Slashdot Mirror
Hilary Rosen Will Step Down As RIAA Head
Phoenix666 writes "NYT Business reports Hilary Rosen is leaving. Question is, what head will spring from the Hydra next? Could this signal a shift in the RIAA's tactics? The article reports 'Rosen's departure comes as the organization sought to soften its image among Internet consumers, many of whom viewed the RIAA -- and Rosen personally -- with antipathy over incessant pressure for crackdowns on sharing digital music over the Internet.'" A press release on the RIAA site says that Rosen will leave at the end of this year.
The witch is dead, the wicked witch is dead!
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -- Carl Sagan
Now that she's stepped down, maybe she's available for a Slashdot Interview?
But then again, maybe not. I can see the questions now...
"Don't wish for a new enemy, you won't know what tricks are up its sleeves!"
lars ulrich.....
pirates BAD!
metallica GOOD!
man I hate that fairy princess....
nbfn
Rosen said. ``But I have young children and I want to devote more of my time to them.''
May god have mercy on their souls.
I'm thinking perhaps as an oarswoman on the river Styx? Rumours are that Charon is hiring!
who cares
...this should be a signal for all of us to be on our guard for more 'subtle' actions against music sharers. Who's to say those behind the organization's agenda aren't who chose her in the first place?
Steve Jobs for RIAA Head!
Jason
ProfQuotes
... there is a job opening in Hell.
Jaysyn
There is a war going on for your mind.
now im more than a little worried...dont rejoice just yet.
Jack Valenti to replace her at the end of her term.
Seriously:
Hillary-->Rosen
Hillary-->Clinton
etc.
... Rosen's departure comes as the organization sought to soften its image among Internet consumers ...
To me this sounds like she was asked to leave, rather then because she wanted to, or wanted to move on to something else. Could she have been forced out by the other members?
...is that, when these children become teenagers, that she will be bombarded with a steady stream of the shitty music she lobbied for. What's that Hillary? You hate Brittany Spears? Too F*cking bad! You could have had diversity, but YOU didn't want it. HA!
-Looking for a job as a materials chemist or multivariat
Yeah, she's stepping down to run against Steve Jobs for President of the US
_______
2B1ASK1
Why are you all celebrating already? It doesn't take effect until the end of the year. Until then nothing important will change in the RIAA.
After she leaves? Nothing will change then either.
Go here to create your own Slashdot dis
In other news Microsoft were pleased to announce the new position of Chief Digital Rights Management Officer to Hilary Rosen, who had previously worked for the RIAA.
A Microsoft spokesperson didn't give the following quote: "We're sure that through this appointment we will better serve our customers and shareholders and help foster further innovation"
News at 10.
That's almost a year away.
I have been pwned because my
That the RIAA and MPAA will merge into the Entertainment Industry Association of America. God help us if they do.
Why yes I am paranoid! Thanks for asking!
Hilary Rosen Will Step Down As RIAA Head
Someone be sure to cauterize the wound! Quickly, Or seven more execs will take her place!
"Inattention makes clowns of us all" -Bean
maybe Bill Gates will take over
uh oh, all future CDs require an online activation code, and crashes your CD player, which must be 90x speed in order to hear the songs at "normal tone"
I expect the RIAA to create a seven person panel to replace her. Makes sense.
Joking aside - if you read her WIRED interview she didn't seem happy and complained loudly about her bosses not getting it. I didn't think she'd last.
It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
I thought the phrase 'first post' automatically gave you a -4!
Rosen resigns and a 'first post' post gets modded up... what is the world coming to!
~D:
You know, I really couldn't care who's at the head of the RIAA train.
Good. She's leaving. Whatever. She's leaving to change the image - not the politics. But even the politics don't bother me so much.
Here's a clue: You will alienate less people if you put out better music. Woot Woot, the clue train is arriving, and this incarnation of the Pop train is finally leaving.
Here's another clue: We all have CD burners. Besides the obvious ability to copy music CD's, what you don't realize it has taught us is how cheap CD's truely are. I know there's the cost of the production of the album, the marketing, etc., but over 8 million copies, those costs are negligable. People hate you because the last CD they bought cost them $18.99 and the last CD they burned cost $1.76, including the label, the insert, and the case.
~Will
sig?
Wow, what a concept, the internet should be marketed TO and not AGAINST.
Revolutionary concept, yeah?
2 years too late Hillary. Shutting down napster was supposed to save the recording industry and stop music sharing right? Oops. We can only hope that the next person in charge happens to realize how to do more than load up a webpage and can understand that there are actually consumers using the internet, not "thieves".
Which old witch the wicked witch..
wait.. she not dead yet. Perhaps they will get someone with a bit more intelligence. Perhaps we can get someone who reads slashdot.
-THIS SPACE FOR RENT!
...many of whom viewed the RIAA -- and Rosen personally -- with antipathy over incessant pressure for crackdowns on sharing digital music over the Internet.
for the "Stating the Most Obvious" award
If by "antipathy" you mean "violent hatred", you win! It missed a reason why I view them this way though - the fact that they have turned the popular music scene into a mechanical whore for the guys upstairs.
Can they soften their image? Aren't they surpassing Microsoft and Kim Jong II on the list of evil things we hate?
From the article:
She also is a founding board member of Rock the Vote, an organization aimed to get younger people more politically involved. [emphasis mine]
I'd say she was successful. Lord knows where our young people would be when it comes to the issues of the entertainment business in government!
The One Rule Of Chess You'll Ever Need: Don't play someone who carries a kit in their bookbag.
I heard that they wanted Hitler's ghost as the replacement, but it objected on moral grounds.
apologies for the appalling subject line - for some reason the RIAA and bad 80s music pap are linked irrevokably in my mind.
But it's true - this is the time when we don't stop the pressure tactics (such as we have). Just because the public face of the RIAA isn't there any more doesn't mean it's gone away. Now's the time to start in on the new head (presumably an internal promotion rather than an external head hunt?) before he/she/it gets his/her/its feet under the table. All too often a simple name change/personel change/whatever change is enough to make people forget what's gone before... beware. Beware!
I am a leaf on the wind
www.riaa.com is slashdotted ?
I'm sure the RIAA will find another shill in no time: All they need is an entertainment lawyer who will set aside ethics and the common good in exchage for a large bundle of money. Goodness knows how long it will take them to find one of those.
In another article posted on Wired about ISPs being the new target of the RIAA, Rosen mentions two tactics with serious issues.
To know is to have knowledge....to understand is to be enlightened.
Music Industry Lobbyist Rosen to Leave
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 7:47 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- Hilary Rosen, the U.S. recording industry's head lobbyist who waged a high-profile battle against Napster and music piracy, is resigning at the end of the year.
Rosen cited personal reasons for leaving the Recording Industry Association of America, where she has served as chief executive since 1998.
``During my tenure here, the recording industry has undergone dramatic challenges and it is well positioned for future success. I have been extremely proud to be a part of this industry transition,'' Rosen said. ``But I have young children and I want to devote more of my time to them.''
She said the RIAA board will conduct a formal search for a replacement.
David Munns, chairman and chief executive of EMI Recorded Music North America, called Rosen ``a tremendous advocate'' who has been ``extremely influential in both transforming the music industry in the digital age and in fighting piracy.''
The recording industry has been struggling with declining sales, which Rosen has blamed on illegal downloading over Napster and successors like Kazaa. Album sales declined for the second straight year in 2002, down 10.7 percent from the previous year.
Within the past few weeks, top executives at Sony Music and Vivendi Universal's MCA Records also said they were leaving.
Rosen's departure comes as the organization sought to soften its image among Internet consumers, many of whom viewed the RIAA -- and Rosen personally -- with antipathy over incessant pressure for crackdowns on sharing digital music over the Internet.
On Tuesday, Rosen's group won a closely watched lawsuit seeking Internet providers' cooperation in tracking down individual computer users who illegally download music. Verizon Communications Inc. had resisted, citing privacy concerns.
The RIAA recently set aside a simmering dispute with leading technology companies by agreeing to oppose any government efforts to build locking controls into future generations of entertainment devices.
Technology companies have complained that such controls, which would hamper consumers' efforts to share movies and music, are too expensive and complex.
The recording industry also has been promoting its own, for-fee online music services, but consumers have largely rejected them because of usage restrictions and limited selections.
Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., a leading advocate of consumer rights to copyright works, said it was too early to tell whether Rosen's departure would fundamentally change the industry's stance toward the Internet.
``I do not think that she has been a spiritual champion of the industry embracing the Internet as a distribution medium,'' Boucher said. ``I think the industry clearly needs to do that. It's the only way that the industry has to compete with peer-to-peer'' file-sharing services like Kazaa.
Others praised her tenure and said she would be missed.
``Hilary has been a valiant, brave leader for the U.S. music industry,'' said Jack Valenti, president and chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America. ``I confess that I am an ardent admirer of her skills, her tenacity and her integrity. She'll be a hard act to follow.''
Even her adversaries had praise.
``While we don't always see eye to eye, I think that she's extremely good at her job,'' said Joe Kraus of Digitalconsumer.org, which promotes greater ``fair use'' rights to songs and movies. ``Hilary's had a big influence in the way that members of Congress view the issue.''
But ultimately, he said, the recording industry is broader than any one person, so her resignation may not profoundly change attitudes.
Rosen was an independent consultant before joining the RIAA in 1987. She also is a founding board member of Rock the Vote, an organization aimed to get younger people more politically involved.
So what exactly is funny enough about this to get score 5? Some moderators are very easily amused, I guess.
Hilary (to rest of RIAA): "What!?!? I did all your dirty work - I did exactly what you told me to do, what you desperately needed to have someone do. I suffered the hate mail and made the sacrifices for the job - to do what you demanded, and because I did it all, you want me to step down, because doing your dirty work has made me unpopular and your PR bunnies don't like that?!?!"
Ha, wouldn't that be cool; poetic justice - a great example of evil eating it's own.
Moral of the story - jobs and careers that have you abandon ethics and screw over others, make you just another rat in the race. ie, fair game for all the other vermin.
The only problem is that this country is owned, run, and ruled by vermin. So this brief little triumph for good is a lonely, isolated case.
"So you want me to hack the Internet." -- from the upcoming movie The Core
Huh? Huh? You know I'm right...
Most excellent troll!
... but it's the equivalent of 10 Music Industry CEOs in RIAA math.
In light of the recent Wired article, I got to see the human side of Rosen. I'm kind of disappointed. I mean, she DOES own an iPod.
I will now redundantly add my name to the end of my post. You know, in case you forgot me or something.
questions:
1) when is "end of year"? as in fiscal year (coming up SOON) or end of 2003 (oh-so-long)?
2) where is she GOING? I know everybody is scared about who's coming in, but hell, what if she gets elected senator or something? or wose-yet appointed head some government agency about this-or-that?
comments:
In business world resigning is sometimes used as an "I quit" or "I give up," but often is "I am moving onto greener pastures." If a CEO sees that there is no way he can bring the company out of deep shits, resignation is frequent - as he can shift the blame onto the successor. (I am hoping this is the case and the next guy / gal is a little more mellow) On the other hand, I am very in fear if it's because there is an opening in the Federal Anti-Piracy Beurau or somesuch (yes i know "piracy" is a misnomer - it's "copyright infringement" - but you bet your ass that's what they will name it).
My life in the land of the rising sun.
Hilary Rosen was probably only echoing the general feeling of the RIAA's members when she spoke out against internet piracy and whatnot. Perhaps this means that the RIAA is shifting its policy to not be so public about denouncing filesharing while cracking down on it behind the scenes. Generates a lot less public scrutiny. :)
Hey, look! The message is in secret RIAA cipher! Luckily, I was able to translate:
--
"But, young children continue to face unprecedented levels of on-line piracy and I want to devote more of my time to them. This has been an extremely difficult decision but this is a critical time and I have much to do in the coming months."
--
One of my co-workers commented:
I thought that was pretty funny. "If I catch you file swapping again, I'll get Lars Ulrich over here to kick your ass!"
She would do it, too.
Her resignation takes effect at the end of this year? That's about the slowest acting resignation I've ever heard of. Couldn't she have gone by fiscal quarter?
Lack of eloquence does not denote lack of intelligence, though they often coincide.
Blame the industry for the lack of sales. rack it up to kazaa all you want. Record sales drop due to a simple lack of intrest. No one really wants to here the crap they spew out. All the shitting cheap rock replacement stuff they throw out there is not holding its weight, especially if it costs an arm and a leg.
So let's be smart about this and keep her in the spot, where she do absolutely nothing.
The song IN MP3 FORMAT!
or wait until tomorrow for the online article. This is an interview on her which was an interesting read. Here's what the Web site said:
Hating Hilary [Coming Jan. 23]
Napster slayer. Corporate thug. Industry shill. Hilary Rosen has heard it all as the reviled frontwoman for the music biz. Sure, she knows file-sharing is the future. She's just fighting to give the dinosaurs one last gasp.
By Matt Bai
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
What's the big deal? Nothing to get excited about, they will just replace one knucklehead with another.
It is amazing the HR would be so willing to lay down our rights for money, good ridence baby!
My karma is not a Chameleon.
"The recording industry also has been promoting its own, for-fee online music services, but consumers have largely rejected them because of usage restrictions and limited selections."
They forgot to mention that for-fee means costs money. Consumers don't enjoying paying money if they don't have to.
Vote for Pedro
...aren't you glad the bitch is gone?
there's no place like ~
Are you blood related to other known and hated demonspawns that plague this earth, such as Jack Valenti?
How does it feel to be despised more than Martha Stewart and that crazy president of CloneAid?
Do you have any plans for the future as far as furthering the movement to restrict American freedoms go? Should we expect you to be running for the Republican party in 2004?
You misspelled "Jason" in both your user name and at the bottom of your post. Remember to use the preview button so you can catch similar spelling mistakes in the future. Thanks, Michael Simms
Replacing Hiliary Rosen with someone nicer won't cut it.
The RIAA's actions are the very thing that define the attitudes of consumers towards it. Their propaganda is irrelevant to the people they are trying to address. This is not due to the vehicle they are using to deliver their message, but the very simple and plain fact that their message is not one that people agree with, nor is it one people will agree with given time.
Nobody likes Hiliary Rosen because of what she represents. It was never a personal issue. Though many people have directed their anger towards her, it was never at her as an individual, but rather as the figurehead of an organization who's goals are in opposition to a large percentage of the public.
The RIAA is trying the same tactic the U.S is going to try with the Middle East. Ratchet up the propaganda to people who know its propganada and despise it, attempt to paint a picture of things that is directly at odds with what people see and experience every day, all the while continuing with the same actions the people hate.
This is a move that is a desperate gamble by the RIAA to win a struggle they are losing. An act that has more to do with not knowing what else to do, than a concrete plan based in logic and well-thought out strategy.
Rosen was an independent consultant before joining the RIAA in 1987. She also is a founding board member of Rock the Vote, an organization aimed to get younger people more politically involved.
Even She knows that the way to change our country is to vote. With all the bad laws being passed, people should wake the fuck up and vote.
-
americans will go to war to protect democracy, but wont walk across the street to vote
Poor dyke can't get anyone...yanno?
Let's hope the RIAA is on a fiscal year that ends in February!
"...the recording industry has undergone dramatic challenges and it is well positioned for future success. "
/sarcasm
But I thought that the record industry was loosing money and was on the decline?
A little research would have shown that sales were up during the Napster era, and only went into decline in the two years after the service died out. It wouldn't be suprising to find that these folks were being asked to leave because someone actually looked at the numbers and figured out it's not cost effective to declare war on your customers.
This actually had the potential to be funny, had you inscribed the words "HILARY ROSEN" inside the stretched anus.
Hillary Rosen will be missed for all she's done for Slashdot, geeks, and Humanity. As all people who resign are. Btw, who is Hilary Rosen?? ;-)
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
I hate to remind everyone but it is still January of 2003... which means she will be around for awhile still.
I fear this means 2003 will be her most agressive year yet.
I wonder where she's going next. Perhaps somewhere she'll be even less unencumbered by notions of personal morality & common sense. Maybe to be the right-hand of an aging dictator?
After being a stone cold bitch all day, does Hilary Rosen go home, cuddle with her puppies, and then make sweet sweet love all night? Maybe being aggressive isn't so bad after all....
Their campaign attracted a lot of negative PR because of the fairly undiplomatic messages coming from Hilary. Now that she's been personally identified with the negative image her value to the RIAA is diminished.
The next talking head for the RIAA will use much more diplomatic words to avoid the same mistake.
As we all know, the RIAA will continue to be every bit the bulldog.
Absolute statements are never true
That way, /. posters will be able to flame RIAA, hammer home the blandness of mainstream music offerings and blame Canada in a single post!
Think about it, in future you'll be able to get three on-topic posts for the price of one! Woot!
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
Who's going to take over? No point in celebrating until we know!
And where's she going anyway? It would be silly to think this is the last we've seen of her.
This is a profound action by Ms. Rosen. The music industry is in serious trouble. The movie industry can bring us value and epics, such as 'Lord of the Rings', and DVD videos priced at 14.99. Most people I know would rather buy a DVD, and most are a good value.
On the other hand, what can the music industry bring us? What value do they have anymore? CD prices are way too high, and the value they have in most people's eyes are low. You cannot really produce an epic in terms of music anymore. All the good stuff has already been written and produced (think the 80s and 70s).
Her stepping down is waving the white flag, which states, I'm tired of fighting a losing battle, and I know our days are numbered. I think that after she came up with/annouced the zany levy the ISP, she realized that she could no longer carry on.
And in a related story, Recording Industry executives promised to use a more "consumer friendly" lubrication the next time they try to screw you all over.
Well Said.
I need to go to bed earlier as I read the title as "Hilary Rosen was going to be beheaded".
And I thought "Karma's a bitch, ain't it"?
.
Have you read the moderator guidelines? Well, have you, PUNK? (and I want a Karma: Gnarly option)
The bitch be dead.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
I wonder if it has anything to do with millions of artist supporting citizens going to RIAA.org to read about the latest lawsuits only to find the forsaken Goatse.cx image on the news page?
Dr Nick "That's trauma!"
the byproduct of years of oppression by the white man
...by buying a CD!
"Derp de derp."
wait.. she not dead yet. Perhaps they will get someone with a bit more intelligence. Perhaps we can get someone who reads slashdot.
Oh, that's just too easy. I salute you sir!
The RIAA has announced that Lars Ulrich will take up the reigns...
::.. check out some Cell Phone Reviews
Let's NOT consider Hilary Rosen for President.
I'm not entirely sure about the 50 years thing. Could be.
Even if that's the case, Elvis didn't start recording until 1954, so his earlist works are still copyrighted.
--
the strongest word is still the word "free"
Even if she resigns, things will get worse - not better. Nothing has changed, they have held themselves accountable to ramming copyrights down our throat, even if it means tossing out the 1st and 4th amendment and more. Just as the plantation masters of the 1850's believed that the entire purpose of the industrial revolution was to use inventions like the cotton-gyn to expand their plantations for unlimited controll and profit, modern day copyright lords believe the internet is the leverage tool that they will use to ram copyrights down everyones throat, and controll every last bit of content in existence.
Information is simply too easy to manipulate and copy, either they will half to controll all of it, or none of it. And you had better bet that their goal is to controll all of it - they have not changed one bit. Sorry, it's not over till the fat lady sings. Copyrights, the DMCA, infinite extensions, warrentless searches and seizures, and more are still here and still kicking everybody's but. Dont buy it for a second - the fundamental facts have not changed one bit.
How many babies can you eat in just ONE minute?
Her replacement may be 1000x worse, or more evil..
At least we currently know the agenda and tactics..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
And I wanted to pour a bucket of water on her, too!
Congress threatened to say....No
Whoops! I'm sorry. I pressed the Submit instead of Preview.
The story can be found here.
Rosen essentially wants ISP's to pay a fee to the RIAA to compensate for the loss of revenues due to piracy across the net. She would also like to see the ISP's begin scanning P2P type files being swapped on the net for pirated works.
The successor for Rosen will undoubtedly try to take a more subtle approach. Essentially, we'll be seeing the equivalent of the "Softer Side of RIAA" advertisements. I would implore the Slashdot community to see through the new image to the cold, black, evil that is the essence of the RIAA (and MPAA). Hopefully, Rosen doesn't live in Salem lest she run the risk of being burned at the stake!
To know is to have knowledge....to understand is to be enlightened.
bitch
Fuck it
music industry will regain their focus on improving quality of music production rather than setting prices for maximizing profit and accusing youngsters not paying enough.
:)
I compare the sound quality of CD now and ten years ago...nothing improved. And then they blame us for listening to sub-quality electronic music. Shame on them. Give us something that worth buying.
Think I should stop ranting, this is the day of celebrating.
Feeling nostalgic are we?
Leaving at the end of 2003? Why announce the departure 11 months in advance? 11 months in Internet time might as well mean she'll be around another decade.
haha. this still won't stop them from being hacked. :)
# fuser -v
#
From a wired article:
"In the first six months of 2002, CD sales fell 11 percent - on top of a 3 percent decline the year before. Sales of blank CDs jumped 40 percent last year, while the users of Kazaa, the biggest online file-trading service, tripled in number. Meanwhile, the labels' new legitimate online music services attracted fewer paying customers than the McDonald's in Times Square."
Hard to argue that cds sales are down for the 1st time ever solely due to the economy given these statistics. You may not like what Rosen is saying, but she's probably right. Despite all the self-righteousness of slashdot readers, they're the real thieves and liars, making up bullshit excuses and lame cases that actually occur 0.0001% of the time to justify keeping technology around whose primary purpose is to steal property from copyright holders.
Vote for Pedro
When I go to a fine restaurant they have the nerve to price their hamburgers in the $8 range!
However the last burger I got at McDonalds was $.99 including the bun, meat, cheese, and I got fries with that!
if the recording industry can sell music CDs here in Asia for $9 and still make a profit, why can't they do the same in the US?
The sound engineers and others involved with production of the album demand a higher salary in the USA than in Asia.
Will I retire or break 10K?
OMFG!
I clicked your sig and lo and behold! OMFG OMFG!! *dies*
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)
"And the electronics industry's attitude toward the labels is summed up by an Apple slogan: Rip. Mix. Burn. Which, a music executive once told me, translates into "Fuck you, record labels."
Even if the natural order of things is for the old money music publishers to go out of business, do you really think the Congresscritters are going to just stand by while a multi-billion dollar industry goes down the drain? Certainly not! There are way too many jobs and livlihoods dependent on Hollywood to just have them disappear because of some newfangled technology that punks think they can abuse. (note sarcasm, please). Back in the late 1970s a guy named Frank Zappa summed it up nicely on the album "Joe's Garage":
Man oh man, Zappa was WAY ahead of his time. Well, at least by 20 years or so.
I know there's the cost of the production of the album, the marketing, etc., but over 8 million copies, those costs are negligable.
What percent of albums even sell one million copies? What's a record company supposed to do with an artist whose album has a slim chance of even going gold?
Will I retire or break 10K?
My threatening phone calls paid off!
Anyone else realize it's only JANUARY. Thus, we have 11 months of that bitches bs to deal with.
Ahh, we should all hold big and well-publicized GOODBYE HILARY parties at the end of the year! Let the RIAA bloodsuckers know how much we love them (note: by "love" I mean "despise").
But, I have young children and I want to devote more of my time to them. This has been an extremely difficult decision but I know it is the right one for my family.
You and your "domestic partner" have kids? Freaky! Adopted, of course, unless Hil's been up to something naughty!
I believe that the RIAA staff is simply the best in the business and I am proud of the team we have built.
Bwah ha ha ha! Yes, the RIAA's team is much better than the teams at all those other American music industry government lobbying groups. Oh wait..
Goodbye, Hil! Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!
Can't wait for the replacement..
PS: Yo, Jack Valenti, isn't about time for your retirement too? Let's get fresh blood (question: does Valenti even HAVE a circulatory system?) in the MPAA too!
You are right. From what I have heard on the grapevine, Rosen is privately very unhappy with the recording industry's response to file-sharing, even though she could never say this publicly. If she was not constrained in what she can say by her position, you might find that she agrees with much of what the RIAA's critics have to say.
....same as the Old Boss.
Behold the awesome sight of an AC +5 first post
[Previews] wtf? it's been deleted! I didn't think they did that round here?
My next sig will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush
How long have you been a bitch? ...
Why are you a bitch?
What evil made you a Bitch?
There's nothing Intelligent about Intelligent Design.
They're not just looking for an entertainment lawyer...it sounds like they're looking for Bush.
all i can say is:
don't let the door hit you on the way out
-smead
but you don't think this has anything to do with double didgit declines in music sales do you? Money talks, insulting your customers, market research number crunchers, lawers and persuing pipe dreams of "pay per play" has walked. Let the good times roll, baby, make some music or die!
DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
Just when the nerd-wing conspiracy to assasinate Hillary Rosen was about to come to fruition, she has to step down and spoil our fun! :(
Repeal the DMCA!
So will she become RIAA's ass now? (About time too...)
___
If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it.
I think that most of us can agree that this is a good thing. However, it is January. She can still do a lot of damage in a year. AND, I would hate to see what she did as a last minute effort to leave her mark on the industry.
Now I have to make a whole new Voodoo Doll!
A beautiful chorus line of wannabe-comedians and wisecrackers fit for a king await us all!
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to anounce our new CEO Adolph Hi...um...er...SKIPPY, the magical tap-dancing elf. Yes...yes that will do nicely. Excellent..."
As I learned in biology, the hydra has no brain. What an interesting metaphor for the RIAA.
Rosen stepping down with top executives at Sony and Vivendi Universal's MCA also leaving do you get the feeling that the rats are jumping a sinking ship?
Visit www.seriouslythough.com
Clearly, most /.ers would like to see Hillary stripped naked (well that could blind a person), tarred and feathered, and ridden out of town on a syphillitic jackass. No love lost here. Of course, this cannot be done, because next thing you know, we'd want to have it done to the rest of the RIAA.
What do you call 6 members of the RIAA buried up to their necks in sand? A good start.
They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
I don't think she deserves most of this, she's a hired gun nothing more.
Most of these comments should be directed to a policy of public deception and misinformation. But, I guess that would lead to a most unpopular outcome.
Metallica stopped being good when they stopped doing drugs..
I seriously think that is a great suggestion, and
I bet that she would agree to it. If she cares
what the
such a move could do nothing but improve her image.
What could she possibly have to lose by agreeing
to such an interview?
What's everybody going on about? She isn't leaving for 11 months ... if then. A lot can happen in 11 months ... including a decisison to stay on for a while. Since when is a (real) resignation tendered 11 months in advance?
I for one am so tired of the price structure of audio CD's that I've quit purchasing them outright.
I just purchased the movie "Signs" for $17.99 which I might consider to be "reasonable". For one, "Signs" must have cost millions to make. I don't have the amount at hand, but I must imagine that it cost over 10 million dollars. Now, how much does it cost to produce a single album for a group? Less than a million?
In my view audio CD's should be priced at the point at which it becomes pointless for me to even try to pirate them. The price I think audio CD's should sell for is $4.99 plus applicable tax. At that price it is just not convenient to put together all the effort to copy them or pirate mp3's of them. After all, what I would really like is the original high quality PCM samples not mp3's.
If CD's actually cost around a dollar to produce, then the producers can double that when they sell them. That will be two dollars when they sell them to companies like Best Buy. Then, Best Buy can turn around and sell them for double that price, which is four dollars. Of course there will be some variation from state to state so we add a dollar to cover extra's. At most, a $5.99 cost of a CD would be plenty.
If CD's were priced at one third of what they are now then I'd actually purchase more than I am currently purchasing at the current price, way more than to cover the amount they think they would be losing. A secondary problem is the sheer number of artists that I want to purchase grows by leaps and bounds every year, but my purchasing power does not. Everytime I go into a store like Media Play the number of CD's grows, but I still can't take advantage of that.
I've got to imagine that the only reason CD's still sell at the $17 and $18 dollar mall prices is because of stupid teenage girls with large parental pocketbooks. And, yes, that was a slam, so yea, I'm blaming the music industry and stupid teenagers for the current prices of CD's.
The cost structure of CD's is now and has always been ridiculous. We are only now beginning to realize that. The music industry is currently living way beyond it's means and it's time to wake them up and serve them some hot coffee. Until that time I'm done with them. My boycott has started and will not abate until the music industry sees reason.
The only thing they're trying to soften is Kazaa. Rosen said "resigned" to spend more time with her family. Meaning she was fired. And why not? She's the figurehead of an huge, costly, and utterly failing war effort (e.g. Napster/Kazaa/whatever users doubling every year) against Internet audio sharing. After 4+ years in this position someone at the top finally woke up and smolt the Folger's; voila, no more Rosen. The bitch should feel lucky, she got about 3.5 more years at the helm than if she put in this type of performance at a major corporation and maybe a year longer than if she was in the United States armed services :) You can bet the next capo RIAA foists up to lead the charge will be every bit as arrogant, clueless and dishonest. If anyone deserves our sympathy today it's the those poor Rosen kids, who face the prospect of hours more daily "quality time" with their whore of a mother. Haha!
I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
...John Ashcroft.
Have a nice day.
If you think
I have young children and I want to devote more of my time to them.
TRANSLATION: I know those brats are on Kazaa right now.
-ted
I wish Hillary Rosen well in her new job as stay at home mom..
May her children in ten years time teach her about:
1. Music is human nature, it cannot be held and imprisioned by the RIAA!
2. That even kids can download music and then go out and buy it.
3. That even kids can record their own orginal music without a record label and make money,
4. That music put out by only ten record labels will sound like shit for lack of choice.
5. That Heavy Metal only has one sound level, LOUD!
Don't Tread on OpenSource
except for the 9$ cds that are created in the us and still sold for 9$. Look at it this way, casette tapes were selling for 8-9 dollars long before cds came out, and still are. Wanna explin to me how its cheaper to make a casette tape?
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
I stopped bying their cds 5 years ago, and my downloading has slowed to a trickle, and is mostly replacing older stuff, and live variations on stuff i own. There has been maybe 1-2 songs in the past year i have felt like downloading. I am still buying local bands stuff, however, usually with a 5 buck tip on top of it. I dont mind paying 15 bucks to someone selling me a cd for 10. I figure i bought some poor band memeber a cheeseburger for a 5 buck tip.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
'Rosen's departure comes as the organization sought to soften its image among Internet consumers, many of whom viewed the RIAA -- and Rosen personally -- with antipathy over incessant pressure for crackdowns on sharing digital music over the Internet.'
Look what you have done to this poor lady who is just trying hard to make a living.
Ding Dong! The Witch is dead.
Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch!
Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead.
Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed. Wake up, the Wicked Witch is dead. She's gone where the goblins go, Below - below - below. Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out.
Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know The Wicked Witch is dead!
The ultimate network admin tool needs HELP!
Na Na Na Na....Na Na Na Na...hey hey hey, goodbye Bill me......
He just scored to pass Wilt Chamberlain NBA all-time scoring list.
The internet is a great place to make money. Companies that understand this, like Dell, Apple, IBM, the various online retailers, etc, are in a powerful position. I have personally spent thousands of dollars online, and now do almost all my major purchases on the internet. If music was conveniently available online, a chunk of that money would go the RIAAs way. But since it isn't, well, too bad for them.
A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
meet the new boss
same as the old boss
Then again, he also said the kids are alright, and we only now figured out what he meant. zing!
Or she just wants to take up basket weaving, who knows?
I seek not only to follow in the footsteps of the men of old, I seek the things they sought.
Most record companies are now taking the stance that as long as they stay close to the artists they will be able to make money. Even in these technological times it is still difficult to make a professional sounding recording without the use of a proper (read expensive) recording studio.
Also, while the sales overall may have dipped in the last couple of years, manafactured bands (pop idol, american idol, etc.) have been quite succesfull. Even if they are only around for a short time they do make money for the record companies.
I'm glad to see someone came out and said it.
This just screams HaHA Bitch!
The RIAA has a patent on Hilary Rosen's DNA and they've created an army of ugly clones.
By making the public think she's gone, the rest of the Rosen Army will be at work brainwashing the public by installing bio-chemical virii onto every disc purchased. These virii will rot the fingers off anyone that downloads music but has a twisted side effect where retinal based controls are perfected in the next couple of years.
*_g_o_a_t_s_e_x_*_g_o_a_t_s_e_x_*_g_o_a_t_s_e_x_*_
g_______________________________________________g_ _
o_/_____\_____________\____________/____\_______o_ _
a|_______|_____________\__________|______|______a_ _
t|_______`._____________|_________|_______:_____t_ _
s`________|_____________|________\|_______|_____s_ _
e_\_______|_/_______/__\\\___--___\\_______:____e_ _
x__\______\/____--~~__________~--__|_\_____|____x_ _
*___\______\_-~____________________~-_\____|____*_ _
g____\______\_________.--------.______\|___|____g_ _
o______\_____\______//_________(_(__>__\___|____o_ _
a_______\___.__C____)_________(_(____>__|__/____a_ _
t_______/\_|___C_____)/______\_(_____>__|_/_____t_ _
s______/_/\|___C_____)_Rosen_|__(___>___/__\____s_ _
e_____|___(____C_____)\______/__//__/_/_____\___e_ _
x_____|____\__|_____\\_________//_(__/_______|__x_ _
*____|_\____\____)___`----___--'_____________|__*_ _
g____|__\______________\_______/____________/_|_g_ _
o___|______________/____|_____|__\____________|_o_ _
a___|_____________|____/_______\__\___________|_a_ _
t___|__________/_/____|_________|__\___________|t_ _
s___|_________/_/______\__/\___/____|__________|s_ _
e__|_________/_/________|____|_______|_________|e_ _
x__|__________|_________|____|_______|_________|x_ _
*_g_o_a_t_s_e_x_*_g_o_a_t_s_e_x_*_g_o_a_t_e_x_*_
Important Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) If you want replies to your comments sent to you, consider logging in or creating an account.
course... i guess its more like terrorizing a person until she fell on her weak knees like a true blowjob slut...
but hey! one for the people!
now on to jack v.
Steve Jobs - Rip. Mix. Burn. to your heart's content... ..k
The Mothership
--that champion of decency and fair-mindedness, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger!
After all, he couldn't possibly be worse then Mrs. Rosen. Could he?
Ding dong the Witch is dead! WHICH OLD WITCH? The Wicked Witch! or should it be bitch?
1 + 1 = 2
2 + 2 = 5
If 2 + 2 isn't 5, 1 + 1 can't be 2.
Seeing how easy it is to post a press release on riaa.org, is it really reasonable to trust anything that gets posted there?
I head somewhere that Bill Clinton was in line for head of the MPAA after Valenti. I cant decide if thats a good thing or a bad thing.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
> surpassing Microsoft and Kim Jong II on the
> list of evil things we hate?
The leader of North Korea is named Kim Jong Il. And while he has done shockingly indefensible things to the citizens of his own nation and others, keep in mind that the sunshine policy was working. Prior to Bush riding into the dusty plains of international diplomacy with a plastic stetson in one hand and a non-alchoholic beer in the other, North Korea's leadership was starting to soften its policies and open up about their past shit-headery. South Korea and Japan went out of their way to build up trust with their paranoid neighbor, after a long and bizarre history of North Korea's wrongs. Bush dumped a steaming, red-white-and-brown shit onto those efforts. Want to be reunited with your family in the north? Fuck you, they're part of The Axis.
But, hey, don't listen to me. Keep hating whatever slashdot and/or Ari Fleischer tell you to hate.
A kinder, gentler RIAA? My ass. However, I do believe that they've had a chance to look at things. "Hillary, we've gone your way for the past few years. You aren't winning the war. Revenues are declining. The legal system hasn't beem allowing us to make enough progress fast enough the way we were going."
Of course, this could be good. Maybe they'll try something completely different. That could be embracing their new future that they should have embraced in the first place. Yeah, right.
Or it could be them becoming an even greater pain in the ass... and Hillary not wanting THAT big of a target painted on her forehead.
The latest spat with getting information on a net user could just be opening the door into a new front... direct prosecution of file sharers. You know, if I was her, I know I wouldn't want to be the shining face that people have associated with that kind of behavior.
better the known devil than the unknown angel
learn from yesterday, plan for tomorrow, party tonight
or one out of three ain't bad
until she leaves everytime we refer to her lets refer to her in the form "outgoing RIAA president Hilary Rosen said blah blah blah". That will deny credibility to RIAA and also to her until 2004.
mod this up pls.
Or were you personally appointed by the Fuhrer?
I have to say that your response is so ironically funny, that even though ironically isn't a word, I'm still going to type it. May many moderation points flow in your general direction.
. . . changes in policy are better. She wasn't
standing up there spewing out for her health,
she was spewing RIAA's policy.
Their attempt is shallow and transparent or there
are deeper issues why she is stepping down.
The industry is at a cross-roads of change.
As much as they would like to hang on to the old
draconian style of making policies they
realize that the winds of change are upon them.
Until the policies reveal any direction and innovation,
it's nothing to really dwell on or for me to bring any
new concern about RIAA.
Are you intrinsically evil, or were you simply misled?
(Shamelessly stolen from an episode of Paranoia! by West End Games. At least it isn't music.)
That's like the equivalent of 10 CD players. You'll have to buy a license for each of them.
She's just stepping down to be with her "life partner" (aka lesbian lover) and their twin kids. She's probably already rich enough to not have to work anymore. CEO's suck cash out of all businesses.
She is leaving at the end of the year. At the danger of being hated for repeating myself: THere is a danger here knowing that they planned on attacking home end users this year, wouldn't it be possible that something is planned that a step down would result from the action anyways?
Besides.......
Would you be surprised when you find out your computer was hacked and a list of files were anonymously sent to *ahem*
Will we have a Thorne after Rosen?
I suppose the best we can hope for is that her replacement understands economics.
we could insert a loyalist covertly from the ranks of slashdot and overthrow the riaa once and for all...
"Hilary Rodham steps down"
Too bad...
The entire business model of the RIAA's members is to focus group lyrics, tunes, logos, and the physical characteristics of their so-called "artists" isn't it? So what took them so long, and why do they care anyway? The average angst-ridden teenage sucker they milk has no idea that anyone other than the purportedly rebellious "artist" whose image..oops album they're buying is getting the money.
More likely the labels are kicking her out because of her lack of progress, and are taking the opportunity to play the part of good cop in their leaks to the NYT. If you're hoping for a letup in DRM crap because of this, you're dreaming.
That's slashdot priorities for ya.
The cake is a pie
Too bad it's only January. 343 days and counting.
I should probably post this AC but what the hell.
I'm no fan of Hillary Rosen's tactics as head of the RIAA. But it should be pointed out that she's the head of a lobbying/representative group. She does the bidding of the CEOs whose companies pony up fat wads of cash for the services of the organization that she heads. In a recent Wired article (which will be online tomorrow according to the website) she said that her job is basically to do all the unpopular shit that the record execs want her to do, while shielding them from the criticism. In other words, she's a paper tiger. Her successor will be one as well. She and the RIAA are doing the bidding of the likes of Sony, Vivendi Universal, AOL-TW and all the others. I don't see anyone giving Sean (Pissy) Coombs a hard time about the RIAA's tactics but he's as culpable (as the head of a label that is an RIAA member) as Hillary Rosen is.
If you don't like the shit the RIAA is pulling (and you shouldn't), stop buying music from companies that support the RIAA. Of course, after seeing the list here you'll have quite a hard time finding any music to buy.
BFL
There's one thing computing teaches you, and that's that there's no point to remembering everything.
--Doug Copland
I can't speak for anyone else here, but I personally have known a lot of people who were first-rate jerks in a professional setting yet were still great parents. So get off your damn high horse.
FISTED!!
If I had a /. account (/. itself isn't very feasable on a 14.4 modem), I'd mod you up as much as I could.
--for private policy. They may say their current revenue slide is due to piracy but you can bet that behind closed doors they know the actual truth--they aren't that dumb after all. It never pays to harass your customers!
It's the tram at DisneyWorld.
Jaysyn
There is a war going on for your mind.
If she stepped down only because she wanted to spend more time with her kids, then I've never traded songs on Kazaa.
Natural != (nontoxic || beneficial)
This story is simply a cover up to disguise the real reason why she is leaving - MP3's were found on her laptop. She's claiming she was framed, but ISP records show otherwise. Apparently, Hillary Rosen has a penchant for gangsta rap and militant German speed metal.
I wouldn't be surprised if she left simply because she was tired of dealing with them and their lack of vision. I'd love to see what she *really* thinks.
All the more reason to have a Slashdot interview! Get on it, Taco--imagine what a coup for this site it would be!
Ding Dong
The wicked BITCH
The wicked BITCH
The wicked BITCH
DING DONG THE WICKED BITCH IS DEAD
YOU GOTO HELL AND YOU DIE!
auto262814@hushmail.com
First off, the piece says that Rosen is leaving, not that she has been or will be:
a) Immediately and ignomineously fired,
and...
b) I also believe she is expected to be leaving at the end of this year. Great news on December 2nd but, indifferent at best in late January.
I personally don't mind the thought of dancing in the streets over it but as far as we know, the whole reason for her leaving is that she got a really irressistable offer from a headhunter.
The other shoe that should keep everyone's eyes pointed skyward is the possibility that the cause behind her leaving is that they've found someone who is like her but a smoother liar...;
To mail me, remove the 'mailno' from my email addy.
"Yeah. It smells, too..."
/. is definately going down hill... 328 comments so far an still no "In Soviet Russia..."
At least we got the ASCII goatse.cx picture to give us a sense of normalcy.
--
"What do you want me to do? Whack a guy? Off a guy? Whack off a guy? Cause I'm married."
Alright, I'm duly impressed. What's the secret?
"I have to say that your response is so ironically funny, that even though ironically isn't a word"
Er... "ironically" is a word.
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
...in order to fully devote myself to my other passion: Eating starving babies in the Congo.
Thank You.
--an unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys--
good riddance you fucken old piece of snail shit...
may you rot in hell with all the CD's you claim have been pirated...
Long live the new RIAA Witch/Warlock/Asswipe!
"Er... "ironically" is a word."
Then you have embiggened me.
Thank you.
If such a low percentage or their roster have a tough time selling one million copies, this should be a clue to put more effort into finding better talent.
The RIAA's bottleneck with respect to talent is called "Sturgeon's Law", which states that "ninety percent of everything is crud." I'd go further and apply Sturgeon's Law twice to performing musicians seeking a recording contract: fewer than 10 percent of artists are not-crud enough to land a record deal, and fewer than 10 percent of those are not-crud enough to move enough units to recoup costs.
Not every record published will sell a million copies. Labels published about 27,000 new recordings in 2001. Compare with 906.6 million CDs shipped, and the mean album in 2001 sold only about 33,600 units.
Though not all americans have musical talent, there are still 250 million americans and only 100 slots on the Billboard pop chart. What are your odds of making it big?
Will I retire or break 10K?
If production cost so much
The cost of a record isn't production as much as promotion. The most effective way to promote your record is to buy a four-minute ad spot on radio stations in most major metro markets. Last time I checked, only the major labels had the infrastructure and the cash reserves to afford that.
Will I retire or break 10K?
an excellent analogy for making the exact opposite point you're trying to make.
McDonald's sell burgers for $99 because they're mass produced turgid crap, much like the RIAA's marketing-driven sewage.
Buying a burger, bun and cheese from a supermarket and making that burger yourself costs.... oh, about the same.
But McDonalds can still turn a profit by exploiting economies of scale, something that the recording labels should perhaps look into.
If you can't see this, click here to enable sigs.
HaHa HaHa HaHa HaHa HaHa HaHa!!!!!
I'm starting to think we've just hit a cultural sinkhole or somthing. We've got this conservative, suburban, anal-retentive 50s-esque decade going here, only this time the black people aren't opressed enough to write any good music. Punk has the potential to come back, but they've gotten so caught up in the look that they're too mainstream to keep their anger going.
Osama could have produced some great music. After 9-11 all the music guys were all so fucking excited that pop would die and we'd have the 60s all over again, but our attention span was so fucked that Laden sat in a cave for 3 months and we forgot all about him.
There's no conflict or anything. I'm thinking maybe by 2010 anti-corporatism will kick up a little, some insurance company reception areas will get firebombed, and we'll maybe get some decent art out of the whole deal.
It's not just music. Movies are losing it, books are coasting but slacking off, even games are just upgrades on older releases. I think I'll be able to tolerate whatever social unrest's gonna end up knocking us out of this comfortable slump if I'll be able to see movies without feeling embarassed for the filmmakers.
YAYAYAY!!!! and you know all of us are happy she is stepping down but we should be even more worried about what they might have next to represent the beast. she was evil, but qwho might be satans replacement?
Well, I feel that the replacement may look like a friendly santa claus, but under that nice smile and family friendly approach hides a demon.
Think about it, if they soften their image, people will listen to them and let them get away with more wheeling and dealing away from the limelight. Netizens, do not lose your vigil! The face may change, but the mind is still the same!
That, or they could just spawn someone just as bad as her.
...posters will be able to flame RIAA, hammer home the blandness of mainstream music offerings and blame Canada in a single post!
That's nice, but how am I going to say that in soviet Russia, posting flaming canadians hammer home the lameness of YOU!
Oi, moderators, this is not meant to insult the parent. Go easy with those flamebait mods.
Hit the road Jack, and don't ya come back no more no more no more...
So... Did she adopt, or eat her husband?
SIGFEH
At the "end of this year". Um, its only January. Dont get excited about it, she still has 11 months left to put the world through hell.
----- LoboSoft specializes in Digital Language Lab
Looks like the RIAA just lost 200 pounds of ugly fat...too bad they still need to lose about a thousand more.
Hey Hilary, I'll save you a spot in the unemployment line, bitch.
IGB: More fun than eating oatmeal!
Old man comes up to RIAA headquaters lobby.
Security: Sir, can I help you?
Old man: I want to talk with Hilary Rosen!
Security: Sir, Hilary Rosen doesn't work here anymore.
The old man turns and leaves. The next day the old man comes back to RIAA headquarters lobby.
Security: Sir, can I help you?
Old man: I want to talk with Hillary Rosen!
Security: Sir, I told you yesterday that Hillary Rosen doesn't work here anymore.
The old man turns and leaves. The next day the old man comes back to RIAA headquarters lobby.
Old man: I want to talk with Hilary Rosen!
Security: Sir, I already told you before that Hilary Rosen doesn't work here anymore!! Do you understand that?
Old man: I sure do, but I just like to hear you say it.
then the enemy you do not.
How do we know that this wasn't just put up by some 1337 Script Kiddie.
Well what can we say ?
Ding dong the witch is dead
Which old witch ?
the wicked old witch !!!
Ding dong the witch is dead the witch is dead....
"Semper in excretum set alta variant"
This doesnt matter for many, many reasons. Yes this woman has been irritating, but she is just a representative of a larger industry. The RIAA is just a lobbying body, the real problem is the member labels that support this crap, not the RIAA. You can block the RIAA IP's all you want, but what about the hundreds and hundreds of member labels...did you remember to block them too? And dont forget the sister org of the RIAA which has gotten some press here on slashdot recently, the IFPI. Ha! And you thought the RIAA was the problem all this time. Just remember the concept of 'lightning rod' here.
If you doubt any of what Im saying, and your halfway competent, dig into it a little deeper instead of going with the quick and visible enemy. Sooner or later, you will realize that the RIAA website is just a 'honeypot'. I mean come on, nobody is as stupid to do what they have done, and leave it that way after its been hacked for months...you say I am making this up...oh no...look at this security hole wide enough to fly the whole planet through. This problem has been exploited at least twice now to deface the page in recent months and nothing has been done to make it even the slightest bit better. All though as I test these links, the whole site seems to be down yet again. I cant imagine how that happened.
Yes, the RIAA's credibility in the eyes of the world surely will be denied by posts on Slashdot.
At the end of the year? Come on, it's a trick.
"Album sales declined for the second straight year in 2002, down 10.7 percent from the previous year." Quoted from the NYT article. Duh, when was the last time you bought an album??? Jeeze, get the terms correct. Music, generic, sales would have been better. Too bad the music out there that is pushed by the labels sucks so hard. I might be tempted to buy a few CD's...(records? Vinyl is dissappearing everywhere) DB
"Well I hope you live long now, I pray the Lord your soul to keep
I think I'll be going before we fold our arms and start to weep
I never thought for a moment that human life could be so cheap
'Cos when they finally put you in the ground
They'll stand there laughing and tramp the dirt down"
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Goethe
...The Hallilujia Chorus is heard....
Yeah. And don't forget that your so called "genitals" are circumvention devices illegal under the DMCA
Doesn't this statement: ``Hilary has been a valiant, brave leader for the U.S. music industry,'' said Jack Valenti, president and chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America. strike you as the Satan saying he will miss the devil when she is gone?
Mid-Eastern Pennsylvania Gaming Convention
"many of whom viewed the RIAA -- and Rosen personally -- with antipathy over incessant pressure for crackdowns on sharing digital music over the Internet" The term BITCH always came to my mind, does this mean the same thing?
I have absolutely no problem with people/companies I deal with making a profit. However, charging $15+ for an audio CD is not "making a profit", it's "gouging the customer". This is like every auto company teaming up to buy laws to make changing your own oil illegal and then charging $100 for them to do it.
But why is the rum gone?
Clearly, Cary Sherman will be the new chief. The press release is all there. Rosen said: "The Board will be conducting a formal search for my replacement over the next several months and we are confident of a smooth transition. I believe that the RIAA staff is simply the best in the business and I am proud of the team we have built. "Cary Sherman will remain in his current position as RIAA President and the Board and I have asked him to serve on the search committee," concluded Rosen. Why even bother to point out he's on the search committee unless he'll head it up? After all, Dick Cheney headed up Bush II vice presidential committee during the 2000 election. Here's the appropriate links: Picture of Smiling Sherman Interview with Mr. Sherman and the /. comments on said interview
Looks like Mr. Sherman will as head of the RIAA will not lead to anything different at the RIAA, except, perhaps many more tesosterone induced lawsuits.
Let's see, by saying she's leaving now they gain the publicity they want and put a "softer" face on the organization. By making it effective at the end of the year, they get to continue the very behavior that got them the bad publicity in the first place. If anyone throws up signals they can say, "Hey, we're getting rid of her this year!" >
"Rosen cited personal reasons for leaving the Recording Industry Association of America, where she has served as chief executive since 1998."
Yeah, She had to find a proctologist to have a boot removed.
The race isn't always to the swift... but that's the way to bet!
Not to pop anyone's bubble but she still has 11 months to continue to mess with society. Queue's up the "munchkins" "Ding dong..." (You know the rest)
Insert Sig Here
The recording industry also has been promoting its own, for-fee online music services, but consumers have largely rejected them because of usage restrictions and limited selections.
.MP3 and .WAV format, and as part of my purchase, I receive the right to copy those songs into any media I wish, without limit, for my own personal use. Oddly, I already have this right with normal CDs, but I'm willing to pay the industry for my music rather than steal it off the Internet. My problem is that I don't want to pay the same price for CDs that I can't burn into MP3 to listen to on my Powerbook, copy to another CD to keep in my car, and rip/mix/burn CDs of my favorite songs. I am accustomed to not only having this right, but exercising it frequently. Why on earth they're SPENDING MONEY that we gave them to lower the value of their products, I can't imagine.
See where it says "usage restrictions?" Put every artist, album, and song that each distributor has the rights to on their service. Charge me $1.00 per song, or give me a discount for an entire album (say, $10.00 for a CD), and let me download it quickly, in both high-quality
Imagine if Honda decided to install speed governers and GPS receivers in their vehicles that refused to let you go over the speed limit depending on where you were. It's to prevent you from breaking the law! Garbage. No (normal) business would actively lobby for legislation that reduces the value of their product and waste R&D dollars towards the same end. This is why the content distributors need to get with the time. The more they push, the people hear about it and get angry.
I don't think most of us have any delusions of entitlement to free movies and music. But we do know that $15 is too much for a CD, especially considering the complete lack of innovation or talent in music over the last few years. We got away from New Kids On the Block and the industry invested heavily in fresh new sounds, which was probably incorporated and dried out, and now Pearl Jam is easy listening for thirtysomethings. Now the industry is investing in boy bands, slutty skinny blonde chicks that can't sing, and we're just encouraging more of it with shlock like American Idol.
Is it any wonder that sensible consumers aren't cooperating?
... Don't let the door pinch you on your FAT ASS on the way out!!! :-)
No matter where you go... there you are.
Now that Hilary Rosen is leaving the RIAA, she will have more time to work in porno. By the way, did anyone else see her S&M bondage pictorial on the net? I think that was Jack Valenti in the gimp mask.
The box office data for Signs shows that it cost USD $64 million to make and to date has made USD $390 million (or more, depending on how you interpret the figures) at the box office alone. Now, you'll be aware that movie theatres make minimal profit on the tickets; all their money comes from concessions. Signs probably made about USD $300 million gross profit for the distributors. I'm not making a point here, just clarifying.
The average album sells 33,600 copies. At about $15 retail cost, that's USD $0.5 million, give or take, per album. Wow, that's a lot, eh?
Well, it is until you think how many people it takes to write, score, perform, record, edit, manufacture, distribute and market that album. Now, theoretically, one artist could do all of that themselves, but how much would Joe Unknown have to spend on marketing to rake in half a million bucks of sales?
Think of it this way. Every time some mall rat pays $15 for "Shake My Titties One More Time", it pays for the loss the record company takes on the special interest $15 Cajun folk album sitting next to it, or a Bach album, or a spoken word reading.
Frankly I'm delighted that mall rats keep paying enough so that special interest recordings can be made. More power to the pimply faced ones and their herd instinct, says I.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
>And you only ever listen to an album once? No wonder you think they're overpriced.
The usage the BUYER does with the goods/medias has nothing to do with the price it should sell for. This is like saying The Matrix DVD was underpriced because we all watched it at least 10 times or more. By your opinion that DVD should've cost 200$US, not 20$US.
Also In your opinion, people buying cars to be used as TAXIS should pay about 10 times more for their cars because they'll use them all day long?
...no dancing in the aisles.
Companies who know they have control of their consumers have no need or desire to "soften" their image for fear of losing a market segment. They're afraid. They're beginning to see that their bullying scare tactics and slimy business practices aren't as effective as Microsoft's. They're pissing off ALOT of people, and they simply aren't as important as they think they are.....and I think they're finally starting to get frightened. The good ol days of juicing the public are gone.
Elton John - The bitch is back
Anthrax - Starting up a posse
anyone else have some apropriate music to say goodbye to that #$%^ ?
the songs should of course be downloaded off kazaa etc, just for that extra little bite
The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers. Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2, Act 4, Scene 2
This weekend at walmart, we're rolling back prices. Look at this example;
The Beast - was $665.95
Now $665.93
Always the lowest prices on the brands you trust. Always.
anything i tell you will cloud your opinion.
Turns out she and her "partner", Elizabeth Birch, adopted twins back in '99. http://www.datalounge.com/datalounge/news/record.h tml?record=3818
THe stores are only making a couple of dollars on the cd. You have to factor in the cost of the goods/raw materials to make the cd and the equipment, the cost of packaging the cd, the cost of shipping the cd, the cost of advertising. I know there is much more to look at factoring in the cost, but I am not an economic type person. They would be able to tell you more details about. The cost is always passed back to the consumer.
Forget a cheap T-shirt. Let's all chip in and get her an IPOD filled with MP3s of bands who have released their music in MP3 form. We can include major label talent like Wilco and unsigned acts like Phantom Stranger and HEX. Fill it up with your favorites from MP3.com or any other site that you like. Just make sure that they are all legal MP3s.
In fact, let's get two: One for Hillary and one for whoever replaces her. Then they can no longer claim ignorance of all the music out there that is legal to share.
Viv
Gmail invites for ip
Why would they need to soften their image? I mean, all they did was try repeatedly to get bills enacted that would let them legally preform acts of cyber-terrorism, and on a couple occasions, take responsibility for acts of cyber-terrorism against thousands(if not millions) of p2p users(or threaten it), and give the middle finger to owners of modern CD players and those who actually listen to music on their PCs.
:P
I mean, any softer, and they might not want to take the law into their own hands!
It's been a long time.
Basically, when it comes right down to it. The big bucks that people shell out is for an image..that's what media live and breathes under..that's why they have over-priced CDs and when when people download "their" music, they see it as profit-loss of the image they hyped up. They don't see it as a fair reaction.. they see it as more of user taking advantage of (violating) them.. I dono't think prices will go down for "image" CDs since teenage preppy girls go for that shit.. but I think most "non-image" bands welcome the exposure of users downloading theirs music, as long as they can get reasonable profit from other areas of business.. so it all depends on who you want to support and give your money to.. within that.. that will make things change.. because the RIAA will always support the artists that bring in the money.. but I think some artists are more fair to their listeners than others.. For Me, the choice is clear.. support the artists you believe in.. buy their shit.. and to the rest of the "Hip gangsta wannabe's", download their shit. I think that's a balanced solution to the problem.
I write sig's like I know what I'm talking about.
I run a small record label. I mostly do vinyl, but have two CD releases in the works. Both will be runs of 1000, with full color packaging, jewel cases, etc. These are professionaly duplicated CDs, not CD-Rs. The cost to me? About $2.50 per CD, with shipping included.
I'm not factoring recording costs in here, but if you are a major label and making 500,000 cds of a release, you can factor in a $1 million recording budget and still get a cost of less than $5. per piece.
Then you have to take into account that if they make 500,000 copies, the physical costs will be much less than the $2.50 I'm paying for only 1000 copies.
Any way you look at it, CDs are overpriced.
Might be interested.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
See here. But then again, it's probably Wired's.
Random is the New Order.
She's the head of a cartel, sorta like the Bud Selig is the head of pro baseball. Yeah, she's one of 'em, but think of it this way, she's riding herd on some of the greediest bastard companies on the planet. Would you want the job of dealing with greedy, ignorant, technophobe lawyer-accountant creatures? A whole room full of them?
I sure as hell don't.
The music industry used to be lead by quirky, single-minded folk, people that acutally had a clue about music. That's all but changed now. Now you've got lawyers and accountants deciding what is good for the music company. These are a collection of people that are so used to "the way we do things" that they are virtually incapable of doing anything different.
So, since these people don't know any different, they have hired a spokesperson to be a front for them. We don't really know what Hillary thinks, but with constant exposure to the toxic atmosphere at the level she's working at, perhaps some of it has changed her. I'm not saying that she's innocent, not at all, but remember this, she's the head of a consortium. There are many different opinions and we don't know what the discussions are about, just what is finally decided.
She could have been a voice that reasoned for change in the industry and is stepping down because of disgust (good for you, write up a tell-all!), or she was forced out because her ideas were unpopular -- either not strict enough (God help the music-buying public), or too strict (there be the winds of change a-blowin', good for us).
I want to see who they pick as a replacement to see what is going on in the heads behind the mouth. Then we'll learn something. Until then, don't be too quick to cheer her departure.
Chris
So Buddha walks into a pizza parlor and says: "Hey, make me one with everything."
In related news, the RIAA has announced that Jack Valenti will assume the position of president as of January 2004...
When asked to confirm the rumors that she was stepping down as CEO of the RIAA, the Dark Lord gave this statement:
"Yes, it is true. I am afraid things have been slipping during my five year hiatus from hell. The angels of darkness I left in charge are becoming soft. Plus, I have a lot of work to do to prepare the place...with all of these spammers popping up, we have been experiencing an overpopulation crisis. On a personal level, I believe I need to spend more time with my fiancee. She has needed my support during this whole IMClone scandal, and frankly, I haven't been there for her as I should have. I ask my loyal worshippers to not lose heart. Once I have placed my dominion back in order, I will continue my mission of the destruction of popular music and the harvesting of your mortal souls. Thank you."
Public use of any portable music system is a virtually guaranteed indicator of sociopathic tendencies. -- Zoso
So?
Look, if the only way to break even (or make a decent profit) is to raise the prices above what the customer thinks is reasonable, then the proper thing to do is go out of business. The proper thing is not to whine about how much it costs to sell your product, in the hopes that the consumer will give you bonus sympathy dollars, instead of saving their money and getting better goods and services for lower prices elsewhere.
Not to mention the fact that DVDs cost just as much to manufacture and distribute, and the content costs several orders of magnitude more to produce... by your reasoning, Black Hawk Down should cost five or six times more than the its own soundtrack, instead of almost exactly the same price.
But my first point is so important that I'm going to repeat it: if you can't sell a product at a price that people will pay, get out of the business.
Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.
As far as a consumer is concerned, usage is a factor in the value of an item. I get many more hours of entertainment out of a DVD then I EVER have out of a CD, after all, how long can you listen to the best 3 to 5 songs on a CD 'fore you're done.
At least with a DVD, I get ~2 hours of enjoyment everytime I open it up and watch it, or flip through the specials, or read a translator's notes and see if I catch any new meaning behind the movie from the notes.
Even when buying a game, I consider hours of gameplay and replayability. There are some games where you just want to beat them once and that's that, there are others that you can replay over and over and the enjoyment doesn't quite go away. Sure it diminishes over time, but I've always gone back to my favorites in 6 months to a year to feed the addiction, as light as it is.
So, when's lunch?
You want it done fast, or you want it done right? :P
It's been a long time.
I wished I'd known this a long time ago. I would have had much more fun!
It'd be funnier if you tried to get them patented and the USPTO actually gave you a patent for 'discovering' your own genes. Even I have to think patent examiners aren't THAT idiotic--although I'm afraid they might not be that far off.
So, when's lunch?
Of course, after seeing the list here you'll have quite a hard time finding any music to buy.
Bullshit.
There's thousands and thousands of non-RIAA CDs released each and every year. You just have to look a little harder to find them.
I recommend CD Baby as a starting point.
"driving down the cost of their own recording gear through economies-of-scale manufacturing."
Obviously you're not in the business. Pro audio is a small-market to begin with and I'm not talking about DAW's exclusively. There is no economy of scale because the scale is so minute that the companies only reason for existence is the prices they charge for basically custom equipment.
That said, as technology marches onward, the cost of professional recording has fallen substantially with the development of cost-effective and powerful DAW's. But they are just one piece of the puzzle.
and a hillary supporter at that!
Just kidding.
Seriously, they may have been a pupet, but it doesn't do much to change the fact that they are responsible for a lot of what they said and the actions they took.
If this was the case where they really didn't belive these thing, they probably would have quit a lot sooner. But they didn't, they continued this war on piracy and spewing their madness. Even though a lot of us knew that they where just a figure pice pushing the coperations agenda, they are still responsible for what they said and have done.
You know, I'm glad someone else was thinking this. I busted out laughing in LOTR when he was onscreen.
There was a part in LOTR where he even _sounded_ like he did in the Matrix. It kinda ruined the movie mood for me...
Murphy was an optimist.
First off, duplicating a movie and distributing it to the theaters is actually quite expensive. (This is one of the big points behind going digital.) Also, the movie companies are shelling out big bucks to get all of those TV commercials. Not to mention those press junkets that they host. It would be interesting to see how well they actually do on recouping their money. (Look at those movies where they have to pay $10 Million + to get the big star PLUS residuals.)
Additionally, most DVD's come with a lot of extra content on them. This content has to be created for the DVD so there's a cost related there. Also, we all know that a bad transfer can ruin a good movie so it's not a mere "slap" it down.
Finally, I don't see people like Julia Roberts or Mel Gibson having their residuals charged to cover all the expenses of making the movie.
It's probably really difficult to compare the cost of movie making to the cost of music making. Especially when it comes down to the price you pay for the CD or DVD.
The big thing is the perceived value you're getting for the money that you plunk down. That $20 gets you an entire movie and bunches of extras. That $16 gets you a CD with maybe two good tracks and a lot of filler.
--- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
Maybe now she can do work in issues that are personally salient. Perhaps she can, once she distances herself from RIAA, become a voice for sexual minorities issues, or work in the campaign for a Democrat candidate for president, or begin work in things like Rock The Vote (which she co-founded). This will allow her to not be considered the embodiment of evil amongst younger folks and keep her from being the William Jennings "Cross of Gold" Bryan of the music industry in the history books.
Sweet! Barsuk isn't on there. We can still support Death Cab for Cutie. And DeSoto's not there either - the Dismemberment Plan is fine, too.
Unfortunately, Built to Spill is out.. Jimmy Eat World is out.. R.E.M. and Radiohead are, obviously, no good. No Flaming Lips, either.
Oh well, for now I'll stick with Death and Dismemberment - and you know, there are some really awesome amateur, totally free cuts floating around the 'net if you have the patience to look.
"Beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he deems himself your master."
...but I am not an economic type person...
Which is good because otherwise you would have remembered that the RIAA just got busted for price gauging.
It's been a long time.
Now /. is using %ages!
10% Offtopic, 10% Flamebait, 40% Funny.
Shit, this doesn't look good.
Bet it was this quote that got her shown the door -- from her million dollar per year job.
Hahahahaha bitch.
Er... "ironically" is a word.
How ironic.
I WAS going to post something along those lines; You got there first.
They havent had an original thought in a while; I bought the last couple of albums (before they came out against Napster) just on their name. They were a rehash, and BS.
Haven't bought any of their shit since then, and wont.
Truth isn't Truth - Guliani
I think that, yes, this is EXACTLY what he's saying...
If $5 is a fair price for a CD, $25 ($5 x 5) is a fair price for a movie.
DVDs already cost about this much at the store anyway, so I don't see the problem. Of course, if the MPAA decided to follow this strategy they'd probably raise their prices to be five times current CD prices rather than five times the fair price for a CD.
Who did what now?
It seems much more reasonable to assume that the MPAA has inadvertently stumbled upon a sane price-to-performance ratio, while the RIAA is apparently afflicted by some sort of bizarre space madness.
Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.
Maybe she is retiring so she can get laid.
She seems like she hasn't gotten some in a long time. (or is it just chronic PMS?)
...hey, at least she dances better than Steve Ballmer.
THE GOOD HUMOR MAN CAN ONLY BE PUSHED SO FAR
Bart Simpson on chalkboard in episode 2F18
I dj at a local independent radio station, and I can attest that they're not money-grubbing whores. And yes, the djs do it for free. I only play my own records, but in fact the station spends very little on new music because they get promo copies of everything plus people donate collections to them when they die (the fans are very devoted to the station). The funding comes in roughly equal parts from (a) public grants, (b) sponsors, and (c) listener donations.
[TMB]
There's thousands and thousands of non-RIAA CDs released each and every year. You just have to look a little harder to find them.
Actually I totally agree with you. I've even made a couple of purchases at cdbaby (horrible service and mollasses slow shipping but great selection). I was actually just amazed at how many members they did have and who some of them were. I mean, Nettwerk is the home of a number of anti-corporate indie bands. And Grateful Dead Records (and Rhino which is distributing a fair amount of Dead stuff)? That band (though I despise them) practically invented music swapping.
FWIW, of the last dozen or so CDs I've bought, of the labels that put out those albums Yep Roc Records (Mayflies USA, The Sadies and The Bigger Lovers), Secretly Canadian (Songs:Ohia), New West (2 Slobberbone records), KimChee Records (Cordelia's Dad and PeeWee Fist), Undertow Music (Jay Bennett/Ed Burch and Centro-matic/Will Johnson/South San Gabrie) and as another poster mentioned, Barsuk records, non are RIAA members. But the vast majority of people (including Slashdotters) will likely not go any further than the top 25 rack at the local Tower Records and won't be interested in any bands that they haven't heard 2000 times on their local Clear Channel owned "alternative rock" station. That said, at least they can buy the White Stripes... Sympathy For The Record Industry isn't a member either.
BFL
There's one thing computing teaches you, and that's that there's no point to remembering everything.
--Doug Copland
last post (mine)
Sex - Find It