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RIAA Now Targeting Retailers
merodach writes "According to this story on Headlinenews.com the RIAA is now targeting retailers in it's 'war on piracy.' I think everyone will agree this is something that should be done if the retailer is deliberately pirating. The thing I wonder about in hearing this news is how many of the retailers include used copy stores. With the way the RIAA and some artists *cough*Garth Brooks*cough* have labeled these stores as pirates and theives in the past it seems likely they would be the biggest targets. Have any in the /. crowd actually seen one of the letters sent or know how many of the targeted businesses are used stores? Further - how would the RIAA know how much to demand in 'settlement fees' and is it possible these are being used to shut down the mom-and-pop outfits that trade in used CDs?"
Well, first the public has to know that there *is* an RIAA.
The Slashdot crowd may be familiar with them, but I guarantee that 99% of the music-buying public has never even heard of them. And I'm sure the RIAA likes it that way.
Anyone have details about this? I can't find anything on google. Who is the "they?" Is this Illinois law, or Chicago or Cook County? Is this even true that I would have to have my photo and SSN taken when I buy a used DVD? Are the RIAA and MPAA behind this? What the hell is going on?
Those mom and pop stores are merely selling plastic and aluminium disks...They are not selling/ the rights to play those disks in a CD player.
Now, if I remember correctly, 90% of record companies belong to the RIAA. What about the 10%? what gives the RIAA the right to pretend to represent that last 10%?
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The article just talks about *counterfeit* copies.
RTFA first.
I think it's good they turn to something they can actually enforce. It's much easier to walk into Bob's Illegal CDs and bust the poor Bob than some dynamically assigned IP of a poor script kiddy.
[sarcastick grin]Go RIAA[/sarcastic grin]
I hate the fact that you people don't salute me
Last week, Secret Service agents in New York arrested three men and seized 35,000 illegally copied music discs, 10,000 movies on DVD and 421 compact disc burners that are used to make the counterfeit products.
I guess the "equivalent of 421 compact disc burners" has now officially become 421 compact disc burners.
+1 for the RIAA spinmeister team.
-1 for truth.
Just last week I went down to Geraldi's, my favorite local mom and pop sub shop (seating capacity of about 8, counting the outside table) here in downtown Portand, and noticed a handwritten sign taped to one of the coolers. It reads Now, I guess I'm still ambivalent/undecided about the greater argument here, but this particular injunction - visited upon a struggling and honest small business owner - just struck me as being thorough to the point of malice.
Obviously the owner isn't making any additional sandwich sales from having RIAA-approved background music playing as opposed to the TV news or whatever. Certainly not $265/year's worth.
Decentralization: the brief interval between the decline of one centralized regime and rise of another.
1)Open a CD Shop.
2)Sell the original with a copy CD with the tracks in mp3/ogg/whatever as a backup/digital medium copy.
3)Shovel millions to lawyers.
4)Counter sue for violating fair use.
5)After losing every court battle give up and bitch about it on slashdot.
They need to blow Electronics Boutique out of the water for trafficking in used DVDs (including music video DVDs)... not to mention played (and presumably copied) games.
Then they can go after Walmart because they re-release some of their products after editing the content.
After that, might as well go after Borders & FYE, because of those machines that let you listen to the music before you buy. After all, not buying a CD because it sucks is bad for business.
Rather they seem to be using this as an opportunity to intimidate alternative outlets and spread their unique interpretation fo the truth. I always find it amusing that they continue to blame various forms of piracy for the decline of sales, even in light of continuing revelations to the contrary. Of course, the sad thing is that the report just regurgitate the alleged facts.
The RIAA is probably most concerned about lack of control. They went through a lot of trouble insuring that they had control over the record stores. They have lost some of that control though discounters, but managed to minimize the loss through marketing deals. This is just another symptom of their compulsive control behavior. It is impossible to control all these little outlets, and therefor their price fixing policies will not be as effective.
Clearly, the media is not going to fix this. The congress is not going to fix this. I encourage everyone to go out into their communities and find independent music. Buy tickets to local concerts at local venues. Buy the CDs. Do not copy the music. We will only create a new market if we are willing to support the new market.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Nope, it's what the press release was designed to do.
CNN reported that there were 421 burners involved. CNN was wrong. There were 156.
The RIAA's press release used "new accounting math" to turn the 156 actual units into the equal of 421 units of "normal speed" drives, whatever speed the RIAA felt like was normal. CNN took the funny number and reported it with standard units, therefore making the public thinking the operation was close to triple the size it really was.
I think your local mom and pop have an excellent opportunity to provide entertainment to their customers, while at the same time supporting musicians who are not under the thumb of an RIAA member's oppressive contract scheme.
;)
Tell the people who run Geraldi's - as well as the owners of other local stores - to get into the local music scene in your city, and to buy the CDs of unsigned local musicians. Tell them to talk with the musicians and get their approval and blessing to play their music in those local stores and restaurants.
It's free publicity for the musicians, especially if the merchants put up a sign indicating what CDs they are playing that day (and how to get your own/where to go to listen to a live show), and the merchants provide an interesting feature to attract more customers.
Then, when Hilary Rosen shows up at Geraldi's and says, I thought I told you to stop playing music here or pay our licensing fees, he can tell her to go fsck herself.
It's also worth noting that there were only one thousand discs involved, each one had the one decent song off thirty five otherwise crappy albums.
--Jimmy has fancy plans; and pants to match.
Good thing parroting disinformation never happens here.
Don't get me wrong, I can't stand lazy journalists. Some simply copy press releases into their stories. It is galling when you catch them at it. As soon as you have some expertise in an area, or even read enough, news that previously looked credible falls apart.
That's a reason to be very distrustful of reporting on legal proceedings. It is so easy to blow the details, especially if you're being lobbied by one side or the other and not trying to hard in the first place. Making deadline becomes everything.
There are some great reporters, learn their names, follow them if they change employment. Linda Greenhouse at the Times is a superb legal reporter, and a very good writer for everyone. Here is her 12/11/02 report on a free speech and cross burning case (this has more in common with the DMCA than you might think!).