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Non-RIAA Record Companies?
d4 asks: "I've seen a list of RIAA members, but what I'd really like to know is: what record companies are not RIAA members? Many smaller labels are subsidiaries of larger companies, and it's not always easy to tell where affiliations lie. So if I'm going to boycott the RIAA, from whom can I still buy music?" If there are any of you out there preparing a protest for the RIAA's treatment of Napster, then you may want to read this one.
What a great copyright notice, from an artist who actually WANTS people to distribute their music. Somehow it just makes sense.
www.cdbaby.com has a bunch of cool CD's (with audio sampls) that appear to be put out directly by the artists. I haven't bought anything from them yet, but check out their policies, and you'll see that there are definitely artists without labels on their site.
If you're trying to boycott the RIAA you should definitely check them out.
--Robert
just because a label is indie doesn't mean that they are sweet and grandmotherly and innocent. TVT is an excellent example:
TVT got their start selling semi-legal tapes of old sitcom theme songs (TeleVision Tunes--get it?). when they got shut down for that, they put up a big fuss over how it was fair use etc. etc. fairly similar to the whole napster "well it's on the radio" argument, both in scope and ludicrous nature.
so TVT moved on to indie music, which at the time (~1979) was punk/industrial. they snapped up a little record shop in chicago called wax trax! and went at it. ministry was signed for a time, as was wire, i think. they were horrible to all their bands, mostly because they lied about having money (which they didn't) and about tour support (which they never gave).
the late eighties came, and with it trent reznor and NIN. he signed to TVT under the name nothing records. the idea was that NIN would release under nothing, as would other industrial bands. long story short (too late!) trent fought and fought TVT for control of his own music on his own label and nearly lost. hence the long delay between the release of broken and the downward spiral. he was moving himself over to a major, because they treated him better than his indie label.
so boycott TVT too! although they talk the talk, they act just as irresponsibly as any major label.
just a side note: what constitutes a "major label?" units shipped? number of signed acts? membership in the RIAA/"big 5?" this has never been made clear.
london is drowning and i live by river
People seem to have picked boycotting as a reaction simply because it's the first thing that jumps at them-- Someone's selling something and we don't like their policies! Stop buying their stuff! Unfortunately, the RIAA is too far-reaching and the group they've actively offended is too small and specific for this to be the most effective form of protest. Since the RIAA is already of the opinion that these people don't pay for their music, a sharp decrease in sales is something that would jsut fuel their fire... if there even was a sharp decrease in sales. As is, a boycott would simply make a slight dip in their sales in the area that they're currently expecting one: giving them fuel for future reports where they can state that "as Napster became more high-profile, sales of RIAA music went down." Just what we need.
As has already been mentioned, Napster is promoting the idea of a "buycott," which is an excellent way of supporting their supporters (instead of punishing their adversaries) and demonstrating the buying power that Napster users have. A powerful statement, if it works. Even better, write to the heads of the record labels and TELL THEM that you're a music fan and you support Napster, that you buy music and would like them to support Napster, too. There are some more suggestions on Napster's site, and here are some addresses to write to:
BMG
1540 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
Fax: 212-930-4398
Strauss Zelnick
EMI Music Group
1290 6th Ave.
New York, NY 10104
Ken Berry
NMPA
711 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Fax: 212-242-4173
Edward Murphy
RIAA
1330 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20036
Fax: 202-775-7253
Hilary Rosen
Sony Music Entertainment
550 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10022
Fax: 212-833-4583
Tommy Mottola
Michele Anthony
Time Warner
75 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10019
Fax: 212-275-3839
Gerald Levin
Universal Music Group
70 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
Doug Morris
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