RIAA Writes Its Own News For Local TV

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "Did your local news recently do a two-minute clip on music copyright infringement? If so, you can thank the RIAA. They sent out a video press release to local news stations as part of their 'holiday anti-piracy campaign.' In it, they warn people that the best way to avoid counterfeit music is to avoid 'compilation CDs that could only exist in the dreams of a music fan' and to trust their ears, because illegally copied music usually sounds 'atrocious.' Instead, they encourage watchers to buy ringtones for Christmas."

Comments

who needs RIAA music?

[wikinerd]

the best way to avoid counterfeit music

is to listen to music made by independents who freely share their creations on the Internet often under Creative Commons, and reject any music made by people who are associated with big labels or the RIAA.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[RepelHistory]

I read this argument a lot on /. and it's never made a whole lot of sense to me. So I should base my choice in music based solely off of how it's distributed? I should not listen to my favorite songs to make a statement about the music industry? If people were willing to make that kind of sacrifice I doubt the major labels would be able to set music prices as high as they do and get away with it. I personally pick the bands I like based on how good they are.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[wikinerd]

So I should base my choice in music based solely off of how it's distributed?

No, you must take a more holistic view encompassing lots of variables... you should find all that matters to you about music, such as distribution, quality, lyrics, medium (CD, mp3, ogg, stream, etc), ... then decide how important each parameter is for you, and use all parameters in your evaluation, not just one. I maintain however that some parameters are worthy of much more consideration than currently enjoy by most people.

More specifically, people nowadays would even buy or listen to music created by Hitler or bin Laden if it were good. But music is a kind of communication, and you should take into account who created each piece of music and why. You should prefer to listen to music created by ethical people who respect you (and this respect is shown with a licence such as Creative Commons).

If people were willing to make that kind of sacrifice

If people were willing to make that kind of intelligent choices and stick to them they would be free. Because they aren't, other people enslave them in various ways (of variable ethical acceptance).

However just because the other people aren't willing to take such choices, it doesn't mean that you should also not do so. People must be individuals, not cattle following one another.

I personally pick the bands I like based on how good they are.

How do you define good? Is music created by people who don't respect their audience good?

I once knew a band... they went to a big record company and gave them their music to listen... the manager then told them "kids, you are good, but this music won't sell as it is - if you change it in such and such way we can discuss a contract". The band disagreed and told all their friends how bad the big companies are. They don't just select the good bands, they actively force the bands to change their music. They don't let them just create anything they want the way they want it, they tell them "your music must be louder" or "your music must have more beat". This destroys the art in the music.

Music is a kind of communication... the musician communicates their inner emotions and mind states to you through the music. If someone communicates with you in order to make you pay that's not art. If they communicate what they really want to express, then this is art. Many people today think that buying an audio CD means buying something to listen to and feel happy. That's not music, that's sound... it may make people feel happy but it isn't true art. Music is an art and expression, it allows people communicate emotions and mind states, and it isn't something you can change to make it more popular.

If you listen to an audio CD produced by a person who signed a contract with a megacorp and they let them tell them how to make their music more "saleable", then you don't listen to music (expression), you listen to some sounds designed to make you feel happy. If that's what you want to listen to, then it's okay. But please call it sound, not music. If, however, you want to listen to true music in the sense that you want to be the recipient of the expression of the emotional mind state of the musician, then you should listen to music produced by people who express exactly what they feel without changing it to suit the audience. These people are the independents, either on the Internet or offline. Most of them give their music (their communication) to you for no payment, often under free licences such as Creative Commons. A few of them may not know some technical aspects of music creation, but overall their music is better and more genuine since it is produced with love.

And although most independents make their music freely available, there is nothing wrong with making money in some way as well. I don't say that all music should be gratis (no pay). I say that it is more human and more genuine to g

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[UMNbandgeek]

people nowadays would even buy or listen to music created by Hitler or bin Laden if it were good. Judging by the crap people listen to these days, they'd probably still buy it if it were bad.

Assholes

[Sciros]

I love how "compilation CDs" can "only exist in the dreams of a music fan" because like hell will they ever actually give music fans something they dream of having. Hell now, that's something only filthy PIRATES do!

Yeah, they really convinced me, I'm buying ringtones from now on, people.

Re:Assholes

[Samgilljoy]

Does this mean millions of lovesick teens will be arrested for making mix CDs for their girlfriends? "Baby, this music expresses how I feel. If you fell like I do, please write to me during the next ten years, while I'm in Music Pirate Prison (TM)."

Re:Assholes

[Bert64]

Yes, the RIAA won't provide customers with something so desirable they dream about it...
So these customers have to turn to piracy to get what they want.

Re:Assholes

[CodeBuster]

I'm buying ringtones from now on, people.

Yes, but just think of all those great-sounding legal ringtones playing over a $0.10 paper cone cell phone speaker, surely the burned "pirate" mix cd playing on my stereo system doesn't sound half as good because everyone knows that "pirated" music sounds atrocious...yeah right.

Disparity

[Anonymous Coward]

"compilation CDs that could only exist in the dreams of a music fan"

So what are they saying here? They know exactly what their fans "dream" about and they aren't selling that? Why not? What possible sense could it make to refrain from selling their target audience the products for which there is maximal demand?

Pirated music sounds atrocious? If so why is it so popular?

Re:Disparity

[Psmylie]

So, 'compilation CDs that could only exist in the dreams of a music fan' also sound atrocious. So, according to the RIAA, music fans must desire atrocious music. This explains everything!

Obviously, I must not be a music fan, then. Everything I listen to voluntarily sounds pretty darned good :)

Re:Disparity

[TubeSteak]

So what are they saying here? They know exactly what their fans "dream" about and they aren't selling that? Why not? What possible sense could it make to refrain from selling their target audience the products for which there is maximal demand? Because ownership of music is often complicated, the record label may not have (or be granted) the necessary rights to publish a kick-ass compilation.

And sometimes they just want to sell box sets.

Re:Disparity

[hkmarks]

If you can tell pirated music by the sound quality alone, I guess I should delete all the garage band stuff I got from MP3.com.

"You get what you pay for"
"Watch for compilation CDs that could only exist in the dreams of a music fan"

So... um... a wicked compilation that's cheap... or a sucky CD that's expensive... You know, I thought "You get what you pay for" meant something different, but I'm glad to know I can stop overpaying for stuff now.

Re:Disparity

[noidentity]

"compilation CDs that could only exist in the dreams of a music fan"

So what are they saying here? They know exactly what their fans "dream" about and they aren't selling that? Why not?

Because the part that makes this a dream only is the reasonable price.

Atrocious??

[neuro.slug]

So they're saying we should avoid the allegedly "atrocious" quality of pirated CDs and buy ringtones? I don't know about you, but there are few things more hellish and foul than a 30-second clip of a song encoded at 64kbps playing through a mobile phone speaker.

Re:Atrocious??

[Stanislav_J]

I don't know about you, but there are few things more hellish and foul than a 30-second clip of a song encoded at 64kbps playing through a mobile phone speaker.

Maybe the loud, obnoxious, personal conversation that follows?

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

What?

[neochubbz]

[I]llegally copied music usually sounds 'atrocious.' Instead, they encourage watchers to buy ringtones for Christmas. What kind of double speak is this?

Gvie the people what they want

[sbillard]

From TFS:

avoid 'compilation CDs that could only exist in the dreams of a music fan'

Why aren't these compilations legally available?
If they recognize it is in the "dreams" of their customers, why not give the people what they want?

I used to DJ as a hobby and am proud to say my mixtapes were a big hit among friends. These compilations were fun to make, fun to listen to, and got people exposed to some music they otherwise would've missed or ignored.

The recording industry, the labels, the RIAA, even many of today's "artists" are completely out of touch with their fans and customers. It is stunning and sad.

Wow, I suggest watching the movie. . .

[ookabooka]

I have so many things I'd like to say but I hate ranters so I'll keep it brief. I'm not supporting piracy but I don't think two wrongs make a right, only three lefts. I sure hope the RIAA paid local news stations to air this thing, because if they used some sort of professional courtesy agreement I would truly loath their propaganda strategies (even more). I love how they attacked the quality of the CD's, "atrocious" sounding? What a load of bull, I guess these guys aren't really into the way in which digital information theory works (Perfect copies) so they blatantly lie. Oh sure some yahoo could transcode to mp3, real audio, vorbis, then CD and have something that sounds like crap, but I'd think any mildly professional pirate would know this.

Most of all I'm just sick of all the time the RIAA is wasting on this, I think it's quite inevitable that this propaganda won't do anything, I hope they know it too. VHS, cassette tapes. . .all these new technologies gets the industry to wig out over. Imagine if the RIAA spent time on investigating new ways of utilizing the internet and digital information instead of fighting this. If it starts to rain in the desert you shouldn't try to spend every penny you have on keeping your bottled water business afloat.

Huh

[Quiet_Desperation]

because illegally copied music usually sounds 'atrocious.'

Well, all *my* illegally copied music sounds just fine.

And I'd sooner go back to wax cylinders and magnetic wires than give them another fucking penny, so find a different tree to bark up, RIAA.

Hey, I just noticed you can't spell "a pirate" without RIAA! Yeah, I'm kinda slow.

Re:So, stop bitching

[ByOhTek]

Why fight to listen to something that is of low quality anyway? Independents make better music because they love what they do!

Hmm, you have flawed logic in there.

Why fight to listen to something that is of low quality anyway
Actually, there's some good groups in RIAA associated groups. Granted it's not as easy to find as it once was, but it exists.

Independents make better music because they love what they do!
Heh, I like to sing. I can guarantee you don't want to hear me sing. Liking, even loving to do something, doesn't mean you are good at it. So far, most of the independent music I've hear around here sucks horribly, and most even comes out worse than the bottom of the barrel in the RIAA crowd. The last set I went to was horrible. Only one group had potential, then the lead singer opened his mouth and started spewing the most retarded lyrics I have ever heard, with one of the worst singing (shouting?) voices I had ever heard.

Re:Of course!

[Beardo the Bearded]

Your sig should read:

Any sufficiently advanced malice is indistinguishable from incompetence.

Re:Unbiased News Sources

[Bryansix]

It's not that News posted to Slashdot is not biased. It is that people can comment on that bias and point it out that makes Slashdot great.

Re:So, stop bitching

[Sciros]

Face it, we're geeks, are faces weren't exactly pretty to begin with, it's not like we have much to loose if we get hit there once or twice... Speak for yourself buddy, I'm a studly geek.

They're saying "if it's good it must be pirate!"

[Joce640k]

At least that's the way I understood it it.

Buyers should be looking for the bad, expensive CDs with only one good track on them. That's the only way to ensure an officially sanctioned product.

Re:Ringtones?

[Valiss]

What gets me are the people that pay $1.99 for a 30 second sound clip when the entire song is on iTunes for $.99!

Market Failure

[chihowa]

So you are saying that, unless something is offerred for sale at some arbitrarily "fair" price, it's a market failure? These "compilation CDs that could only exist in the dreams of a music fan" are not available through legal (they claim) channels, though, at any price. The only way to obtain a product that, as the industry describes it, is a music fan's dream is through the black market. That sounds like a market failure to me.

Ignoring the whole issue of fair use here...

Re:Of course!

[CodeBuster]

The RIAA is just about the only business entity that I can think of that is dead set against giving consumers what they want and sues their customers when they try and satisfy that want on their own.

Re:cts's holiday guide to ripping off the riaahole

[Anonymous Coward]

Or, you could save yourself the hours of trouble and buy the damn thing for $10. Don't you people value your time or do you really get off on coming up with convoluted ways of getting crap music for free?

Re:So, stop bitching

[CodeBuster]

The problem is that most people just do what they want with their DVDs and CDs until somebody knocks on their door with a service for a lawsuit. It then shocks people to find out that what they have being doing all along is technically not lawful (i.e. using the burning software that came with the Dell PC for Christmas last year to burn mix CDs for their friends and family). It doesn't occur to them that there is even a problem until it smacks them upside the head like a big wet fish. Remember, it took a campaign of ridiculous lawsuits against grandmothers and children to even make file-sharing a blip on their consumer radar and people continue to do it anyway. People are working hard enough just to make ends meet these days without worrying about an esoteric, to them anyway, issue like copyright. You might as well discuss the relative merits of method delegates vs inner classes with your garbage men for all of the interest you will generate by pushing this issue in public. Their eyes just glaze over when you mention DRM, DMCA, and other technical jargon in response to why they cannot make a copy of that Disney DVD on VHS so that their kids can destroy it without damaging the source DVD.

Re:So, stop bitching

[IdeaMan]

Yes we are geeks. Let's do what we're good at. We can create an entirely new media system to publish music not offered by the RIAA. Online music ratings systems to popularize music to people with common interests, wireless access points streaming user chosen programming, valuable and anonymous IP traffic, USB key exchange programs.
Let them squeeze.
The more you tighten your grip, RIAA, the more customers will slip through your fingers.

Re:They're saying "if it's good it must be pirate!

[Anonymous Coward]

They're saying "if it's good it must be pirate!"

Yes, and that's true. Once again this Christmas I'll be looking forward to the compilation CDs the kids make most of all. At least they put some personal time and thought into it instead of just going and buying some crap, and I know it won't be laden with malware.

Phew! I'm safe!

[delirium28]

'compilation CDs that could only exist in the dreams of a music fan' and to trust their ears, because illegally copied music usually sounds 'atrocious.'

Thank god! My dream compilation CD's all sound great, so they must not be illegal copies. Thank goodness for bad logic!

Re:Of course!

[Anonymous Coward]

There are, in fact, very few artists who can produce a consistently good album from first track to last.

Bullshit. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands. Most of 'em just don't happen to be on RIAA labels, is all.