RIAA, This Is Earth, Please Come In!

ccnull writes "You might remember George Ziemann as the musician who found his own music banned from eBay because it was recorded on CD-R. Now he's back with a new rant about the RIAA's statistics, which blame piracy for the dire condition of the music industry. What's to blame? Price hikes and fewer titles. The latest rant (including analysis of the RIAA's own data) is mainly circulating by email, here's a readable link. (As an interesting side note, Ziemann says that songs are really just ads for CDs, and thus should be freely traded.)"

Comments

An odd side note

[Anonymous Coward]

is to see where "RIAA" ends up on an list of recent alta vista search queries.

I have no CD-Rs

[Anonymous Coward]

In fact, I have no computer. I'm writing you this from the year 1827, where these things have not yet been invented.

People of 2003, hear my warning. In my arrogance, I meddled with things that Man was never intended to use.

My blind stupidity has damned us all. I created a steam powered robot-Negro, and it will destroy the entire wheat-crop of the South!

My only chance for humanity lies with a swarthy Portugese pirate. Known as "cabeza de luna," or 'meat-beard' in English, this stalwart has no respect for the laws of haberdashy, or my crotch.

In closing, your offer was rejected. We hope that you will still consider us the next time you decide that you need aluminum siding.

Yours,

Eli Whitney, aka "The Human Knuckle"

Idiot moderators!

[jonr]

Take a look at that link before you moderate, you idiot!
J.

Re:yup

[Anonymous Coward]

Well when does it become unethical to terminate a pregnancy?

Re:yup

[Anonymous Coward]

All of a sudden file sharers are now baby killers.

Re:yup

[Anonymous Coward]

at 18 years

Re:yup

[Anonymous Coward]

My point was

"Well it's a huge gray area isn't it?"

not

"Stealing mp3s == baby killer"

and furthermore, you're calling abortion baby killing? So stealing is OK but abortion is wrong? I'd love to see the ethical system that justifies this load of horse shit

Re:yup

[Anonymous Coward]

All of a sudden file sharers are now baby killers

No, the comparison was being made to "terminating a pregnancy," not to "killing babies."

I do believe slashdotters are finally waking up

[almound]

****Here's what I wrote a few centuries back (11/02):

Reading the replies here, I begin to see now why the tech bust hasn't been over long ago. If you let the company use you like a whore, you will be treated like the whore that you are and you shouldn't expect any better treatment. Unfortunately, the replies to this inquiry confirm that some people don't mind being scabs (i.e. temp workers brought in to obviate the need to hire workers full-time).

Consulting is one thing, but I draw the line when the client is the company that layed me off in the first place ... then discover that they really do need somebody around to actually do the work (an indian, not a chief). And as for consulting, well, the fees are pretty stiff.

We made a ton of money back during the 90's. Use the freedom that that doe gives you to resist this kind of exploitation. I do.

Otherwise, it will just be more of the same old, same old. You can count on it. Stop being a whore and think like a responsible human being. Make the companies understand that there are consequences for their actions. That when they hire you, it is a partnership which requires some responsibility to you on their part.

Stop acting like a co-dependent spouse (you know ... "battered spouse" syndrome). Have a little self-respect, otherwise the tech industry will never develop into a profession, on a par with other engineers and architects.

****But my words were all in vain ... and now those who wouldn't listen are chiming in, agreeing with me when I wrote (02/03):

The honeymoon is over, people. Unfortunately, I am coming to the realization that the battle is lost already.

...

I was a fairly well-paid computer professional from 1994 through 2000. But a sickness overtook the computer industry. It is a sickness imposed by forces which during the same time period tried to impose similar types of maladies on the health care and legal professions. Unfortunately, the computer industry (being in its infancy) was more susceptible than the others. Without strong professional organization and fraught by endemic sabotage by mega-corporations from within, the computer industry was doomed to succumb.

Currently, I am enrolled in a mathematics course of study which will degree me in Statistics, and am changing my profession out of the computer technology field altogether. For those still brave enough to tough it out under the current conditions:

May God have mercy on your souls.

****Read 'em and weep, people. Or else, organize. But you're too cool to be doing that. So, go code yerself an egg.

However, you may still be asleep.

[teamhasnoi]

I think you posted this in the wrong thread. ;)

Audioslave

[Anonymous Coward]

I would pay $10 for the Audioslave cd.

I pirate movies and music....

[Anonymous Coward]

and I feel damn good about it!

terminology

[MORTAR_COMBAT!]

No, the comparison was being made to "terminating a pregnancy," not to "killing babies."

My wife and I are both pro-choice, but dress it up however you want and "terminating a pregnancy" would still equal "killing babies". If you're pro-choice and don't accept that fact, you're deluding yourself.

Re:terminology

[miracle69]

Terminating a pregnancy happens all the time. Pro-Choice and Pro-Life are not against Terminating Pregnancies.

Pro-Lifer's are only against Terminating Pregnancies in the first 2 trimesters.

Pregnancies that are Terminated in the third trimester are called "birth".

Re:yup

[KiahZero]

Yeah, I'm against abortion, mostly because if my natural mother had believed in it, I would never have been born

Bzzt. Wrong. Try again... nice argument, though. Your fallacy occurs where you try to say that anyone who is not against abortion (note: that does not correlate to being 'for abortion') has abortions all the time. This is obviously not the case, because I can say for certain that while I support the right of a woman to choose, I will never have an abortion. The Y chromosome tends to keep it from ever being necessary.