has some strong opinions: “They (NARAS) told me downloads were destroying sales, ruining the music industry, and costing you money. Costing me money? I don’t pretend to be an expert on intellectual property law, but I do know one thing. If a music industry executive claims I should agree with their agenda because it will make more money, I put my hand on my wallet…and check it after they leave, just to make sure nothing’s missing.”
Many other artists have spoken out against the RIAA and their tactics to control the leaky sieve that is the music industry. Canadian artists such as Avril Lavigne, The Barenaked Ladies, Sarah MacLachlan, and Sum 41 have very strong opinions also. They do not think it is productive to sue their fans and generally seem to agree that the more exposure fans get to their music the more CDs they will sell.
American recording artist Moby has also been outspoken about the RIAA. “The record companies and the RIAA have up to this point been like Nero fiddling while Rome burned. The record companies are faced with an inescapable fact: the music business has changed and will continue to change. If the record companies can’t change with the times then they will quickly become obsolete.” Apparently one of moby.com’s own board members was sued in 2003 for illegal music filesharing.
While it is always precarious to protest one’s own organization many musicians have taken steps to protest a music industry that asks much of musicians and seemingly takes too large a shore of the profits. Musicians such as Cheryl Crow, Don Henley of The Eagles, Billy Joel, No Doubt, Carol King, Courtney Love, and Dixie Chicks have protested the RIAA lawsuits.
Other artists have left the industry to become independent distributors some with their own record labels. These rabble-rousers include Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead and Ani DiFranco.
The silver lining to all of this debate is the birth of Indie rock. This is a strange category of music that is really all about artists who are more concerned with expression than with contracts and making money for the record companies. Visit CD Baby to check out this new wave of record selling and distribution.
And Just Say NO to new branches of the government who want to regulate what is unregulatable, a free and open internet.
