An Open Letter To The Riaa

[barfboy]

Your past and present attempts to prevent "illegal" file sharing is simply misguided and counter productive, to say the least!

Ever since the dismantaling of napster your organization simple pushed file sharing further under ground. Napster was used to share music ONLY. Now with the popularity of peer-to-peer file sharing TERRORISTS and PEDOPHILES now have new tools at their disposal. Way to go a**holes.

Now with pending litigation (you people are serial litigators) there WILL BE an emmergance of ENCRYPTED file sharing programs. Thus, making it even MORE DIFFICULT for legitimate law enforcement to uncover and procicute TERRORISTS and CHILD PORNOGRAPHERS. Again, WAY TO GO A)(HOLES. You are also tying up the courts and the legal system in an UTTERLY FUTILE attempt to stop music file trading.

Your organization publicly blames file sharing as the cause of reduced revenue and sales - to which I have one thing to say - IT"S THE ECONOMY STUPID!

Maybe the fact that the VAST MAJORITY of the music you produce is CRAP, the ECONOMY is in the damn toilet, and you have yet to OFFER a DECENT alternative (I'll be damned if IM going to pay 10 bucks a month and then pay an ADDITIONAL fee to burn a small selection of tracks.

Could these be the reasons that music sales are down? Of course it is. But just like W Bush's reasons for going into IRAQ is BULLSH!T, so are your reasons for going after file sharers. The REAL reason you are TERRIFIED of peer to peer networks is your total LOSS OF CONTROL over the music business.

HEVEN FORBID if an good artist was able to record, promote and distribute decent music WITHOUT the goddamn RIAA. The you UNCREREATIVE BASTARDS might have to get real jobs, CD's might sell for five bucks and the artist would keep the profits! When that happens (and it will, you dumbasses are too F***ING stupid to come up with a better plan.)

Your money, political clout and (stupid PR) legal moves will not save your industry. The RIAA is nothing more than a bunch of CORRUPT teamsters in expensive suits. Who apparently wish to support TERRORISTS AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHERS so you can continue to RAPE artists and the consumer.

The RIAA says screw PRIVACY and FREEDOM. Well I say, SCREW YOU RIAA and the horse you rode in on.

[internet.news]

hello,

just wanted to menion that: there is more behind the idea of filesharing -
we have to share our thoughts openly also in everydaylife to understand each
other better - not only in Kazaa :) each day it is important issue :) look on Israel
and Palestinia - it is difficult - if they would be more opened a little bit... probably...
ok, although did not live there some of you may think, I have not the experience
to say that - ok, probably a bad exam, but there are exams. Just think about it :)
Also if it is difficult to tell someting openly sometimes - if the lie would be easier -
it is much more better for a better understanding finally.

on the other hand I understand the riaa due to the copyright issues.
they are also unfortunately just humans, but what I mentioned above should be also interesting for them: Riaa employees officialy should not share files (only if you want to lose your job during filesharing at work :), but share their thoughts and life openly with their friends and family to understand each other better.

thanks anyway, david.

(feel free to ask me openly: [email protected])

[J'Pol]

What a strange E-mail address David.

One can only assume that you are involved in the retail of quality maritime hardware.

[J'Pol]

No, thinking about it, it must be the paint / lacquer side of the business you are in.

[cewin3]

RIAA has chosen the unimaginative way, of using the courts, to regain control of a product they lost with the advent of radio.

How many people(an I am showing my age hear) remember reel to reel tapes recording our favorite shows and music (ok, you can at least admit it if you remember your father's reel to reel)? Yeah that's right, radio was going to kill the music industry.

And with the advent of Cassett recorders, who among us not only taped our favorite songs, but recorded copys of our ablums for freinds. Here again the music industry was doomed!!!!

For years we did these things and the music industry (and the RIAA since all those members actually pay dues) blossemed.

Along came the CD and RIAA was happy, people had already trashed there reel to reels as well as their tape decks (not me, I still have both), and for a couple years simply could not get copies of music they did not own.

With the advent of CD Bunners came RIAA's first panic attack on their customers. COPY Guards on music CDs. Making it sometimes difficult to even play the CDs we had just bought (remember the CD that wouldn't play on any platform that also supported MP3s?).

However; There was this thing called the internet, and a programm called NAPSTER. With these to things, we once again enjoyed the freedom to share are music with people who had the same tastes as us. GOD Forbid.

So instead of improving their product (i.e. maybe tossing in a video [which they show for free on MTC, VIVA, CMT and such] or hey, mamye even 10 to 12 GOOD songs on one CD), they have decided to set their armies of lawyers (who until now were busy drawing in big bucks while playing golf) loose on the American people.

The basic concept they use is just wrong, we have always shared our music with our friends, and the reproduction of copyright material for personal use has even been (in the case of TV broadcasts) been upheld by the Supreme Court.

RIAA with their course of action, has only proved that they are out of touch with their customers, and have no idea how to improve their product, to induce people to WANT to buy a CD.

[I'm_going_slightly_mad]

Originally posted by cewin3@28 July 2003 - 02:48
RIAA has chosen the unimaginative way, of using the courts, to regain control of a product they lost with the advent of radio.

How many people(an I am showing my age hear) remember reel to reel tapes recording our favorite shows and music (ok, you can at least admit it if you remember your father's reel to reel)? Yeah that's right, radio was going to kill the music industry.

And with the advent of Cassett recorders, who among us not only taped our favorite songs, but recorded copys of our ablums for freinds. Here again the music industry was doomed!!!!

For years we did these things and the music industry (and the RIAA since all those members actually pay dues) blossemed.

Along came the CD and RIAA was happy, people had already trashed there reel to reels as well as their tape decks (not me, I still have both), and for a couple years simply could not get copies of music they did not own.

With the advent of CD Bunners came RIAA's first panic attack on their customers. COPY Guards on music CDs. Making it sometimes difficult to even play the CDs we had just bought (remember the CD that wouldn't play on any platform that also supported MP3s?).

However; There was this thing called the internet, and a programm called NAPSTER. With these to things, we once again enjoyed the freedom to share are music with people who had the same tastes as us. GOD Forbid.

So instead of improving their product (i.e. maybe tossing in a video [which they show for free on MTC, VIVA, CMT and such] or hey, mamye even 10 to 12 GOOD songs on one CD), they have decided to set their armies of lawyers (who until now were busy drawing in big bucks while playing golf) loose on the American people.

The basic concept they use is just wrong, we have always shared our music with our friends, and the reproduction of copyright material for personal use has even been (in the case of TV broadcasts) been upheld by the Supreme Court.

RIAA with their course of action, has only proved that they are out of touch with their customers, and have no idea how to improve their product, to induce people to WANT to buy a CD.

Well said!

Argh! :pirate:

[barfboy]

Here is a copy of a letter sent to to Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)


Dear Mr. Chambliss;

As a constituent, an IT professional and a concerned citizen, I feel that there is an aspect of current litigation pending by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) that may not be apparent. This could very well produce dire consequences on national security, give terrorists (as well as others committing illegal acts,) free reign of the Internet.

What I am talking about is peer-to-peer file sharing. I know your office must be deluged with letters and emails expounding about the virtues of freedom and how it is really ok to steal others work, simply because a big corporation owns most of it. This is NOT the point of this correspondence.

Technically speaking, there are a large number of individuals (several thousand, from all over the world) that are currently working on open source applications that will allow for anonymous and encrypted connections to file sharing networks. This will provide an absolute haven for terrorist cells to exchange information, files and malicious code, without any risk of being detected! Even if law enforcement was able to determine the location of suspected individuals, the level of encryption currently available would take a super computer weeks to crack.

The continued pressure that the RIAA is placing on Internet users, ISP’s and the government will simply push millions of otherwise legitimate users to use, distribute and develop software and tools that will make it increasingly difficult to investigate “real” criminals who wish to use these networks to harm our citizens.

Here is a case in point: Napster was the largest music sharing site to date. It was used to exchange songs and that was it. The RIAA shut the service down. Users simply migrated to decentralized peer-to-peer networks. Since the network was decentralized, many users used the network to share more than just music (i.e. child pornography is a large amount of traffic on these networks.) As the RIAA shut down Napster, users simply moved more “under-ground.” This is simply due to the popularity of file sharing services. These decentralized services gained in ease of use and are very easy to get. As the RIAA ups the stakes again, users will be looking for “safer” ways of sharing files; programmers and companies will deliver. The losers in this technological battle will be copyright holders and our citizens. The winners will be criminals and terrorists.

Mr. Chambliss, I simply cannot sit back idle and allow this “arms race” to continue. All it will ultimately accomplish is to produce a climate where terrorists and criminals thrive. This is analogous to the right to bear arms; if citizens can’t legally own firearms, then only the criminals will have them.

Please take a stand and introduce some form of legislation that will provide a compromise between citizens and the RIAA. Decriminalize file sharing; provide some compensation to the copyright holders. This would allow law enforcement and the courts to concentrate on the criminals and scum that look to harm us and our children. The genie is out of the bottle Mr. Senator and it’s not going back. Unless someone, such as yourself, looks at the issue in whole, we may all experience some unforeseen consequences.

[RealitY]

First off if you reading this post then perhaps you give a shit about all this...
Although you may not know to whom, what or how to write a letter..
Maybe you gotta clean the toilet and don't have the time...

Do you have 30 seconds you could spare...
Was that a YES?? Great, then check this out...
http://action.eff.org/action/index.asp?ste...tep=2&item=2713
HOW SIMPLE IS THAT.

Also if you are curious to what alternatives are out there...
http://www.eff.org/share/compensation.php

Also arelated post on the board at...
http://www.klboard.ath.cx/bb/index.php?showtopic=56114

Again Thanks To The Team At EFF

[stevothedevo_99]

The RIAA blames p2p file swapping and piracy for a decline in sales.

Have they even considered these other factors.

1/ The economy - any downturn in the economy will force people to cut back on entertainment spending - it's more important to pay the rent than buy CDs.

2/ The enormous growth of DVDs - with a plethora of DVD titles available, many at less than the cost of a new CD is it any wonder that consumers are seeking something which offers better value for money.

3/ The unimaginative crap that is being pumped out of music factories these days - what ever happened to creativity - instead we are subjected to this generic corporate shit that passes for so called music - give me innovation not imitation.

4/ Biting the hand that feeds them - The RIAA treating its customers like criminals is no way to conduct business and stay in business.

5/ CD prices - it's been almost 20 years since I studied economics but if they could find the sweet spot on the sales curve their earnings would increase dramatically - after all, they only cost $1 to make.

There are probably many more reasons why CD sales have declined other than p2p and piracy and if anyone can come up with more, please post them here.

There are two types of people - those that can afford to buy CDs and do and those that can't afford to buy CDs and don't. For those people who can afford to buy CDs theres no substitute for the real thing - complete with packaging and artwork. I personally have over 5000 CDs. An mp3 cannot compare with a physical object. People will always pay to have something that they can keep forever. Mp3s do not give that level of satisfaction. Until we get star trek technology where we can duplicate a physical object by some sort of transmat beam, there will always be a market for CDs.

Record companies complain that only a small percentage of CDs actually make a profit. These days there is so much music being made and not enough airplay slots available to promote it all. However there is another promotional method, p2p networks. Recordings of a newly signed artist could be released to the p2p networks and disseminated through specific interest groups. If people like the music they could place an order with the relevant record company and if there is sufficient demand, the disc can be pressed and sold to the wider market.

Additionally, there are other ways to make money - limited editions of albums can be released which could be signed and numbered - true fans would be willing to pay much more to get their hands on items such as this.

The music industry feels threatened by this new form of distribution. If only they get their heads out of their backsides and use that grey matter in side and come up with an updated business model, they could take advantage of what p2p offers and their profits would surge dramatically.

Remember in the early 80s the movie industry felt threatened by home video and there were dire predictions of movie theatres all over the country closing down. Today you will find every reasonable sized shopping mall has at least a dozen movie theatres and the movie industry now makes 2/3 of it's income through home video.

So if the music industry wants to thrive - sack all those useless lawyers and executives and bring yourselves into the 21st century.

[ninjamonkey]

Originally posted by stevothedevo_99@30 July 2003 - 13:01
The RIAA blames p2p file swapping and piracy for a decline in sales.

Have they even considered these other factors.

1/ The economy - any downturn in the economy will force people to cut back on entertainment spending - it's more important to pay the rent than buy CDs.

2/ The enormous growth of DVDs - with a plethora of DVD titles available, many at less than the cost of a new CD is it any wonder that consumers are seeking something which offers better value for money.

3/ The unimaginative crap that is being pumped out of music factories these days - what ever happened to creativity - instead we are subjected to this generic corporate shit that passes for so called music - give me innovation not imitation.

4/ Biting the hand that feeds them - The RIAA treating its customers like criminals is no way to conduct business and stay in business.

5/ CD prices - it's been almost 20 years since I studied economics but if they could find the sweet spot on the sales curve their earnings would increase dramatically - after all, they only cost $1 to make.

There are probably many more reasons why CD sales have declined other than p2p and piracy and if anyone can come up with more, please post them here.

There are two types of people - those that can afford to buy CDs and do and those that can't afford to buy CDs and don't. For those people who can afford to buy CDs theres no substitute for the real thing - complete with packaging and artwork. I personally have over 5000 CDs. An mp3 cannot compare with a physical object. People will always pay to have something that they can keep forever. Mp3s do not give that level of satisfaction. Until we get star trek technology where we can duplicate a physical object by some sort of transmat beam, there will always be a market for CDs.

Record companies complain that only a small percentage of CDs actually make a profit. These days there is so much music being made and not enough airplay slots available to promote it all. However there is another promotional method, p2p networks. Recordings of a newly signed artist could be released to the p2p networks and disseminated through specific interest groups. If people like the music they could place an order with the relevant record company and if there is sufficient demand, the disc can be pressed and sold to the wider market.

Additionally, there are other ways to make money - limited editions of albums can be released which could be signed and numbered - true fans would be willing to pay much more to get their hands on items such as this.

The music industry feels threatened by this new form of distribution. If only they get their heads out of their backsides and use that grey matter in side and come up with an updated business model, they could take advantage of what p2p offers and their profits would surge dramatically.

Remember in the early 80s the movie industry felt threatened by home video and there were dire predictions of movie theatres all over the country closing down. Today you will find every reasonable sized shopping mall has at least a dozen movie theatres and the movie industry now makes 2/3 of it's income through home video.

So if the music industry wants to thrive - sack all those useless lawyers and executives and bring yourselves into the 21st century.

wow, very nice post.