Would a Boycott of the MPAA/RIAA Help Matters?

ChrisGoodwin asks: "Why do geeks support MPAA and RIAA? Here on Slashdot, the talk is all about how evil the film and record companies are. But when the next Star Wars or Matrix or Lord of the Rings comes out, it's all about camping out to get tickets. According to RIAA's web site, member companies distribute 90% of the legitimate sound recordings in the United States; chances are, if you've ever bought music, you've given them money. (Take a look at their list of members.) Heck, most of the film companies own, are owned by, or share a corporate parent with a record company, and many of us get our internet access from part of the MPAA/RIAA conglomerate. So why is it? Why do we continue to buy their product? Why are we giving them money so that they can harass us? Why hasn't there been a call for a boycott of the record and film industries?" This is in the FAQ, but this is certainly a discussion worth having. With the pervasiveness of media in our society, for some it is not as easy as "boycott" or "no boycott", and it may be unfair to the artists we like for us to do so, and as Big Media diversifies, a boycott on movies and music may still not be enough. So do you feel a boycott of mass media will help matters, or would such be counter-productive in some way?

Comments

Re:Yep

[Anonymous Coward]

It ain't that phricken difficult, folks.

Movies: Only attend matinees, if you MUST see it in a theatre.

DVD's: Only buy used. Period. It's not that difficult to find a pawn shop, or ebay, or whatever.

Music: Only buy used. Again, it's not that hard to find your favorite artists. Wanna support the artist? Go see their show, buy their ts-shirt or cd AT THE SHOW.

I utterly REFUSE to give those fsckers another dime that I don't absolutely have to.

brainwashed

[avandesande]

These companies have spent billions brainwashing us to think that we actually want these things. The new evolutionary strength is going be people's ability to filter out media and advertising. Wise Up.

Why boycotts are a risky business

[NewtonsLaw]

Wow.. great minds think alike (whilst fools seldom differ)

I was just pondering the practicalities of a RIAA boycot this morning (okay, who installed the trojan on my PC??? :-)

Unfortunately, such boycotts can backfire very, very badly.

Imagine if the /. community proclaimed a boycott and refused to buy CDs for a month.

If CD sales remained unaffected then the RIAA could simply turn around and say that this proves most people are happy with their pricing, their product and their attitudes to the marketplace.

Or, even worse, if such a boycott did affect sales in a negative way, they'd simply say that this was due to piracy and that it endorses their stand on copy-protection, the DMCA, etc.

In effect, we'd be hoist by our own petard.

Anyone contemplating a boycott ought to be very sure they've got the numbers (and I'm talking *big* numbers) before they embark on such an action.

A better way might be to incite people to get active in starting a petition protesting the loss of fair use due to recent and proposed moves by the RIAA/MPAA.

This would have to be a petition where signatures are collected in ink, on sheets of paper. Cyber petitions are too easily discredited.

I'm sure, given the seven degrees of separation principle, that if everyone here solicited everyone they knew to sign such a petition, and got them to do likewise, it wouldn't be too hard to dump a very large truckload of dead-tree pulp and ink on the doorstep of Congress.

That's the way democracy works isn't it?

Re:Yep

[Frymaster]

or better yet, buy independent. note that only major lables (ie, labels that support their own distribution network such as bmg, sony, dgc &c.) are participants in the riaa. buying independent not only diverts money from the majors, it helps promote diversity and competition.

check them out:
matador
dischord
touch and go
mint
southern
merge
alternative tentacles

or, for the fast route, hit the google listing of record labels:

http://directory.google.com/Top/Arts/Music/Record_ Labels/

Sorry

[Ear Phantom]

These are all good ideas, but...

Movies: Only attend matinees, if you MUST see it in a theatre.

MPAA still gets a cut; even if not directly, the cost is offset in the feature price.

DVD's: Only buy used. Period. It's not that difficult to find a pawn shop, or ebay, or whatever.

Music: Only buy used. Again, it's not that hard to find your favorite artists.

Sorry, somebody originally had to buy it in the first place, which means that MPAA or RIAA still got its share. Creating a demand in the secondary market is only going to stimulate a surge in supply in the primary market.

Wanna support the artist? Go see their show, buy their ts-shirt or cd AT THE SHOW.

Sorry, the RIAA gets its cut here as well, at least from the CD sales (the T-shirt sales and concert tickets will vary depending on the artist's contract).

You are missing out on another thing: even if somehow the distribution channel is completely bypassed, that means that the artist didn't get paid either.

The problem with both RIAA and MPAA is that neither one consists of a single corporation, but that they are "trusts" which have succeeded in sustaining oligopoly power.

A boycott truly means: never watching movies outside of independent films, and never listening to music outside of independent music. Most of us (myself included here) are all consumerist victims to the mass market.

Sorry, we can't beat them using these tactics.