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RIAA Co-Opts More Universities
southpolesammy writes "The Register reports that six more US Universities and colleges have agreed to enter into protection schemes with the RIAA. In short, several institutions have signed deals with the RIAA's lapdog, the Napster music service, to 'goad these schools toward becoming music brokers'. The underlying threat of being sued by the RIAA if they don't pay them off is almost certainly the driving force behind their acceptance of this scheme. And of course, there's the ever-present gag order they'll probably enforce on these new universities as well. Great business model guys. Way to engender yourselves to your biggest customer base."
From the article: "If Napster would be more forthcoming, we'd all know exactly how much this "service" is going to affect university prices.
Great, tuition at places like Cornell wasn't high enough. Now they're going to charge MORE because I'll get to download music without being sued? Sign me up twice!
I was in the park the other day wondering why frisbees get bigger and bigger the closer they get - and then it hit me.
It's funny when people say the RIAA is insulting their "customer base." People who illegally pirate copyrighted materials aren't customers.
And it's silly that the article summary tries to paint this as evil. It's supposed to be bad that the RIAA is trying to offer a legal alternative (you know, the "new business model" we hear being postulated here all the time) and give the university a way out of being sued for illegal activities. If the RIAA went ahead and sued, they'd also be criticized. Obviously the only thing that would make the submitter happy is if the RIAA sat by and did nothing while college students illegally downloaded their materials. Pirating music without paying for it is bad, right? I guess I was raised with a different set of morals--one that lacked a neverending sense of entitlement.