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RIAA Dumps Unsold Inventory to Settle Anti-Trust Case
theodp writes "A music windfall promised to WA public schools and libraries from last year's $143M anti-trust settlement with the recording industry wasn't all it was cracked up to be. While WA got 115,241 music CDs out of the deal, folks aren't quite sure what to do with the odd collection, which includes 387 CDs containing explicit lyrics by Big Pun, 310 copies of Will Smith's Willenium and 48 copies of Spooky Scary Sounds for Halloween from Martha Stewart."
They could use the Big Pun CDs as part of English class and how not to speak. Classics such as "Nigga Shit", "You Was Wrong", and "Off Wit His Head" are excellent examples of poor grammar. So it's obvious that the RIAA was thinking about our school children there.
The Spooky Scary soundtrack can be used to frighten children away from prison. "Listen to Martha screaming as she is tackled by larger more 'friendly' inmates!" Again, point for the RIAA.
114 copies of Meredith Brooks' "Blurring the Edges," which includes the Grammy-nominated song, "Bitch."
It was nominated for a Grammy so it must be good! The RIAA was doing them a favor obviously.
Farley's regional district, which covers 35 school districts, received 1,355 copies of Whitney Houston singing "The Star-Spangled Banner." The hit single, which Houston sang before the 1991 Super Bowl at the height of the Gulf War, was 5 percent of the district's cache.
Yes, let's promote a current drug abuser with a husband that likes to stay in prison. That's the sort of lesson we want to be teaching our children. "Look kids, you too can be a successful musician *and* be a crackhead!"
While these examples are a small part of the 115,000 total CDs I still have to say, "way to go RIAA, you are corrupting our children with crappy music in stores, radio, and now even in the classroom! Thanks!"
I think fire is the solution.
..the kids didn't get a copy of Marthas next album..."Not Quite Spooky Sounds from Cellblock 11."
Didn't Microsoft have a similar payout in one of its settlement cases? At least people can use software, nonoby, and I mean nobody can use 300 copies of a crap CD that didn't sell very well to begin with. What a rip-off!
They might as well have sent them 10,000 AOL CDs.
what? what I thought we were in the trust tree in the nest, were we not?
Spooky Scary Sounds for Halloween is the shit! I blast that on my 15s while sippin' on 40s.
What with deranged strangers bursting into your home and smashing all of the copies they can get their hands on (before trying to induct you into their cult and sell you aluminum siding), there is always the danger that you will be without an actual copy of "Willenium" at a vital moment. I find absolutely nothing wrong with the RIAAs actions in this settlement. I just wish I could share in the windfall. I've personally purchased over 15,000 copies of "Willenium" since it's release. I'd buy 15,000 more when necessary.
See the "creativity corner" at the bottom of this page. ;)
This might keep them busy for a while
Trolling using another account since 2005.
..is why God invented handguns.
"Now listen closely children as I am forced to toss Bertha's salad. Definitely NOT a good thing."
...which was to just pay cash. But in pennies.
What do you mean?? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for schoolkids to conduct important research on compact disc aerodynamics and durability! Take them up to the roof and see how far they'll fly. See what the old magnifying-glass-in-the-sun trick does to them. Or you could lay them all down data-side up on a grass hill, turn on the hose and make a kickass Slip N' Slide!
What are they going to do with these CD's? The answer is obvious! Rip 'em and put 'em on KaZaA!!
My Quadra 950 can beat up your honor student.
If you didn't know, Creed broke up... anything else is just details.
"The truth suffers from too much analysis"
Oops. I hope my parole officer doesn't read this post.
Robert Frost's parole officer doesn't read that.
from the article:
Included in the shipment: 84 copies of an album by rhythm-and-blues artist Samantha Mumba, 69 by Lenny Kravitz and 48 copies of "Scary Sounds for Halloween" from Martha Stewart.
from Martha Stewart's "Scary Sounds for Halloween" CD, track 1:
"Ms. Stewart, SEC on line 1..."
and a win for me, now I'm totally comforted with the fact Willenium will always be on hand and ready for me to check out.
"Remember, moms, after you've returned from the English countryside with your hand picked wild pumpkins, only use platnium carving knives (available online from buymarthascrap.com) for maximum effect. Now, of course you're thriving hives out behind the pool house have led to a bumper crop of natural beeswax candles this year, so..."
There was a rumor that Stewart cut an album with Snoop Dogg or Dogg Pound or Mighty Dogg or one of those Dogg people. It's a concept album where Whatever Dogg plays Satan and Stewart is his little demoness bitch. It's called "Fook Dat Beyatch Upp!" and it's sung entirely in Aramaic with instrumental arrangements by Yani.
Maybe that one is in the collection. Or maybe it's something that floating into my brain last week when I hit my head.
--- Ban humanity.
and three more, CONTEMPT OF COURT. RIAA officials should be jailed for this bullshit until they come up with educationally significant materials, like the full catalog of classic recordings. this is like being required to post a deposit at the clerk of court's office and doing so by taking their pants down.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
All of those CD's are already in my collection. :(
Good point. I bet when SCO gets slammed by the SEC they'll settle by donating "100 million dollars worth of Linux licenses" to the US government.
If my friends ever get an RIAA suit I'll just suggest they settle, then pay in "Dave Recites Computer Code" CDs valued at $1000 each. That's 150 per violation at the full price, or only 2 if they drop it down.
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
> many of the CDs are going to troops in Iraq
"CNN and the BBC is reporting that occupation troops, fuelled by a massive wave of enthusiasm and adrenaline, have retaken all cities that had been overrun by the Sadr militias. Citizens are rejoicing in the streets, shops are open for the first time in weeks, and a butterfly was seen landing on the head of a beautiful little girl in a wheelchair. When asked for a comment, General Tommy Franks said 'Never underestimate the power of the Wu-Tang Clan. And from now on, call me by my Shaolin name 'DefSquad'." When asked for clarification of his cryptic remarks, Franks shouted "36 Chambers be lookin' for ya, al-Zarqawi! Don't be a biatch!" Franks then left in a Humvee that had been freshly pimped by West Coast Customs."
That's mostly because those of us with juvenile senses of humor repeatedly say "It's a tit bit nipply out" enough to drive the country batty.
//FIXME: Bad
So, if I were sued by the RIAA, could I give them $3000 worth of "merchandise" as payment instead of giving that stuff to Goodwill? For starters, I think my old underwear is worth $1 a pair.
I struggled for days and days and all I got was this lousy sig.
Quote the article "Part of the settlement the recording industry made with states' attorneys general was that the giveaway CDs couldn't be junk, Larson said. Titles had to be on a Billboard chart for at least 26 weeks and had to peak in the top half of the chart."
I don't know about the rest of you but I've always regarded the Billboard chart as the height of quality control. I personally was skeptical about such musical masterworks as "Rock Me Amadeus" and the timeless classic "Macarena" until I saw their prominent standings on the Billboard chart. My only hope is that the RIAA will be forced to also release the gold master special edition box sets of Vanilla Ice's "Cool As Ice" which can only be truly appreciated in 22 channel surround sound.
All the district needs to do is Google for "What to do with AOL CDs". For instance, this site.
... that if I get sued by the RIAA I can settle out of court and pay them with MP3s?
FLR
Your idea has already been taken.
In 1961 Piero Manzoni sold his own excrement in cans for more than it's weight in gold. If you want more info, google the old turd...
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
Why this could revolutionize the economy and charitable contributions. We can return to something closer to the agrarian barter system where wheat could be traded for eggs. Only this is even better!
Let's say the government decides to extract taxes from the populace... hypothetically of course, since everyone needs groceries, we can pay in groceries! But wait, the best part is that we can allow the groceries to pass through our distribution system and allow our bodies to extract all that we can from them and only have to give the government that portion of the groceries that we couldn't find a use for (I was going to say that portion we couldn't move, but the context was all wrong).
Hey! Maybe we could buy music that way too! Hmmm. Nah, doesn't make sense to trade like items.
--
As a matter of fact, I am a lawyer. But I play an actor on TV.
I've decided that one pound of my crap is worth a couple of thousand dollars.
Don't sell yourself short!! A guy got $52,000 for 30 grams of his crap - about the price of gold. Don't settle for anything less than $28,000.
HIV Crosses Species Barrier... into Muppets
They could've given them this (windows media player required, sorry).
"And a voice was screaming: 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'" - HST
What to do will 100,000-plus useless CDs?
Send them to AOL!
Remain calm! All is well!
I only had to read the first paragraph and now I have that goddamned "Mr Bojangles" tune running through my head AND I CAN'T GET RID OF IT!!!
The RIAA does not have an inventory. They are not a record label. These CD's had to come from RCA, Warner or Sony. (And from the sounds of it, possibly all of the big seven labels put some releases in.)
"Hey, Bill, this is Kathy with the RIAA. We're settling that suit... can we get 10,000 copies of Willenium? How about a few hundred thousand one song cd's of Whitney Houston singing the National Anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl? Great, I'll send a truck."
http://cassettefetish.com
Fourteen tons of tritonal explosive coupled with plastique, electronically fused. Zirconium fragments and easily-made napalm, with multiple thermite grenades attached for maximum incendiary effect.
I don't know about the potato salad thing. Last time I tried to take it out of the fridge, it kicked my ass, sued me for discrimination and negligence, and made me give it a couple of juicy tomatoes. Now it makes me pay protection on the milk. Man, I hate that potato salad.
--- This
I think the RIAA has provided a great example of how to settle a lawsuit. If I'm ever sued by the RIAA, I will offer to settle with them for a cash equivalent in my fecal matter, valued at $15.99 per ounce.
And I hope most people will read your entire comment instead of just the subject line!
"The courts did not think that the RIAA would be this sleezy."
Huh? An arm of the government run by people with law degrees and members of the bar did not think other lawyers would be sleazy?
Now that's a good one.