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Concur 100%!

The OP is confusing the middleman with the content creators -- I guess they _completely_ missed the memo in back 2000 when Courtney Love called the RIAA is nothing more then a bunch of thieves

Today I want to talk about piracy and music. What is piracy? Piracy is the act of stealing an artist's work without any intention of paying for it.

I'm not talking about Napster-type software.

I'm talking about major label recording contracts.

She also made a letter to Recording Artists

Dear Fellow Recording Artists,

I'm writing to ask you to join the chorus of recording artists who want us all to get a fair deal from the record companies. R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, U2, Alanis Morrissette, Bush, Prince and Q-Tip have called me with their support and we need your participation as well.

There are 3 basic facts to all recording artists should know:

1. No one has ever represented the rights and interests of recording artists AS A GROUP in negotiations with record companies.

2. Recording artists don't have access to quality health care and pension plans like the ones made available to actors and athletes through their unions.

3. Recording artists are paid royalties that represent a tiny fraction of the money their work earns.

Apparently, the OP also missed the memo in 2001 when Courtney Love, Don Henly, LeAnn Rimes Testified on Artist's Rights

The RIAA is so out-of-touch with artists that they didn't realize Trent Reznor intentionally 'leaked' his Year Zero album in 2007.

The old medium is dying because the new medium has driven the cost of content creation down to almost zero. And zero fucks were given.

The consumer's "problem" is that they are drowning in mediocrity -- a first world problem -- along with MORE choices. /sarcasm Such a "problem."

The only ones complaining are those still trying to figure out how to monetize it because the internet is cutting out the price-gouging of the middleman.

--
Greed destroys every "industry."

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/200...
and finally
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/201...

From one artist to another

http://www.gerryhemingway.com/...

http://www.gerryhemingway.com/...

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/200...
and finally
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/201...

From one artist to another

http://www.gerryhemingway.com/...

http://www.gerryhemingway.com/...

Most contracts aren't even readable. The artists don't realize that the contract often stipulates they don't get paid until they make a profit (which rarely happens).

QUOTE: "The royalty rates granted in every recording contract are very low to start with and then companies charge back every conceivable cost to an artist's royalty account. Artists pay for recording costs, video production costs, tour support, radio promotion, sales and marketing costs, packaging costs and any other cost the record company can subtract from their royalties. Record companies also reduce royalties by "forgetting" to report sales figure, miscalculating royalties and by preventing artists from auditing record company books." http://www.gerryhemingway.com/piracy2.html

I think you misunderstand. A copyright belongs to the artist, to be used however they wish. If artists are having trouble with their labels, it is between them and the label, no-one else. They don't need pirates telling them what is best for them, or stripping of their copyrights over some nanny-state paternalistic bullcrap. If they don't want to be signed, they won't sign. Conversely, if they are signed, it means they wanted to be signed (or perhaps are indifferent either way). Maybe the figures floating around the internet don't tell us the whole story? A lot of people want the labels to fail, so a misinformation campaign wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.

I think the misunderstanding might be yours.

Often once the artist (who is neither an experienced contract lawyer nor someone who has access to, or the money to pay for such expertise), has signed an extremely one-sided contract with the record company (that has both the access and the money) a copyright no longer belongs to the artist. In a lot of cases, neither does control over their artistic careers.

The record company's spin when it comes to online "piracy" is that it is threatening the livelihoods of the artists, whereas it is in fact far more likely that the artists themselves could survive perfectly well in the Internet age, but that the future for the companies is far less certain.

Couple this spin with the fact that the artists' livelihoods are far more under threat from the record companies themselves http://www.gerryhemingway.com/piracy.html, and you will begin to see why people get quite so angry when the record companies insult our intelligence with this sort of BS.

Courtney Love.

Both, I believe, 10+ years old.

Have you seen her? She is WAY older than 10!

Absolutely nothing new here.

Steve Albini.
Courtney Love.

Both, I believe, 10+ years old.

The racist troll has a point there. Every damn singer or band out there seems to think they ought to be entitled to tax my income just because they once recorded a few songs, even if I don't listen to them. I'm still trying to figure out exactly why I'm supposed to care so damn much about the artists and the music executives. They wouldn't give a crap about me even if they knew me, so to hell with them for my part.

Not strictly true.

Every damn record label out there seems to think that because they've made money in the exact same way for many years, this state of affairs must continue - be it by making anything which threatens it illegal or by taxing it so they get a cut of the money.

AFAICT, most of the artists they've recruited to the cause fall into one of a relatively limited number of camps:

• In a similar position to the record executives. Making reasonable money off CD sales, probably because they're successful enough to be able to negotiate a half-decent contract. (Think the Cliff Richards of this world).
• Heavily dependant on the music industry as it stands to promote them. Much easier to sell all the concert tickets if your potential audience has at least heard a few of your tracks on the radio recently and knows you're still performing. (Think more-or-less anyone whose work is being played to death on the radio).
• Believes the music execs who say "You die if we die".

Note that there are plenty of very talented individuals and bands who are reasonably successful but for one reason or another don't fall into any of the above categories. They're the people who you hear saying "You know, I may be a musician but I don't think I'd miss large chunks of the music industry if it were to disappear tomorrow". Think Courtney Love.