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Look, it's been said before, I'll say it again now, and I'll continue to say it until things change.

Stop purchasing industry CDs!

Your purchase of music released on a label affiliated with the RIAA indirectly supports these efforts which most of you agree is capricious, unfair, predatory and illegal. And yet all I see are a bunch of people who complain about copy protection, the myriad subpoenas being sent by the RIAA standing in line down at the local Best Buy (which is another evil altogether) because they have to have the new friggin' Puddle Of Mudd (or is that Dumm?) CD.

If you really want to send the industry a message, don't buy CDs on labels that are part of the RIAA. Look at places like CD Baby, which are not affiliated with the RIAA, offer 2-minute high-quality preview of many of the songs on each CD, sell non copy-protected CDs, and offer all the rights that you should expect in your CDs. Yes, you can rip the CD and download it to your MP3 player, and no one is going to come and hunt you down like the dog you are merely for exercising your fair use rights.

It really is going to take a big effort on all our parts to get this message out. But while people mindlessly go down to the local box retailer to buy another copy protected CD from some industry teat-sucking band, you're really not helping things.

I noticed it was a Foo Fighters' CD that the story poster bought. How about, 'It's times like these you need to think again...'?

unsigned? i think you mean non-riaa-signed. there are lots and lots of non-riaa labels run by folks who sign bands because they like the music, not the sales projections.

if yr looking for non-riaa music, try:

cd baby
the associatio of inedependent record labels
riaa radar
southern records
your local college radio station
or my local college station

that should keep you busy... and the riaa labels idle.

Our servers are running 100% OpenBSD - the world's most secure operating system. Powered by Apache, PHP, and MySQL... No Microsoft products were used in the creation of this website.

While this is certainly a great thing, for some reason iTunes is having a lot of difficulty getting completely independent musicians (musicians without a label). I sell cd's on CDbaby.com, a big site for indie music, and while Apple and CDbaby have been negotiating since this summer, and with no disagreements on rates, this process is pretty much stuck. I have no idea why this is taking so long... or maybe this is fast for the music biz and I need to be more patient.

Buy your stuff on cdbaby. There is a LOT of good music there, and it's all indie.

OK, so you won't find "no doubt" there. But you will find artists that sound like no doubt.

I say, support the artists you like any way you can. If you like a bunch of songs on an album, buy it. See them live when they come to your town. But don't shed a tear when the labels cry about their profit margins shrinking from 20% to 15%. I also don't think they're going away anytime soon, precisely because of their massive margins (but I don't know what they really are because they've hidden their profits so well). However, I do think there is hope from a new generation of internet-based labels, like CD Baby, who are willing to treat artists fairly (gasp! what a concept!). I'm eager to see how this plays out. I hope Jobs will allow smaller labels (like the one I'd like to start in my bedroom) onto iTunes. This will piss of the majors, but...who gives a fuck about them? They've been screwing over artists and consumers for years. Viva la revolution!

There are two problems with what you propose:
1. The musicians have signed contracts with the record labels. Those are legally binding.
2. Lots of musicians already have 'got their act together.' You can buy their music at CD Baby, among other places.

If you don't support the RIAA, don't steal more music - that's just playing into their hands. ("See, $GOVERNMENT, people are stealing more and more!") Instead, support musicians who are against the major labels - like Alexi Murdoch - and buy from places where you know the musician gets the money, like CD Baby. Support good music by voting with your dollars and the RIAA (or CRIA, or insert-local-RIA) will get the message.

Yeah there is a lot of cruft out there in terms of lame hosting sites. But some of the best are ZeBOX (free mp3s and videos from indie bands -- all genres) and CDBaby (free sample streams and links to indie band web sites that often have mp3s -- or buy a CD from a band you like and screw the RIAA).

Let's keep this in mind, folks -- the music itself is not being destroyed, just this directory of it. The artists themselves maintain the rights to their creations, and if they want to upload them somewhere else, such as Ampcast or ElectronicScene.com, that is their right to do. Artists could also sell CDs on CD Baby or just upload their MP3s to their own web sites, provided it's cool with the ISP. Perhaps it won't be concentrated in one place like before, but life will go on.

Also, keep in mind that we don't know exactly what C|Net is going to do with the mp3.com domain yet. It may reboot the service and make it look similar to the pre-IPO days. That might not be such a terrible thing. That catalog had a lot of clutter.

As for Michael Robertson, I would ignore him. He was the one who said that MP3.com was a data company and not a music company. He's a lucky opportunist who doesn't really care about artist rights, and as a former artist on MP3.com, I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him.

I've had material on MP3.com for several years now. Never paid for the service, so I had less to lose than those that took the Gold Membership, etc. But I still don't understand the griping.
The era of free multimedia serving is over. There's just too much overhead to justify providing that much free bandwidth.
For those of you who bitching about MP3.com, just accept this unfortunate reality.

Who's been screwed? OK, maybe the folks that signed up for Gold Membership. But it seems like it's pointless to bitch about what's happened - it's all just business.

It's not the same as being ripped off by your producer [Beach Boys and countless others], or cheated out of payment by a venue after a performance [an ever-present risk in a business rife with unscrupulous people].

There's always an element of risk, whatever endeavour you undertake. There's no guarantee that a party with whom you have entered into a contract and paid money for future services will not go out of business, or sell out to another party. That's just a fact of life.

Fortunately, there are still plenty of free and low-cost music-hosting alternatives [sorry, I haven't checked ALL these links recently, but most should still be good. I am a lazy sod.]:


AMP3.com
AmpCast
Audiogalaxy
efolk
etree.org (SHN)
Listen.com
Lycos Music Search
MP3.com
nzmp3
peoplesound
SoundClick
stationMP3
gdlive.com
FurtherNet
CD Baby
IUMA
BeSonic
My Local Bands
SoundClick
VITAMINIC
archive.org etree listing (SHN's)
emusic
listensmart


My music (if you're curious, totally bored, and looking for something to listen to).

Some of the best music I own is independant.

Though admittedly you have to buy it in CD form.

Some of the best music I own is independant.

Though admittedly you have to buy it in CD form.

Some of the best music I own is independant.

Though admittedly you have to buy it in CD form.

Some of the best music I own is independant.

Though admittedly you have to buy it in CD form.

I'm a college student, and I can honestly say that if I had this I would use it.

I would use it to record all the songs I didn't already have on mp3. And for all the songs I couldn't get through this system, I would still hit the p2p. I don't supposed they have Super Eurobeat or garage bands music do they? No? The store doesn't either? Downloads for me.

Give me a break. The RIAA does not speak for the entire music industry, and there are plenty of great independant labels and pseudo labels (such as CD Baby) that whole-heartedly disagree with the RIAA on many levels. Even before the RIAA was suing its customers it was fucking over the artists, many of whom have become basically indentured servants to the 'big 5.' Personally, I haven't bought major label music in years, just because I think that in general it isn't innovative. Here's who I *do* buy from:
Beta-lactam Ring
Elevator Bath
IDEA
Wholly Other

And last but not least, the best independant distributor of anything ever... Forced Exposure

Now, how to go about getting them to sell my band's music on the store? Since we don't have a label, the split of sales would be a bit different, I'd assume there would have to be a different deal structure worked out. Does anyone else here on /. have an indie band, and have you tried to deal with iTunes? Any experiences/comments would be most welcome...

If your an indy band without a label you can try CD-Baby they have cut a deal so that indy artists can go though them to seel on ITMS. You can read about it here and here.

You could contact CD-Baby to find out more.

Also, you don't need to have money to download iTunes, just to buy music, and you don't have to have money just to browse around the store. Considering the user experience on Windows, for the most part, has been good, I'd suggest just downloading it and checking it out now instead of waiting until you want to buy anything, it's a nifty program.

The artists sign into a legally binding contract with the RIAA companies. They know what they are getting into before they sign anything. They have lawyers read the contracts over before any ink is squeezed out of a pen. They're not screwing anybody, everyone has a way out before they sign on the dotted line.

This is somewhat true. Most artists avoid lawyers and reading contracts, mostly due to their dentriment. It's also true that the RIAA and co have created an environment where it is virtually impossible to get any radio play, video play, etc, without selling your soul. The benefits of such marketing (and that's really what radio and video play is when you boil it down) should be apparent to most (sell 1 million CD's rather than the 5-10k you normally move if you're an "artist" and not a manufactured "star"), but then again, when a band signs onto a label, well, you've got to take the good with the bad. Many indies have found that you can make a comfortable living touring and releasing/selling CD's for a reasonable price ($10 seems reasonable to me, directly from the band, but YMMV). Signing with the RIAA also give you a huge distribution channel to ply your wares, much more so than you'd get with an indie label. But I digress. As an artist, I say if the label wants you badly enough, you'll get to set your terms.

No one ever forced you to buy a CD. No one has ever been forced to purchase a CD. If you don't like the price, you don't pay it, end of story.
No one has a right to music, that's for sure. If people really wanted to support the bands, they'd quit buying shit on major labels that specialize in screwing the artists (it's like a lottery, really. For every success like "Limp Bizkit" (ugh), there's a hundred Jawbox's or The Pixies (successful in their own right, but never pushed like they could have been). Instead, I try to buy CD's from the local indie shop when I can, but more often than not I pick up my CD's at the SHOWS. I know it's hard for a guy in Ames, IA or some country town to do that, but for them there's places like CDBABY! on the web, plus there are many mail order houses that will help keep you in music. I know when I'm buying from the band, the money gets to the band. I know buying from CDBABY puts money in the bands pockets. I know that seeing the band live puts money in the bands pockets, and is potentially a lot more fun than dorking around on the intarw3b at home all night.

There is a difference between "ripping off" and "overcharging". People, you make your own decisions about what you purchase. If you purchase something you know is overpriced, you are ripping yourself off.
No truer words can be said. I don't like the fact that just about every Kevin Smith DVD is $25 or more. Therefore, I don't buy them (however, there's always rental...) I also found a CD the other day at BestBuy and they wanted $15 for the damn thing (when I paid $9.99 for the damn cassette back in 91 or 92). I didn't buy it. I have a feeling that if BestBuy could buy those CD's for $4-5 each, they'd probably still on mark up 85% (which would make them, what, 8-10?). They're paying what the distributers charge them, and the consumers are still buying (but looking at the charts, I'd say they're getting wise), and all the while P2P is taking the blame.

Here's another thought:

Anyone ever consider that the RIAA is just a frontman for the labels? A whipping boy? What I mean is, the RIAA is paid to protect "copyrights" of its customers. From what I understand, they're not in the business of finding musical talent, of distributing, or even of de-facto price setting (although I think they make suggestions). If the labels were to threaten to pull their memberships due to RIAA actions, I would think the RIAA would straighten up. Sueing customers threatens CD sales, which threaten bottom lines, which threaten the music industry. Remember when Universal (I think?) said it was going to reduce the MSRP of

Try magnatune and cd baby. They both let you listen to high-quality previews (magnatune does more than previews, you can listen to their music for free straight from the website). CD Baby has a really large catalog. I've found tons of stuff worth owning in there. And the best thing is: they're not peddling RIAA material, and they don't try to screw the artist.

can anyone speak to the number of artists and labels listed on cdbaby that are affiliated with the RIAA

All they offer is a website to listen to the songs and then buy them. If I need that service, I'll use CD Baby, where I don't sign the rights to my music away. And boy do they have many artists already!.

Additionaly, CD Baby takes a flat amount of $4 (CDs) or 9% (iTunes music store), all without signing my rights away. I think I know which one I'm choosing :-)

Nice. Between this new label and cdbaby, maybe the artists will start to actually make something off of their CDs, and make me more apt to buy as well.

Top 100 non-riaa albums.

No disclaimer needed; I have no affiliation with the site. I just like tools that let me find good music while boycotting RIAA. Also, check out CDBaby and Michael Crawford's recent kuro5hin article.

On a side note, I struck up a conversation this evening with the local mom-n-pop video rental guy. He has a tool to polish scratched discs (CD's, DVD's) and I asked how rental lifespan varied between tapes and DVD, and if polishing made a difference. He got a disgusted look on his face, said some nasty things about the cheaper plastic being used DVD's, and that he'd pay the extra buck for the original materials. Then he held up a (already scratched) Sleeping Beauty that someone had bought today and already needed polishing, saying "Disney's policy is that the market lifespan of these discs is 15 playings. Hell, my kids watch it that many times the first week I get a new movie."

My take: they're back-dooring the slimy old limited-life divx marketing scheme.

Actually, the best thing to do is buy music that is RIAA free. Show the world that artists can make more money by buying through cdbaby.com.

yeah, they are mostly unkown, but it is an amazing start.

They are even Microsoft free!

http://cdbaby.com/about

excerpts from link:

in a regular record deal or distribution deal, musicians only make $1-$2 per CD, if they ever get paid by their label. When selling through CD Baby, musicians make $6-$12 per CD, and get paid weekly.

Our servers are running 100% OpenBSD - the world's most secure operating system. Powered by Apache, PHP, and MySQL.

No Microsoft products were used in the creation of this website.

ranting will not change anything, DO something!

start using it, start changing things.

and of course check out Tech Things

CD Baby

The owner (or somebody who works for them) posts on slashdot too. I'm surprised he hasn't swooped in and replied to your comment yet.

Site that I learned about recently, but have yet to buy anything from em cd baby. Looks to be pretty nice, I listened to some of the samples, but I've been so busy with other junk that I haven't actually decided on what to buy. :)

Wake UP! Complaining that they're trying to stop LEGAL trading is one thing. But they're not doing that. If you make your own music and distribute it, the RIAA isn't going to bat an eye.

Absolutely right. A large amount of the people are posting their comments blindly by thinking that RIAA is attacking everyone who is using some P2P program.

Additionally, the argument that the artists only get a small portion of the proceeds from CDs is completely ludicrous. The artists know damn well what they are getting themselves into, and if they don't then they shoudl've RTF contract a little better. For all those who tried to use this argument: You are no better than the RIAA with respect to the artists. You are using them (the artists) as your tool.

However, I do beleive that the RIAA is putting on some type of show with all this. Their actions are over the top. They will most likely be hurting middle-class people who really didn't see this coming and who don't have the means to fight it; which leads me to thank the EFF for basically putting out the other side of the issue and standing up for people. Moreover, I really don't see much hope for the people being sued. They almost certainly are guilty and should probably settle as quickly as possible to minimize their loss. They apparently had copyrighted works posted online free for anyone to download which does violate copyright standards which have been in place for quite some time now. There is harm that has been done by this and will continue to be done by this if it is allowed to continue. The RIAA's purpose here can be considered 'system sustaining'. While it may cost more for them to go through this whole legal process the main point is to get as many people as possible to stop trading music that they own. (NOTE: Success levels vary.)

Most people probably see online music piracy as a type of calculated risk. Odds are they aren't going to get caught and will reap a decent reward. The suing of the 261 file-sharers proves this by showing that only the 261 "most active" traders are now directly targeted. Now , IDK how the RIAA conducted their search for these people, but these are the ones who probably have the largest amount of copyrighted music in their Shared Music folder. These are the people who didn't calculate the risk factor very well and now have a hell of a mess on their hands which will undoubtedly ruin the better part of their lives for the next several years. Now, the real question becomes clear: Is the RIAA justified in their actions?
1) Legally: Yes
2) Morally: No
But, honestly, what other choice do they have? They are after all, a consortium of corporations interested in one thing: The Bottom Line. Which, one can inevitably concede: screw the bottom line. Goto Cd Baby. Or goto the local music retailers in your area. Buy used CDs and donate/sell your old CDs. There is so much more out there than what many people know. But then again, I suppose ignorance truly is bliss.

javascript:var%20index=location.href.indexOf('/- /');if(index!=-1){var%20asin=location.href.substri ng(index+3,index+13);}else{var%20index=location.hr ef.indexOf('ASIN');var%20asin=location.href.substr ing(index+5,index+15);}window.location='http://www .magnetbox.com/riaa/check.asp?asin='+asin;

Sounds great to us! You can start by purchasing our album today. Stick it to the RIAA!

Thanks!
An unsigned band.

But you just answered your own argument.

You don't *own* the music.

You own the *CD*.

The RIAA Members *own* the music.

Since they *own* the music, they can dictate how it's distributed.

Look, I don't agree with their business practices or tactics any more than the next /.er, but facts are facts, and the law is the law.

Which, is why I have no problems whatsoever buying all my future music from CD-Baby. At least then I know I'm supporting the artists and not some conglomerate.

Seriously, though, his main point is he's giving up on CDs for other forms of entertainment and that's a shame.

There is another way. Go out there and start checking out the stealth galaxy of independent music. And when you find something that you really like, send 'em an email and let them know that you want them to stay independent and free from DRM and RIAA rotten tactics.

Start with CD Baby

http://www.cdbaby.com/

Or just start browsing. A random selection of links from searching independent musicians and independent music.

http://www.indiemusic.com/

http://www.musicbizacademy.com/directory/indiemusi c.htm

http://www.secondfret.com/

http://www.hotbands.com/

http://www.sonicawareness.com/ http://www.narcopop.com/musicians/

http://www.rainmusic.com/

http://www.musicianmp3.com/

http://www.indie-music.com/

http://www.galaris.com/

http://www.internetdj.com/

My point is that keeping the disk plays into that 'tacit assumption' that you're talking about. The industry won't change their draconian approach until enough people begin to say "enough is enough". Returning the CD as defective is a small step in the right direction - and not that much of a hassle compared to putting up with limited functionality (IMHO).

I personally haven't bought a new CD from the RIAA in over two years. I buy everything used or from CD Baby. Buying from CD Baby puts my money directly into the hands of the musicians while costing me less than buying music produced through the RIAA machine.

Judging by the current stories stating that CD prices are being slashed, I'd say enough people are doing similar things. And maybe, just maybe, the RIAA affiliates are beginning to get the message.

I certainly hope so.

Would anyone be interested the creation of a web site/community/forum that specifically focused on non-RIAA member label artists?

Or is there such a thing and I should be contributing reviews to it already?

This may not be exactly what you're looking for, but CDBaby is a good Web-based independant music store. Perhaps you could contact them about setting up a forum of some kind? Seems like it would add value for them (indie music fans giving each other recommendations which can then be easily purchased from CDBaby) and you (a place to find out about indie-music and vent about the evils of the RIAA).

BTW, in case you were wondering where you had heard of CDBaby before, it was discussed recently on Slashdot regarding iTMS and indie artists.

--

One already exists.

It's called CD-Baby.

And then... hit a college station playing this noise!

What a refreshment! What a way to cleanse the pallette. No chords. No lyrics. No beats. No guitars. Nothing recognizable at all! Just wonderful organized noise.

Then after listening to a LOT of it, especially the stuff that you know was actually composed by a human, something new happens:

You start to listen to the world around you (traffic, nature, conversations) as if it was composed. Imagining a single intention behind the noise of the world. It really is a beautiful mindset. See the restaurant scene in the movie "32 Short Films About Glenn Gould." http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0108328/

If you haven't spent a lot of time with music like this, try it. If you hate it after 5 minutes, listen for 10. If you hate it after 10, listen for 20. Try to appreciate it.

--
Derek Sivers, CD Baby
http://www.cdbaby.com

Then why are people willing to pay $1 per song on iTunes?

Not that I disagree with you. I believe CD's are way over-priced from a cost to produce standpoint. What I think you may be forgetting is the supply & demand factor. Obviously, there are still too many people willing to buy from the ??AA cartels - hence the current price.

Personally, I do all my CD shopping at cdbaby. Prices are fair, I can listen to samples before I buy, and all the money I pay, (except for $4), goes directly to the (independent) artist. If more people did this, it would go a long way toward resolving this issue.

Just my 40% of a nickel...

I'm going to continue buying music from independent/small label musicians (and continue writing my own).

I'm going to continue listening/donating to commercial free internet radio stations.

And I'll read too.

They've declared war on the entire high tech community, whether we share files or not. Fuck 'em... or more to the point, let's fuck them up.

If you must have your Britney fix, buy from used record stores.

However, to make the point that the RIAA label declining sales is due to their own behavior and the crap they are putting out, better buy from independent artists. That's one place to find some, check my sig for another.

If it isn't played on FM and not available in record stores, it's probably from non-RIAA label sources, to make sure, check any artist you're thinking of buying at RIAA Radar.

If RIAA label sales drop by 5% and indie label and musician sales double, it's all over for the labels... the excuses about PIRACY!!! will no longer play with. . . the people in the multinationals major label CEOs report to.

If being on a RIAA label is shown to be a negative as far as making money goes... the rush for the exits will start and the RIAA won't be able to afford lobbyist teams anymore.

Leaving the MPAA out there all by itself, given that the RIAA won't be around to play bad cop anymore. That's the next war.

I just spent $100 at CD Baby. I am happy to pay for quality music... Timberlake, Spears, and Metallica can kiss my ass if I don't feel like chipping in to buy their 5th car and 3rd home.

After reading a bunch of these comments, am I the only Slashdotter that still buys CDs? I download an MP3 of a song I like, and a few more from that artist. If I like the songs, I buy the CD.

I would never pay for MP3s because the quality isn't as good as a CD, plus I feel like I should get something tangible if I pay for it.

Also the "I don't buy CDs because nothing original has been released in the past 5 years" response is a cop-out. Newsflash: Britney Spears isn't the ONLY person who has released a CD in the past 5 years... look around there are a few gems out there, you just have to look places other than MTV.

And if you REALLY don't want to support the RIAA, just buy all your CDs from CD Baby. They may not have the artist you're looking for, but they probably have an artist who sounds a lot like em. :)

I'm already doing this.

When the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) put out their ads linking drug money to terrorism, the idea was to convince people that when they buy drugs, they are supporting something very distasteful and unethical. The reason it didn't work, and the ads were eventually pulled, is everyone knew it was a crock (much of the marijuana supply is grown domestically, and the imported stuff tends to come from Canada and Mexico - not exactly countries known for their support of terrorism).

It seems the RIAA may succeed where ONDCP failed. If I buy an RIAA CD, I'm contributing $20 to the RIAA crusades. I find this quite distasteful, to the point that I can't see myself buying one of their CD's - especially given the alternatives over at CD baby. And it's not like it's some great act of self-sacrifice - I don't even want to buy their stuff, given my awareness of what the money would support.

I have to agree about the quality (or lack thereof) of mainstream music too - even before the lawsuit crusade was announced, I was buying few CD's and not using the p2p services much simply due to lack of interest.

Support independent music! Once you hear good new music for the first time in years, you won't want to go back to the RIAA stuff (at least I haven't, not yet, it's only been a few weeks).

As for getting stuff off the p2p networks - what's that saying about getting out of the way of an angry herd of elephants?

There are people who trade rare, hard to find (read: suppressed by the studios) cartoons. Most are indeed over 50 years old. Let me mention a few names. "Song Of The South." "Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarves." "Tin Pan Alley Cats." "Uncle Tom's Cabana." "Herr vs. Hare." "The Blitz Wolf." "Tokio Jokio." "The Japoteurs." etc. etc. Most have either politically incorrect stereotypes and/or inflammatory anti-German or anti-Japanese content that was part of popular culture during World War II.

From a cartoon historian's standpoint, this is all stuff that should not be suppressed. Maybe it should also not be shown to impressionable children, as well -- at least without an accompanying history lesson as part of the deal. But not everyone who is interested in animation is a kid. Some of us are adults. And it is the adults that are being denied by the embargo on certain politically incorrect cartoons.

And as far as creative people having their food stolen: the screenwriters and songwriters and musicians whose "rights" are supposedly being "protected" by the RIAA/MPAA Sturmabteilung are also systematically being raped up the butt, no Crisco offered, by the same Big Media companies that the RIAA and MPAA actually represent. A recent post I made in my Slashdot blog is all about this.

Moreover, my husband is a musician, who has seen things from both the side of the struggling, unsigned musician and the exploited, swindled musician signed to a contract which in other businesses would be laughed out as being horrifyingly one-sided and biased towards Management. He is now beginning to release all his back catalog of music that he himself owns copyright and publishing on, for free, on the Internet. The only strings attached are that he'd like people to talk to him if they want to either put a song of his on a retail compilation album or use one of his songs in a movie or TV show. If you want a look, here is the link: http://www.richiehass.com/. Why is he doing this? Because his gamble is that once people get acquainted with his back catalog, when he finally gets an indie CD of new stuff done and up on CD Baby people will be sufficiently interested enough to buy it.

The actions of the RIAA and the MPAA are the actions of frightened Luddites fearing the loss of their livelihoods. As history shows, when old industries die, new ones spring up to take their place. The economic models that have supported musicians and other types of artists over the millenia have shifted considerably. They will likely shift again with the flow of technology. Like the song goes, "It's Evolution, baby." Adapt or die.

This site also contains links for a bunch of sites where you can get freely distributable music.

And don't forget you can also buy non-RIAA music.

--
Karma whore turn on!

i-T-u-n-e-s (note your mini-spellng lesson) was created by APPLE CORPORATION. You know, those guys who make MacIntosh personal computers. The guys who are also giving independent artists access to iTunes through CDBaby, which is hardly anything that the RIAA would either do or want anyone else to.

Yes, the stupidity of some people amazes me, and you are a prime example.

Thought of changing your handle to pencilneck? (there's a song Pencilneck Geek by Fred Blassie that reminds me of you.)

CD Baby

I've said it before but it's worth saying again: CD Baby is a fantastic site if you are looking for independently released music. You can browse music by genre, geographical location (woo! local bands), featured instrument, mood, etc. CDs are previewed via streaming mp3 (usually 2 minutes of 4 songs from the CD). The commentaries and reviews are quite well written.

If you are at all interested in music, you will find something you like at cdbaby.

(No I'm not in any way affiliated with cdbaby. I'm just a very happy customer.)

Of course the reason why the RIAA is being out front and public and is making itself hated is to take the heat off the major labels.

A record industry music boycott sticks the heat right where it belongs.

To destroy them, just do all your music spending on independent artists and tell everyone else you know to do the same.

Most people don't appreciate just how fragile the position of the major labels is. They're all losing money, and so far, the music label CEOs have not only gotten away with using PIRACY!!! as an excuse with Congress, but with the multinationals that own them..

Simply refusing to buy music plays into their hands, they'll say "People refuse to buy our products because THEY'RE ALL STEALING THEM VIA P2P AND WE NEED NEW LAWS TO PROTECT US!!!"

Buying from independents will send exactly the right message both to Congress and to the companies that own the major labels.

Enough of us do this and the companies that own the major labels will be forced to dump them... lest their own stock prices follow their record companies value straight into the toilet.

Just a few percentage points of major record company sales transferred into the profit margins of independent artists and the war will be over, settled over the smoking corpses of the Big 5.

This should only take getting 1M people on board.

And the person who observes the RIAA boycott as I advise will get chances to find a lot of good new music of whatever kind you like that hasn't been dumbed down for the faceless masses RIAA product is aimed at.