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Go to the RIAA Radar page. Look at their top 100 non-RIAA albums. I'm sure you've heard of some of these artists... Warren Zevon ('The Wind' has been #1 on their chart since it was released!), Brian Setzer, Natalie Merchant, Jimmy Buffet, Boz Scaggs, Simply Red, and more.

Thankfully, this reminded me to check the RIAA Radar site and I found their record company are RIAA members.

My decision: I'm not going to give any fuel to these motherfuckers. I'll be getting The real new Fall CD by The Fall.

Even if this isn't the world as they want it, they need to figure out how to exploit (my emphasis) it as best they can.

That just about hits the nail on the head. When are people (including the recording artists themselves) going to realise that the likes of the RIAA are only out for their own financial gain?

They don't care about good music, they certainly don't care about consumers, they don't even care about the majority of recording artists, preferring the elite few. No, the RIAA only cares about exploitation.

RIAA mission number one is to make money off other people's backs through a monopolistic payola system that retains near ultimate control over what we can and can't listen to, and exploits everyone it comes into contact with along the way - from the artists themselves, to the consumers of the finished product. It's all about money.

The only way we can stop this bullshit is to stop buying their products. How? By using The RIAA Radar of course!

No guarantee that this is accurate.

Source

Apple says iTunes is "better than free" because it's "fair to the artists and record labels." That's simply not true. First of all, Apple gets 3 times as much money as musicians from each sale. Apple takes a 35% cut from every song and every album sold, a huge amount considering how little they have to do.

Record labels receive the other 65% of each sale. Of this, major label artists will end up with only 8 to 14 cents per song, depending on their contract. Many of them will never even see this paltry share because they have to pay for producers and recording costs, both of which can be enormous.

Until the musician "recoups" these costs, when you buy an iTunes song, the label gives them nothing.

About an hour ago I compared 27 songs that I had queued up in my iTunes "shopping cart" against the RIAA Radar search engine. Every single song was from an album produced by an RIAA member. So I dumped my queue and iTunes lost a $26.73 sale. That is my protest against the RIAA's campaign to save themselves and other buggy whip industries.

Just so you know, there are plenty of record companies out there that are not part of the RIAA. There are lots of artists out there who 'get it' and want nothing to do with the RIAA.

Check out RIAA Radar if you're curious about whether a particular artist/label is part of the RIAA.

Thanks to the magic of technology, you can avoid the RIAA easily.

You should try the Riaa Radar
It shows you which labels are not affiliated with the RIAA, and thus are 'safe'

I think the independent record companies should get together and register the phrase "No-Nonsense Indie" (or something like that) as a certification trademark that would certify that:

Think the "Music" industry is hurting how? Boycott all CD/DVD/Tape purchases for a full year and listen to the good ol radio...

Actually, boycott only those who are associated with the RIAA. They don't have every single artist, althought it seems that way sometimes.

Go here and check it out before buying a CD. If it's listed, skip it and maybe even write to the label explaining they just lost a sale.

If your favorite artist is signed with a label that's part of the RIAA, don't buy their CDs, but do buy their merchandise (t-shirts, posters, etc) and concert tickets (even if you can't go, buy a ticket and give it to someone who can). Support them in a way that cuts out the label and gets the money more directly to them.

http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/

You can't check an album to know if it was produced by an RIAA member, unless you memorize the list of RIAA members.

BUT for online transactions, you can try out RIAA Radar to see if an album listed at Amazon was produced by an RIAA member. Or you just use the tool before making that trip to Circuit City.

Or if they have demonstration Internet access at the store, you could do it there... Which I am sure some people (not necessarily Circuit City staff) would not be to happy to hear is happening. =)

But the remedy to problems like this is...to introduce people to alternatives to RIAA-backed crap.</snip>
This is a useful tool that I discovered earlier today that purports to show whether or not buying a particular CD will support the very soul of evil, or a non-RIAA label/artist instead. I did a few quick searches and was pleasantly surprised by some, had my fears confirmed by others. Until someone proves to me that buying used will support the madness, that's the route I'll take for any RIAA-tainted stuff that I've just got to have for now.
How soon before the /. article reporting a lawsuit against the Litigation Instigation Association of Asshats for continuing to put itself forward as the "RIAA", in direct violation of several truth in advertising laws?

Who are the member companies of RIAA and how do I stop supporting them?

The page was down, but this is Google's cache of the RIAA members page. I was surprised there were so many. I was further surprised that Sanctuary was one of them. Now I wish I hadn't have bought the new Anthrax CD. Gonna have to stop buying Anthrax, now. :(

Boycott RIAA is a website that talks about boycotting them. I haven't read through the website myself, I've just been doing my own independent thing.

RIAA Radar is a searchable database to see if an artist is on an RIAA label. They also have a javascript bookmarklet that will tell you when an artist is RIAA while you're on Amazon.

Just because the RIAA sucks is no reason to stop enjoying music or even buying CD's.. Just don't buy CD's from RIAA member companies.

Check out RIAA radar to find music that doesnt fill the coffers of these thugs..

I also just started using iRate Radio which looks very promising - it scours the web for legal MP3's and uses a peer rating system to find you music you'll like. Not to sure about how RIAA free this option is, but at least it doesn't put money into their lawyers pockets, and if you find good stuff to buy you can doublecheck it "purity" on RIAA radar.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to wash my hands of this RIAA crap and go scream at Jeff.

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.

why not a website that lists independent artists' music only, to let people know of an alternative?

why not a website that lists independent artists' music only, to let people know of an alternative?

I don't know if this is exactly what you're after, but RIAA Radar allows you to check whether a given album was released by an RIAA-member label or not. For those situations where you already know of an artist and want to decide whether to buy the CD or warez it. :-)

Not exactly the same, but you can use the RIAA radar to check and make sure the CD you're interested in is "RIAA-safe" (ie. not from a label that's a RIAA member). Site's kinda slow, but I've found it very useful.

Personally, I've made the decision to avoid RIAA records for life, but so far that's just meant that I haven't bought the new Radiohead. It's not much of a sacrifice since most of the music I like is on independent labels anyway. I don't know what I'd do if Warp or Ipecac were RIAA members.

Yes. Tell your friends. Tell them to tell their friends.

http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/

That's it. Nothing gets bought retail unless it's RIAA safe.

Yup. It's called Downhill Battle. They have some interesting information and links to relevant resources, including a site that will check to see whether a certain album has been released by the RIAA so you can avoid buying it. (Seems like it's down right now, though). Cool stuff.

From the website:

"The RIAA Radar is a tool that music consumers can use to easily and instantly distinguish whether an album was released by a member of the Recording Industry Association of America."

RIAA Radar

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;

I saw this link on /., and I'm reposting it. Send it to your friends. Stick it to the RIAA. Don't buy their music. How? Click this link.

I will assume full responsibility for taking part in the the decline in CD sales the RIAA bitches about. I haven't purchased a CD from those assholes in years. Fuck you, RIAA.

If you aren't sure whether or not that album you've been looking at is affiliated with the RIAA or not, RIAA Radar is your friend.

RIAA Radar (as seen on TV^H^HSlashdot) http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/

I hate to break this to you but according to RIAA Radar Vagrant Records is supports the RIAA. It sucks too cause they have some really great bands on their label.

You don't have to stop purchasing CDs to stick it to the RIAA; you just have to make sure that the artists/labels that you do buy are not members of the RIAA. You can use the RIAA Radar to see if a purchase would be giving any money to the RIAA or not.

There are hundreds of labels releasing music that is independent of the RIAA. Start listening to college radio stations towards the bottom end of the dial! Many of these stations broadcast online as well - WFMU, KDVS, and KFJC are great stations that focus on independent, non-commercial music.

There's a world of sound out there most people never hear. You don't have to be a slave to the major label marketing executives and the RIAA!

Here's a free and easy tool that will let you know if a cd is from an RIAA affiliated company:

http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/

Hmm... don't know, but I did find this link posted in another thread: RIAA Radar. It allows you to figure out what CDs are "RIAA Safe". That's a good starting point.

Always check RIAA Radar before buying any music.

Of course, if you hate software patents, too, you should not buy from Amazon like magnetbox.com suggests.

I can only think of one or two artists that are published by RIAA members, and I can live without them.

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.

You really have to differentiate between two main 'types' of music today - The one-hit-wonder versus 'real music'. The RIAA is all upset because they can't sell the one-hit-wonder anymore, people can just download it, listen to it until they are sick of it, wash, rinse, repeat. In this case, I agree with your mp3 categorization.

In the case of real music, that is, music that is a collection of tunes that you like and not just a ploy to get you to pay 17$.99 for 1 song, I disagree. I recently got into punk music, downloaded some tunes from the official pennywise website, and have since bought 3 of their albums to put on my mp3 player. When the music is good and not just a BS marketing ploy, I for one am ready to shell out some cash and I think others probably are too. Part of the reason is that with good music, you turn the corner from casual listener to _fan_ which to me seems to make all the difference.

BTW: Pennywise is a non-RIAA band.

You can now get a top 100 non-RIAA list from the RIAA Radar site.

You can now get a top 100 non-RIAA list from the RIAA Radar site.

Zactly, this is what I have done, my shared files are now populated with artists that are either friends of mine that have their own record companys or are on the safe list at "RIAA Radar", this means indie labels get more exposure, and increased sales. I was saddened to see so many who struggled to get recorded in their youth now get a (diminished) paycheck from the RIAA goons. Either the artists share with us, or they share with the RIAA, not a very tough choice if you ask me. (IMHO)

However, membership in the RIAA doesn't necessarily mean that the labels are *pro* the latest RIAA moves.

That may be true, but it doesn't make much difference - the RIAA still get money from the labels that are members, whether the labels support the RIAA's actions or not. We need to get record labels to see that only those who are not members of the RIAA will prosper - we need to make labels want to cancel their RIAA membership, because it is losing them sales.

Stop buying music from RIAA affiliated labels, and spend all your music-buying money on music released on non-RIAA affiliated labels.

I'm not saying this is particularly likely to happen, but since the advent of RIAA Radar, it's pretty easy to avoid buying CDs from RIAA members if it's something you feel strongly enough about.

For the losses of the major labels to stop being attributed to online piracy and start being attributed to the real causes (too much crappy manufactured music, totally uninteresting artists who only care about making money, etc.) we have to get the smaller, independant, non-RIAA affiliated labels to make big profits from our support of them.

Though it's a fair bet that anything you hear on commercial radio or can find on the shelf at a record store is RIAA. . . but how hard is it for any of us to find indie band websites?

try this:

it'll tell you outright which ones are safe and even give you a link to amazon to buy.

Well, that's nice, but this is better. I'm sure it'll get slashdotted in a minute if anyone sees it...but it's great. Lets you find out if a particular artist is RIAA-free or not.

Instead, buy from independent non-RIAA musicians and labels. You'll have to look around on the Web to find those, but you should be able to find one to match your tastes no matter what they are. If record sales go up, but the RIAA labels go even deeper into red-ink, it'll be obvious that piracy is not the problem, no more excuses to make bad laws. It really won't take a lot of this to blow the labels right out of the water.

They're losing money anyway. They blame piracy. If they lose money a hell of a lot faster, what good is a "name brand" when customers see the name and automatically buy elsewhere? The label owners will see a bunch of "tainted brands" losing them money. The mulitnationals will unload fast to investors who will only want the catalogs and artist catalogues. Who will want to buy a CEO who managed to turn a $5 billion company into a $500M company?

CDBaby has a quite a few. Some with downloadable music.

Or check my sig to hear another one. We've got downloadable MP3s, too.

If you aren't sure whether an artist is RIAA or not, check RIAA Radar search to see if the artist is listed.

Every dollar spent on non-RIAA label music is another nail in the coffin of the RIAA and its record company members.

This is very useful :)

You can use the RIAA Radar search engine to check whether a label is a member of the RIAA. (Amazon.com web services at work)

/t

according to riaa radar...

Artist:White Stripes
Album:White Blood Cells
Label:V2. / Bmg

RESULTS:

Warning!

This album was found to have bene released by a member of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

RIAA Radar is a site which may be of interest to Slashdotters, which I presume is done using this Amazon API.. check if a CD was release by an RIAA member label before you buy it!

Someone here posted a link to a site called RIAA Radar a while back in some other RIAA-related article. I don't know how complete the list is (It's technically not even a list, though I imagine you could browse it if you're really interested), but it's pretty useful when looking to buy CDs while boycotting the RIAA.

If it really is completely unfeasible in the US legal system for innocent parties to defend themselves against attackers with deep pockets then they can't be said to have equal status under the law. Surely, then, legal system reform should be the very first political priority of every single American adult of voting age until they achieve that equal status?

(Disclaimer: I don't really have any personal axe to grind here since I don't download or upload music, I'm British and resident in the UK and I just don't believe this could happen here).

Regarding the boycott of RIAA recordings, I totally agree. That's why I keep the RIAA Radar>/a> bookmarklet on my mozilla toolbar ;o)

There's a great tool available to make sure what you're buying is really from an independent label, RIAA Radar: http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/ Basically it takes advantage of Amazon's web services. You go to the Amazon page for whatever album you're interested in, then click on your RIAA Radar bookmark and you get a rating telling you the afilliation of the album's label. Very handy, and nicely free!

The bookmarklets are written in JavaScript, which is easy enough to read. You needn't use the bookmarklets if you don't want to. All they do is strip the ASIN (Amazon store identification number?) from the Amazon product URL and append it to http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/check.asp?asin= for lookup. You can do the same thing manually.

For instance, http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/check.asp?asin=B0000 5B36H.

If you use Moz you can add a bookmarklet that will tell you if an album is distributed by an RIAA memeber.

This is from their website:

What is RIAA Radar?
The RIAA Radar is a tool that music consumers can use to easily and instantly distinguish whether an album was released by a member of the Recording Industry Association of America.

Neat.