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

you mean like Mothership?

[croddy]

Hmmm... compilations... Track list encompassing exactly the finest output of Led Zeppelin... check Mastered so hot it sounds atrocious... check SOMEONE RING UP ATLANTIC. LED ZEPPELIN HAS BEEN PIRATED.

Re:you mean like Mothership?

[Anonymous Coward]

Holy crap! How'd the pirates get the grappling hooks up to the dirigible?

Re:you mean like Mothership?

[jigjigga]

Nailed it!

Re:you mean like Mothership?

[Swampash]

You're already at +5, but kudos to you sir. Very nice :)

Re:you mean like Mothership?

[larpon]

OMG you just hammered through the lameness/caps -filter!

Gah.

[gardyloo]

The video then shows iTunes digital album gift cards and a cell phone, for which you can buy Christmas-themed ring tones. God bless us, every one.

Re:Gah.

[ArcherB]

The video then shows iTunes digital album gift cards and a cell phone, for which you can buy Christmas-themed ring tones. God bless us, every one. If someone buys me friggin ringtones for Christmas, I'm gonna be PISSED! Save your money and make me card made from macaroni!

Re:Gah.

[Killjoy_NL]

heh if only we could find out a way to code a torrent file in macaroni for on a card, that would rock :D

(and I think some of us here can do that)

Re:Gah.

[shark72]

"I never understood why you would *buy* a friggin ringtone. Most phones these days have usb plugs built in, or an transflash slot. A little sound editing and some technical jiggery-pokery later, and you have WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT as a ringtone."

I have no doubt that all of your friends are not only capable of the technical jiggery and the pokery, it's actually your hobby. You just love you some technical jiggery, particularly when it's with a side of pokery.

Next time you're at Walgreens, look at five people (your friends don't count, assuming you pulled your friends away from their jiggery and/or pokery sessions to get them to come with you to Walgreens). Any five people. The middle-aged cashier. The jailbait playing with the lipstick. The creepy guy in the photo section. These people just don't have the jiggery/pokery aptitude necessary to roll their own ringtones. Okay, maybe the creepy guy in the photo section does. But those other four people: they're the ones who are buying ringtones.

It's like that other question that boggles a lot of Slashdotters: why would anybody *buy* a friggen TiVo when with some spare computer parts, an IR blaster, a Linux distro and five troy ounces of jiggery/pokery, they could build their own? Sure, it smells like burned solder and you had to recompile the kernel a few times (the secret is "patch -pl -jiggery -pokery"), it doesn't have that cool lighting or the nice case or that bee-boop sound when you push the buttons, but you're STANDING UP to the MAN.

"Best thing in the world to get a phone call in a public area to have your phone shout, "My anus is bleeding...""

Interestingly enough, that's exactly what the creepy guy in the Walgreens photo section was shouting, too.

Re:Gah.

[Sorthum]

Oh man-- it's not every day I actually chortle at /. Well played, sir. Well played.

Re:Gah.

[vertinox]

Any five people. The middle-aged cashier. The jailbait playing with the lipstick. The creepy guy in the photo section. These people just don't have the jiggery/pokery aptitude necessary to roll their own ringtones. Okay, maybe the creepy guy in the photo section does. But those other four people: they're the ones who are buying ringtones.

Actually, I'd argue only the jailbait is buying ringtones. The middle age cashier wouldn't be willing to pay $2.50 for a damn ringer when they are getting paid close to minimum wage.

In reality, just because they don't roll their own ringtones doesn't mean they buy ringtones at all. My parents have enough trouble changing the ones that come with the phone much less figure out how to use iTunes or Verizon store. The problem is that $2.50 is too much for people that can't see the value of having a fashionable ringtone.

Re:Gah.

[squiggleslash]

The irony is that he's right for the wrong reasons, reasons you highlight fairly well. The GP is enough of a geek not to realize that most phones are capable of recording ringtones through their microphone, and it's usually no more complicated to do so than it would be to go to the trouble of buying downloading one, possibly easier.

The technical objection - that "recording through the microphone" results in awful sound quality - is actually for once entirely irrelevant as no matter how high a quality recording you have, when it's played as a ring tone it usually sounds awful anyway.

So I don't really understand why people buy ringtones either. I suspect it's the fun of browsing for things on the web and buying them, rather than any technical ignorance on the part of the people who do.

Re:Gah.

[jhol13]

It is convenience.

I am sure I could, quite easily, download a ringtone to my mobile.

But I am certain I could not mix it to sound as nice as the paid version. And I am also extremely certain paying a buck once a year or so is not going to ruin my balance.

I really, really do not care whether the price is zero (DIY) or one lousy euro.

Re:Gah.

[Fordiman]

Dude. Fucking bra-vo. No sarcasm, I am officially pwned.

Re:Gah.

[Fordiman]

>_>

Ownage aside...

A trans flash card doesn't require much jiggery or pokery - just a USB stick.

I have no friend of similar geek caliber to myself, but when any of them want something that does require jiggery and/or pokery, they come to me. These days, I run under the assumption that the proliferation of geekiness has reached a concentration at which most people have a geek friend capable of a little Audacity/USB card wrangling, especially among the lipstick-jailbait sort.

I would not suggest building your own TiVo; licensing issues aside, that particular task requires a dose of jiggery most geeks can't produce, and I don't even want to think about the pokery.

The middle aged, in my experience, fall into three distinct and relatively equal populations of geek level: The inept, probably couldn't figure out how to do anything more than dial a cellphone, let alone buy a ringtone for it; The expert, for whom a custom ringtone is just a free-time project; the dilitante: who buy ringtones.

Still, I remain in awe of the awesomeness with which you hilariously tore me a new one.

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?

[calebt3]

Who needs music at all?

I am fine w/background music in my games.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[idontgno]

I am fine w/background music in my games.

Which you downloaded offa bittorrent...

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[Derek Loev]

Or if you're into stuff like Phish or Dave Matthews Band there's whole communities based around the idea that people go to their shows and legally tape the live performances and then put them out so you can torrent them. While the quality is never going to be as good as a soundboard release it's definitely a good alternative.

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?

[Lunarsight]

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. Amen. There's a ton of good music out there with no strings attached.

Try www.jamendo.com and www.last.fm, for starters.

For Last FM, go here - it lists a bunch of artists of every genre that give their songs/albums away freely:

http://www.last.fm/group/Free+mp3+and+albums+list

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?

[RepelHistory]

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.

First you advocate a holistic approach to selecting music, and then you come right back and slam all music that is produced by a major label for bowing to the whims of their corporate masters - and since you have no idea of knowing the creative process of any particular artist, you have no idea which ones have been influenced artistically by the producers - the only solution to ensure that you are receiving unfiltered artistic communication is to label anything produced by a major label as "sound" and dismiss it as without any value. Since most musicians are likely unaware of any means of distributing their music outside the major labels, you are closing yourself off to a huge percentage of music created in this country out of the fear that it might just be "sound," and not "music."

Keep in mind that most people - myself, an artist, included - don't expose themselves to art (theatre, music, cinema, whatever) to experience the emotions the artist is trying to communicate. People want to be entertained, and any message the artist is trying to convey would be lost anyway if the audience were not entertained. I personally don't see why I should not allow myself to experience some art that might entertain me just because I don't approve of what I assume the artist's creative process to be. And yes, I do call it art, because who am I to judge how another artist goes about his work?

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[drspliff]

I do this and most of my friends do also...

However, most of the people I know that buy music from artists on labels that are members of the RIAA buy it because they are really great music artists and that's the only way they can get the music legally.

The small percentage of other people I know that buy music from artists who's labels are members of the RIAA really don't have a clue and from some perspective I consider them to have bad taste - falling for marketing and hype and making up the "stupid" majority that contribute most to the top-40 hit list.

Nuff said...

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.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[Oligonicella]

"...in the sense that currently less than 1% of musicians and audience members understand these issues in this or similar ways..."

Translation: Don't think as I do. You're being pompous when you make that statement, grammatically placing yourself in the 1% of the enlightened. Tell you what, bro'. I just bought 3 CDs of Evanescence and it's art, regardless of your effette attitude.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[MidnightBrewer]

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

It can be, yes. If moral values dictated the quality of a person's art, then art as we know it would probably never have evolved. Good artists can also love the music, or the art, or whatever, and merely see the audience as a necessary evil. If the music isn't received well, then the artist is just as likely to blame the audience for being ignorant as they are for blaming themselves for creating bad music.

Even the most well-intended artists who really want to connect with their audience and find people who love their music as much as they do may not be the best contract negotiators. Artists are not well known for managing themselves well, and people good at managing are not always considered the most artistic people in the world. Many artists who have entered into these kinds of contracts may have thought they were necessary evils at the time and that they would win free of them later once they'd made it big. However, real life isn't always that clear cut, an the people who are writing the contracts know how to make them stick. Hence the current culture and the power of the recording labels.

Do you think this is new? Michelangelo is one of the most famous artists of all times, but was notoriously anti-social, was only able to make his art because of the sponsorship of powerful patrons, and still managed to die in poverty after a long and successful career.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[rkanodia]

You listen to Evanescence and you're accusing someone else of having an effete attitude? I guess it really does take all kinds...

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[ghyd]

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). As a musician, I'm astonished by this relationship to music. To have proper examples, could you rate those albums with your method so I can consider which one(s) to enjoy:

Ojos de Brujo, Vengue
Ustad Mohammad Omar, Virtuoso from Afghanistan
Zhou Yu, Master of the chinese Erhu
Hamza el din, al oud
Van Morrison, Moondance
Tricky, Maxinquaye
Alton Ellis, Cry Tough

Suzuki and bcj, Membra Jesu Nostri buxwv 75
François samson, Debussy: Préludes, Images etc

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[Machtyn]

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. And that's just it. The major labels aren't able to set the prices as high as they do and get away with it anymore. People are choosing other avenues of distribution to obtain their music, whether it's piracy, iTunes (and the like), direct purchase, or actively avoiding RIAA content. The major labels are attempting to hold control over all distribution and trying to keep prices high, but failing miserably by not listening to their customers and making 'compilation CDs that could only exist in the dreams of a music fan'; and, more importantly, not adapting to market trends and distribution methods.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[Actually, I do RTFA]

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).

Can the bullshit. Creative Commons is about giving up intellectual property rights because you feel the copyright system is broken. It has nothing to do with ethics. Some artists choose to retain their rights, some don't. The ones who don't show respect are the ones who hide rootkits on their CDs. Heck, I'm not even convinced if DRM (if clearly labeled at purchase time) is a morally bad thing to do, but I'm still on the fence about that.

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

Oh no, a company tried to make money. It must be an evil conspiracy!!!

Companies don't make art, they make products. Sometimes a product is art, sometimes art is a product, but usually they don't go together.

Also, being forced to work within constraints often produces superior art.

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 give it under a free licence, outside the large buareucracies of RIAA et al, and then accept donations, or sell some other sort of product associated with the music.

Very generous of you. I don't see why musicians shouldn't get paid for their music, as opposed to begging for support or selling t-shirts.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[ceoyoyo]

Well, I don't buy mined diamonds because of the company in charge. So long as you're not willing to make a sacrifice the music industry pretty much has you over a barrel.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

May sound a bit utopian... and yes it is, in the sense that currently less than 1% of musicians and audience members understand these issues in this or similar ways... but it could work if more people were willing to think like this.

Eugenics 'could work' if everyone agreed on it, that doesn't make it the right way to do things. Your comments are just asinine. I apologize, I'm usually more polite when I disagree; but seriously. I can't think of another way to describe it. Your viewpoint seems to be either publish your music exactly as you envision it, or it can't possibly be real music/art. What, then, of someone who has a friend critique his work, and the friend says "It sounds ok, but it would be better if..." Is it no longer music? Or is /that/ ok -- just not what a person experienced in the industry makes those requests. What if an author's wife tells her husband that the book is great, but it would be better if he made just a couple of changes? What if instead of his wife, it was his editor? His publisher? Is it still a book then, or just a random heap of words between two covers?

Me, I'm of a simpler viewpoint. Art has two parts -- what the performer brings to it and what the listener does. In your case, I can almost pity you - with such narrow beliefs as yours, you are missing out on a lot of fine music. As you say, to you such a modified performance would only be sound -- for you bring nothing else to the table. But don't state your stunted views as a universal truth. We get enough of that from the politicians.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[dosun88888]

Step 1: Watch Dead Poet's Society
Step 2: Rewrite your initial paragraph

There is no step 3.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[Gordonjcp]

Good point actually - in the UK, the film industry local MAFIAA-equivalent are playing the "Knockoff Nigel" anti-piracy ads. "Knockoff Nigel buys knockoff DVDs", don'cha know?

How many films that have come out in the past couple of years are knockoffs? Sequels, remakes or sequels of remakes, or indeed remakes of sequels. Not an original frame in the lot of it.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[shutdown -p now]

More specifically, people nowadays would even buy or listen to music created by Hitler or bin Laden if it were good.

Hitler has painted a few nice things in his early days as an artist. I happen to like them. Do you seriously believe it is unethical of me to do so?

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[eldepeche]

I guess the rest of us who listen to decent music are screwed.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[Mateo_LeFou]

I was inclined to agree with you once, but then I saw a great joint press conference with FEMA and the RIAA, and I'm now convinced that no one makes music unless they're convinced it will make them millions.

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[bigstrat2003]

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. This simply isn't true. Music is nothing more than arrangement of pitches. There's nothing inherently artistic about it. Music can be viewed artistically, of course, but music is not in itself artistic. There's no reason (apart from your bias) that music should be called something else if it lacks artistic value (according to your definition, which, I might add, isn't the only one possible).

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[mlinksva]

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).

Here, here! Just like software.

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.

Re:Assholes

[Anonymous Coward]

>If you fell like I do, please write to me

or sign my cast, and I'll sign yours.

Re:Assholes

[Fulcrum of Evil]

Well, if it's random pop music, of course it sounds awful. How many people pirate Info Society compared to Kfed?

Re:Assholes

[morkil]

1. Make a set of crappy CDs
2. Wait until teh p1rat3s make a good compilation CD
3. Sue some customers
4. ...
5. Profit!

Re:Assholes

[dgatwood]

One word: GIGO.

Re:Assholes

[Stormwatch]

Well, if it's random pop music, of course it sounds awful. How many people pirate Info Society compared to Kfed?

True, but I heard that Information Society's new album has been selling pretty well. And it's indeed very good, by the way.

Re:Assholes

[Steauengeglase]

And the cycle of addiction continues.

Re:Assholes

[roguetrick]

I sure hope it does.

Of course!

[Wylfing]

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

Of course such things must be counterfeit. Everybody knows that the RIAA companies would never ever produce something that music fans would actually demand. 100% all good songs on an album, you've got to be kidding me!

Re:Of course!

[Beardo the Bearded]

Your sig should read:

Any sufficiently advanced malice is indistinguishable from incompetence.

Re:Of course!

[MightyMartian]

There are, in fact, very few artists who can produce a consistently good album from first track to last. It was Phil Spector that once famously observed that albums are two or three good songs and a bunch of filler. He was, of course, much more of a singles producer, much more interested in producing hit songs than hit albums.

There are a few acts out there that can make interesting albums, but when it comes to Britney Spears and that ilk, they simply don't have the talent to do it, and the album really is a few hits surrounded by a bunch of garbage. Because the single was all but killed by the end of the 1980s, this is the only music distribution they have.

That is until the Internet, but because the record companies so thoroughly have fucked that up, they're now stuck with an overpriced format that's largely unlistenable junk, and have declared such a tremendous war on consumers that the obvious route of again going back in time to selling singles is a door they simply refuse to open.

They are unimaginative dinosaurs, a pack of accountants and lawyers (whatever happened to the old A&R guys and producers who actually had some independence). These guys don't understand music, to them an album should function like any economic widget, and they have so muddied the water with people who have no business even being in a studio that now people are increasingly unwilling to pay their artificially high CD prices and want the few actually good songs the industry really produces.

I think the most telling thing isn't the complaints of younger artists, but of older artists who have been in the business for decades now. Paul McCartney, who has probably made more money for EMI through the Beatles and his solo work, than most of these crap bands they have now, thinks that the company is old and staid.

Unfortunately governments, rather than recognizing that no amount of legislation can ever keep an out-moded business model alive, have been bought by RIAA and its various international act-alikes, and thus rather than politicians saying "Look, solve your own problem." are allowing the record industry to drive further down the road of absolute extinction.

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:Of course!

[Cervantes]

Joke:   ->
You:     O
        /|\
        / \

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.

Re:Of course!

[bill_kress]

The story was referring to compilation CDs which are by different artists.

It would be easy to pull together such a CD, they don't want to because for each good song they sell, they want to promote a couple of their crappy artists of the week.

Ever notice the top 100 for everything since the early 1990s has been full of shit some record company pushed down our collective throat?

Lately I just listen to Coverville (http://coverville.com/) . Give it a month, if you're not hooked, I'll personally give you your money back.

Re:Of course!

[Wylfing]

It's supposed to be a badly-done mashup of sayings: Arthur C. Clarke's "Any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic" and (some anonymous coward's) "Never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence."

Re:Of course!

[Quantam]

John Doe thinks:

"Illegal music sounds horrible...
This music I got from BitTorrent doesn't sound horrible...
This music must not be illegal."

Foot, meet gun.

Re:Of course!

[Entropius]

The other one that comes readily to mind is cell phone carriers.

Re:Of course!

[coast215]

There are a few acts out there that can make interesting albums, but when it comes to Britney Spears and that ilk, they simply don't have the talent to do it, and the album really is a few hits surrounded by a bunch of garbage.

So if I read this correctly, you are saying your a big fan of Britney Spears?

Re:Of course!

[kaizokuace]

the problem is does it really cost more to produce a good song? I mean you can write one song just as you write another. I mean some genre's of music would be harder to write because they require great classical knowledge or whatever. But an awesome punk song is just as easy to write as a shitty one. It's only 3 chords ever! So putting shitty songs with one good track on an album is confusing to me!

Re:Of course!

[ceoyoyo]

Mmm... any monopoly/oligopy/cartel tends to do that. The drug industry sells you crack cut with whatever they have under the sink at the time, Microsoft sells us Windows and the music industry sells us Britney albums.

So, stop bitching

[ByOhTek]

and start fighting.

Why doesn't the EFF release a press release occasionally, like this, mentioning the things being done by the [MP|RI]AA to inform the consumers about fair use, laws going into effect and how they will affect us, asking people to contact their reps, etc.?

Lets stop blocking and start punching a bit. 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...

Re:So, stop bitching

[wikinerd]

Lets stop blocking and start punching a bit.

There is of course another solution: Stop listening to music RIAA is associated with and instead only listen to music made by independents who freely share their work under Creative Commons and other licences on the net.

Why fight to listen to something that is of low quality anyway? Independents make better music because they love what they do! And if you want to thank them you can always offer them a donation.

Re:So, stop bitching

[Jaysyn]

What's wrong with groups that aren't part of the RIAA?

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: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.

Re:So, stop bitching

[djasbestos]

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.

Depends where you're coming from...there were quite a few righteously bodacious bands in my locale (til they broke up due to graduating college, infighting, etc). I think a lot of indie bands suffer from a low budget and lack of production skills like mixing and mastering. I'm fairly good at DIY, but I'm in electronic music, which is WAY easier to produce than your old school four/five piece rock band.

Another point to consider is that a LOT of music out there is dreck (RIAA sponsored or otherwise). I've seen/played with some very shitty bands (even my own has been crap on occasion...hard to find good AND dedicated musicians, and I can't do everything by myself on stage). I mean, you make affordable digital cameras with decent onboard editing software (or Photoshop on the computer) and everyone thinks they're Ansel Adams...but there are indeed a few unknown wonders out there. Same goes for music and music production software. Diamond in the rough, etc.

But I agree with GP, as I find that bands who are really into the music and performing it are a lot more entertaining. I've also seen bands that don't seem to give a shit. But when you do it because you want to, I think you tend to produce fewer "filler"/crap tracks. The same might be true for some contracted bands, but then again, they have contracts to fulfill and truly awesome music can't always be created under a deadline.

Re:So, stop bitching

[HTH NE1]

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. It's not fair to judge all independent music by one performance of Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld.

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:So, stop bitching

[tfurrows]

The RIAA is not known for hitting in the face... they have a much lower target.

Re:So, stop bitching

[ByOhTek]

True, but that was about the average of what I saw

The first group sounded horrible (one of the people in it was great solo, but yuck), I described the middle group, and the third group was a mediocre chick with a mediocre group. Maybe 1 in ten of the indie groups I've seen have sounded worth listening to, let alone good.

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

[Torvaun]

Why should they sell you all the tracks you want to hear on one CD instead of 8? I mean, other than catering to the consumer.

Re:Disparity

[Arramol]

So by their logic, if the audio quality is good, it's probably legal, right? Boy, have I got some holiday downloading to do!

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

[shop S Mart]

No, they meant pirate music. "Pirate music sounds atrocious." Have you ever heard pirates sing? It's not good.

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.

Re:Disparity

[Anonymous Coward]

The more you drink, the better we sound!

Rraw Rraw Rraw ...

Re:Disparity

[Walkingshark]

Hey, keep your Ninja Propaganda to yourself.

Re:Disparity

[justinlee37]

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

Why is McDonald's popular?

Re:Disparity

[cpt kangarooski]

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.

It's true. Plenty of labels have failed to include a kick-ass clause in their contracts with the performers. But I imagine that, like the aftermath of Tasini, such clauses will increasingly become standard.

Re:Disparity

[GaryPatterson]

Arharr Jim lad! Ye've got me in mind of an old shanty, sung when we pirates gather.

"It was on the good ship Venus..."

Arr! What d'ye mean ye've heard it before! Ya scurvy dog! I'd keelhaul ya but I'd rather stitch yer guts up to the mizzen mast and chase ya 'round till yer insides are outside, ya dog!

Re:Disparity

[Requiem18th]

brilliant

Re:Disparity

[KDR_11k]

Because I don't buy 8 CDs but might consider one CD that contains enough good music?

Re:Disparity

[ultranova]

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?

Suppose you are an RIAA exec. You have 100 songs, of which 10 are good and 90 bad. Each CD can hold 10 songs. You want to sell as many CD's as possible. What do you do ? Do you put the 10 good songs into a single CD, so everyone who wants them can buy that single CD and ignore the remaining 9 crap-loaded disks... Or will you put 1 good and 9 bad songs into each CD, so that anyone who wants those 10 good ones has to buy the 90 bad ones as well ?

Re:Disparity

[Torvaun]

There have to be 8 people like you for each person who will buy all 8 before it becomes a losing proposition.

Re:Disparity

[SCPRedMage]

I choose option 3: fire the crappy band that can only make one good song for every nine bad songs.

Re:Disparity

[KDR_11k]

That one person must have WAY too much money considering CD prices...

Re:Disparity

[Torvaun]

The way I see it, people with way too much money and way too little sense are the ideal market for the RIAA.

Re:Disparity

[ultranova]

I choose option 3: fire the crappy band that can only make one good song for every nine bad songs.

Good bands don't work as cheap as crappy ones, thought. By firing the crappy band and presumably hiring a good band in their stead you increased your costs and therefore decreased shareholder profits. Consequently, you'll be fired and the crappy band rehired.

The whole stock system is set up to divorce power from reponsibility and give everyone involved an excuse that "I had to do it, I'd be fired if I didn't, I'm just a cog in the machine, etc" and be right about it. The end result is that corporations, who hold the most power in our semi-capitalistic society by the virtue of holding most money, act like psychopaths. Of course the end result is a total clusterfuck; it's a miracle things work as well as they do.

Sorry about the rant. But the fact remains that your solution isn't going to work, because letting principles get in the way of profits is incompatible with how corporation works.

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??

[Foobar of Borg]

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.

Yeah, that was my first thought. But there is something more hellish. Having an officemate who thinks ringtones are cool and has people calling him all the time. A promotion which gave me my own office is the only thing that staved off death for that abomination.

Re:Atrocious??

[Bert64]

Pirate copies sound atrocious huh?

That old CD i bought a few years ago, which is now all scratched and plays badly must be pirated because it sounds atrocious...
While those FLAC files i downloaded from bittorrent must be legit because they don't sound atrocious.

Re:Atrocious??

[DRAGONWEEZEL]

if you pirated from me they would all be 198-320 bit VBR based on when they were encoded. Sounds damn good if ya ask me but I also use a mystacal "crystalizor" to enhance my auditory satisfaction, and then I plumb that satisfaction into ...

Sorry I really like my mp3s!

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?

Re:Atrocious??

[advocate_one]

But there is something more hellish. Having an officemate who thinks ringtones are cool and has people calling him all the time.

I have a solution for that... it's called a hammer...

Re:Atrocious??

[Atario]

"I love my cell phone. I love it. It's my friend. My cell phone was Bach, Beethoven, Wagner on it. Little snippets of classical genius being heard the way they were meant to be heard: on a small, handheld communications device, hundreds of years after the death of the composer. Have we no respect for genius? What the fuck! Beethoven wrote symphonies to be heard in symphony halls! What do we do with it? Beep beep beep buh [to the tune of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5]! Do you think Beethoven had any inkling in even the darkest recesses of his unconscious when he was deaf and sweating over his fifth symphony that one day it would emit from some idiot's pocket, and the response would be 'fuck, it's my mom'?"

-- Marc Maron, in a bit from 2001

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Ringtones?

[eno2001]

Who the fuck with a brain buys ringtones? Just drop a needle, take a sample and shuttle it off to your phone via USB... Jesus the RIAA are a bunch of fuckin' morons.

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!

Re:Ringtones?

[glindsey]

Who the fuck with a brain buys ringtones? Just drop a needle, take a sample and shuttle it off to your phone via USB... Jesus the RIAA are a bunch of fuckin' morons. Depends on the phone. A lot of newer phones only allow you to choose ringtones from a special section of memory which can't be accessed over USB mass-storage, or require DRM-encrypted files to play. Goddamned phone is designed to work as a music player, and yet you can't use the MP3s stored on it as ringtones, because there's profit to be made, dammit!

It is the kids accepting this shit that are the bunch of fuckin' morons.

Re:Ringtones?

[idlemind]

The most mind-boggling thing is that a ring-tone can cost more than the entire song via iTunes. And as you stated, it's the retarded youth paying for it so it continues.

One great example is the proliferation of commercials offering daily jokes, awesome turtle wallpaper, or baby crying ringtones (WTF?) all for retarded prices that sign you up for recurring payments.

Re:Ringtones?

[Maestro485]

For what its worth, there are ways to make your own ringtones that are simply not advertised or explained by a given cell provider simply because they are also selling ringtones. I have a verizon phone and a quick google search of "make verizon ringtones" turned this up. Its obviously windows-centric but the information is generally accurate for linux too. I'd never used audacity personally before and I was able to make a quick ringtone with minimal fuss. No cost except the normal charge of sending a text/pix/whatever message to your phone.

Re:Ringtones?

[tompaulco]

It's the retarded youth paying for it so it continues.
No it's not. It's poor Daddy who knows that ringtones are a bad deal that has to pay for it. I'd bet most of the ringtones sold are the "free" ones that cost $6.99 a week if you read the unreadable fine print that flashes for half a second at the bottom of the screen.

Re:Ringtones?

[Mitreya]

Who the fuck with a brain buys ringtones? Just drop a needle, take a sample and shuttle it off to your phone via USB... Jesus the RIAA are a bunch of fuckin' morons.

Good luck transferring audio to your phone. Motorolla phone software that does this (and other things) is sold for $30 last I checked a couple years ago. And you have to know to look for it. Not certain whether all other manufacturers even have such software for sale.

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?

That explains

[oahazmatt]

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.'

So it sounds atrocious due to piracy, not the content itself. Interesting. That explains that burnt compliation: The Best of Yoko Ono.

Re:That explains

[MonoSynth]

The Best of Yoko Ono I usually buy that album in sets of 25 or 50, on a spindle.

Re:That explains

[Penguinisto]

I only buy the Yoko Ono CD's... they fit better on the shotgun trap-thrower that way, and the shiny surfaces make them more difficult (read: sporting) to hit.

/P

Re:That explains

[Creepy Crawler]

Bad joke:

Whats yellow and lives on dead beetles?

Yoko Ono

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.

Re:Wow, I suggest watching the movie. . .

[vtscott]

The video was ridiculous, and I thought the same thing about the stab at sound quality of pirated music. It shouldn't be too hard to find pirated music of higher quality than the standard lossy itunes offerings.

But the real reason I'm replying to your post is to point out that this whole corporate propaganda disguised as news thing is not new. Video news releases are done by other corporations and aired across the country on local channels. It's possible the RIAA didn't pay a dime, because it's cheaper for local news to air crap that's already been produced than produce their own crap.

Sinatra?

[eck011219]

I love how the guy bemoaning the evils of pirating and its association with organized crime is standing in front of a huge portrait of Frank Sinatra, one of the most "connected" artists in American history. That ranks up there with when the (Bill) Clinton reelection campaign chose Mambo #5 ("a little bit of Monica in my life") as its theme song for the convention. It doesn't take a downtown PR firm to figure this crap out.

Re:Sinatra?

[Atario]

the (Bill) Clinton reelection campaign chose Mambo #5 ("a little bit of Monica in my life") as its theme song for the convention

Didn't the Monica trouble happen midway through his second -- which is to say, final -- term? What reelection campaign would this have been?

Re:Sinatra?

[eck011219]

Hm. I wonder ... I think you're right. Perhaps it was for the Gore/Lieberman Democratic convention? I know it's true that they chose it after the Monica mess, so it's got to be that if Monica broke during the second term.

Now I'm intrigued and embarrassed -- I'll go look this up (like I should have in the first place).

[insert intermission music here]

Hi, I'm back. According to this CNN article, it was the 2000 Democratic convention that used Mambo No. 5. The 1996 convention used The Macarena, which, while dumb in its own way, doesn't rub wrong the way Mambo No. 5 does.

I stand corrected!

the dreams of a music fan [must... be... quashed]

[flaming error]

> avoid 'compilation CDs So now Time Life Music is a Pirate organization?

cts's holiday guide to ripping off the riaaholes

[circletimessquare]

1. download emule

2. load the shared folder with gigs of porn. small files (the point is: lots of files to mask your download)

3. start sharing the porn. wait for awhile, a few hours. this will stuff your upload queue

4. pick an album you want. for example for my gf, it was alisha keys "as i am". find the copy with the most sources. pay attention to the comments (denotes a good source or a bad source)

5. suck that sucker down by itself, your only download, high priority, as fast as possible. when done, immediately remove the album from your incoming file directory

the point here is that you are not being a "bad" file sharer (only taking, not giving). you are just segregating what you give/ take by your legal exposure

the point of all the porn is that it masks any requests for the file the riaa will go after you for. even when the file is half downloaded, people can start taking it from you, so you don't want an empty upload queu. you must mask and flood out any requests for the riaa loaded file while it is being downloaded with tons of harmless porn uploads that no one will go after you for sharing

that's about as safe as you can get sharing pop music files in the usa (if you are not technically astute)

happy holidays!

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:Huh

[Aladrin]

Hey, they told us to 'trust our ears' and mine say ALL my music sounds just like CD. So it must all be legal. They're probably going to really, really wish they hadn't said that.

Re:Huh

[AusIV]

That was my thought. By claiming pirated CD's sound atrocious, they're paving the way for the argument "Well, it sounded good, so I assumed it couldn't be pirated." Not a valid legal defense, certainly, but it won't help their case any.

Re:Huh

[hoopshank]

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

Notice how it's encrypted, though....

Oh fuck them

[Anonymous Coward]

I only listen to compilations these days. Sure, I bought all the CDs, but I rarely sit down and listen to something in its entirity. CDs for the car, and at home I use my reel or DAT for hours of music usually mixed together so there's no gap in between. To me it's the only way to fly. I bought their friggin' product, how I use it is my business. If they don't like it they can bite me. I make 'em for friends and family too. They usually in turn buy the full CD if they like the artist. They ought to be paying people like me a marketing fee instead of trying to sue. Morons.

Pirated News Clip!

[lilomar]

"...pirated products often appear amateurish..."
Um, I don't think this clip is legal guys... ;-)

Unbiased News Sources

[andrewd18]

It's stunts like this one that make me happy I get all my news from unbiased sources like Slashdot.

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:Unbiased News Sources

[chuckymonkey]

You mean to tell me that we do not have our daily Two Minute Hate?

Re:Unbiased News Sources

[Ignis Flatus]

you make a good point. i don't know why this is even news. businesses do this all the time, and news organizations are happy to oblige them. but it's not so much bias as it is laziness.

Re:Unbiased News Sources

[Footix]

News about good things the RIAA does gets posted every time it gets submitted. Of course, such news is never submitted...

Re:Unbiased News Sources

[Nazlfrag]

No silly, Emmanuel Goldstein is one of us.

What is the point?

[Trev311]

So we are supposed to avoid compilation albums... The only problem with that is there are so many legit comps out there. They manage to make it seem like we have to be extremely careful when we go to a big box retailer to avoid pirated music. When is the last time we heard about the RIAA suing someone like bestbuy or target because they had pirated music? They would rather go after individual people for downloading music. Pirated music costs the records labels billions, sure I'll give them that, but the consumers are hurt? The way that we(consumers) are hurt is by the awful music and collections (like mothership) that are currently put out by the record labels. The RIAA doesn't need to use this into scaring people about actually buying a cd. They should thank those people for actually still paying money for their music even if it is fake because the way the recording industry is going the only people that will be worth paying for music are independents.

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

[plague3106]

Your plan would work if someone had to sit at a computer and look at all the stuff you're sharing. I somehow doubt the RIAA investigators are THAT low tech..

THE WoW soundtrack doesn't count

[DRAGONWEEZEL]

Except that it does. I love that music, and actually burned a disc of it for myself!

Of course, I still listen to the K.I. soundtrack, so take it for what you will...

That's actually really weird.

[Effugas]

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

Now That's What I Call Music! 26 (U.S. series) is a compilation album released November 13, 2007. It also has 4 #1 Hot 100 U.S. Billboard hits. This is also the third NOW! album not to feature a country song. It should also be noted that Nickelback's "Rockstar" is left completely unedited. It sold 208,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the lowest-selling debut weeks of a U.S. Now! CD. However, in the second week the album went up to #3 with 234,000 copies. So far it has sold 442,000 copies in two weeks.

Now That's What I Call A Shitcanning.

If I were Apple...

[maxair_mike]

I would be thanking them for the free marketing...that is, if people watch any more than the first 5 seconds once they realize its a propaganda campaign. But a lot of people won't listen past the first few seconds once they realize what it is, so forget the free marketing for Apple and iTunes. I'm sure they'll do well enough this holiday season anyway. Now, as for some of the claims made in the commercial, anyone that is halfway competent with a computer would know that the claims are mostly crap. Like most of you, I laugh hysterically at the part about compilation sets. Seriously, this is one consumer group and business model that won't be around too much longer if they continue as they have been for a while now.

If by atrocious ...

[erroneus]

...they mean the crap that is being put out these days, then it all must me illegal music!

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:Market Failure

[R2.0]

"If you cannot get what you want at a fair price, the market has failed."

Huh? While I agree that the market for "intellectual property" is broken, your criteria baffle me. I thought the price in a market was set by whatever someone was willing to pay? So you are saying that, unless something is offerred for sale at some arbitrarily "fair" price, it's a market failure? I thought a market failure was when, due to forces outside of a free market, prices are set inefficiently, not "unfairly" (whatever that means). I mean, I don't think it's fair that I had to pay what I paid for my car, but that doesn't mean that the car market has failed; it just means that I CHOSE to pay more than I initially wanted to.

If anything, external agencies going around determining the "fair" prices for items is what screws things up - see rent control, black markets due to rationing, etc.

This is normal

[wonkavader]

Video Press Releases are a way for your local news station to fill a minute or two without spending any money to create content. As such, these for-profit "news" channels love them. They're done by any number of industries. The key is that they have to be very polished. If they don't have the usual TV news production values, the stations won't run them. This means that you need to have at least the same sort of equipment that the local stations have, putting such VPRs out of reach for most organizations that we'd actually WANT to send out such a thing.

But Proctor and Gamble can afford it, as can Conagra, etc.

You want them all the time, if you bother watching local news, and don't even know it. Look for the atractive reporter that you've never seen before, or the reporter who reports on the same subject EVERY SINGLE TIME he or she is on a segment. That's a giveaway that it's outside material.

Re:This is normal

[Atario]

Idea: VPRs made and distributed by the EFF.

GO!

"Atrocious"

[jayhawk88]

Isn't one of the major reasons the RIAA is so against file sharing is that digital music allows "perfect" reproduction?

finally some honesty

[fermion]

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'

Up until this point I believed that compilation CDs had some significant value, and I have even purchased some of them as they did contain my dream songs. I even recall television advertisements encouraging me to buy these wonderful compilations, often accompanied by dream type metaphors, in which I was told to send money to K-Tel in exchange for highly coveted collections of incredible songs. It turns out that these compilation either had little value, or were pirated music, as it is clear from the quote that label sanctioned compilations exists not to provide consumer their dream music, but to provide the labels additional revenue on stale product. In the future I will avoid all compilations, and instead just copy the tracks I wish off my previously purchased CDs.

Instead of Ring-tones this year

[nurb432]

I say pirate every piece of music you possibly can, that is under their control. Oh, and send them a copy too.

Then go out and support your local independent band.

There's a new trend which is even worse...

[Joce640k]

The new trend around here is to play the hellish clip at people when they call so they have something to listen to instead of the normal dialtone (or whatever you call the sound that lets you know it's ringing at the other end).

I don't know what the bandwidth of a GSM phone call is but the latest RIAA offerings sound like somebody being strangled in the middle of a punk-rock nightclub. It takes you a few seconds to even figure out it's supposed to be music and not your phone dying.

in SOVIET RECORD COMPANY...

[AragornSonOfArathorn]

news write YOU!

Seriously, did they hire some ex-KGB guys to work on stuff like this?

But you wouldn't...

[Jess (geek-chick)]

steal a baby!

Re:But you wouldn't...

[jdub_dub]

Better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRUXOvKxbCI :D

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:Market Failure

[The One and Only]

What's a "fair price"? You haven't defined anything here because you haven't told us what a "fair price" is. All we know is that people are liable to apply that criteria in self-serving ways: "music costs more than I want to pay, it's unfair".

Re:Market Failure

[ChameleonDave]

This is what we refer to as a "market failure." The Fair Use doctrine exists in part to address this, but this is an excellent example of why Fair Use doesn't go far enough. If you cannot get what you want at a fair price, the market has failed.

How has it failed? "Failed" implies an objective, and the market has no objective beyond the short-term advantage of individual players pitted against each other. It's rather like saying that evolution has "failed" if it doesn't produce a rabbit with cool claws and fangs, or whatever you would like it to produce. It's just short-term incremental adaptations with no final goal.

It is up to us to create a society which has an objective (which ought to be the greatest good), rather than pretend that our current society has one.

Re:Market Failure

[yndrd1984]

Even though the government and a well-establish industry are trying to restrict something, the (black) market finds a way for people to get what they want. Isn't that a market success, and a government failure?

Re:Market Failure

[SoulRider]

I am pretty sure we can assume the current pricing scheme is not fair, otherwise so many people would not be sharing these files. The reason p2p is so popular is that is where the market is right now, this is what the people want, like it or not that is the truth. Look at allofm3.com, they had a fair pricing scheme and look at the millions of people that flocked to "buy" music from them instead of copying it for free from p2p. iTunes is just on the border of being fair, hence people buy from them even when they could download the music for free.

The current scheme is nothing more than a money sieve, designed to suck as much money out of the consumer as possible while providing as little real value as possible. The consumers are tired of being sucked. They want cheap and easy to use, if the record companies arent going to give it to them, then they are going to just take it. This is reality. The RIAA can piss and moan and get as many laws as they want passed, but until they start providing the consumer with what they want, they are just going to keep fading into obscurity until there is nothing left of them.

Re:Market Failure

[The One and Only]

I am pretty sure we can assume the current pricing scheme is not fair, otherwise so many people would not be sharing these files. The reason p2p is so popular is that is where the market is right now, this is what the people want, like it or not that is the truth. Look at allofm3.com, they had a fair pricing scheme and look at the millions of people that flocked to "buy" music from them instead of copying it for free from p2p. iTunes is just on the border of being fair, hence people buy from them even when they could download the music for free.

I think there are some implicit fallacies there, especially since the costs of music production are completely uncompensated for under p2p and allofmp3.com schemes. Now there are schemes where artists and producers give music away or sell it at low or variable prices, depending on the music to increase demand for live shows and merchandise or something, but on the other hand the long-term viability of that idea hasn't been established yet. Furthermore, lots of people continue to buy CD's of their own free will. So really you've established nothing by that argument. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that your reasoning here is really sketchy, with a lot of handwaving and leaving several obvious critiques open. And that your point is blatantly self-serving.

Re:Market Failure

[jthill]

the costs of music production are completely uncompensated for under p2p and allofmp3.com schemes

So, Kind of Blue hasn't recouped its production cost yet?

Or Then Play On?

Oh, Well.

this happens all the time

[boguslinks]

Organizations representing an industry supply "news" to newspapers and broadcasters all the time.

Why they're doing this:

[SanityInAnarchy]

I keep hearing this rumor that they make most of their money on ringtones now.

They really, badly need to get back to their core business. It's evolved a bit, but they still have a chance to figure it out before all their artists flip them the bird and go completely independent.

This is the Internet. You have one shot to become the middleman, before someone like Google or Amazon takes that role from you.

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?

Turnabout is fair play.

[symbolset]

Why can't some public minded video types compile a consumer news clip with high production values that helps people avoid the perils of DRM by pointing them to unencrypted sources for their favorite content? Apparently the networks will run nearly anything they didn't have to pay production costs for.

A gootube dramatic series would be cool too. You could call it MediaQuest, with the stooge starting each episode buying content he hopes to enjoy (the "White Album?") but every episode ending with his money wasted as his purchase becomes unusable yet again. "Rats! DRM'd again!"

That would be nice.

Re:I've been handing out compilation CD's...

[UnknownSoldier]

Agreed.

Any business that is not interested in free-marketing is not going to be in business very long.

--
Reddit is the kiddie version of /.

You know it's the holiday season when ...

[david_morgan]

Any major company/group/party/etc starts it out with propaganda. While yes stealing is wrong, so is out right lies. It's to bad that no one at the top of any of the previously mentioned bodies remembers that two wrongs don't make a right.

Fuck RIAA

[cromar]

Mixtapes. I love mixtapes.

Fuck the RIAA

[cromar]

Mixtapes. I fucking love mixtapes. DJ Crazy Chris' "Eminelton," Von Pea's "American Angster", Mick Boogie's "DILLAGENCE," Danger Mouse's "Grey Album," and of course Diplo's "Pricay Funds Terrorism" are some of my recent favorites (the last two are out there floating around on the internet if you look hard enough). Seriously. If the labels would release shit this tight, well, but they wouldn't, would they?

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!

Nothing New or Unusual

[immcintosh]

Video News Releases have been around forever. The RIAA may be horrible leeches on society and all that, but pretty much any corporation with an agenda and a couple bucks can be counted on to do the same thing. This is one of many reasons not to ever use television news for anything meaningful. If you want real news, find a respectable paper (or internet) publication that cites sources and identifies authors of everything. May not be perfect, but television news is simply a vast wasteland in comparison. RIAA writes its own news--welcome to the status quo.

I can just imagine the headlines

[tristian_was_here]

RIAA News Network:
Tom - "Today old lady steals millions of dollars worth or records we will send you to john for the full report"

John - "Well Tim what looks to be an old lady is really a monster while she was cashing her pension she was behind a organized syndicate of file sharers stealing hundreds of songs from Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears, Slipknot and many others, back to you Tom"

Tom - "Well that's one old lady who will be spending the rest of her days in prison"

There's dangerous stuff out there

[4D6963]

Yeah, the world is dangerous out there. You think you're buying a legitimate CD for $5 on a street corner out of a trunk, and what do you know, this is pirated music. Ouch, whoda thunk it! Fortunately the RIAA is here to tell us about the dangers of unintentionally buying pirated music.

And that's not all, they have more videos coming up, one with a guy baking a couple of bacon slices going "These are your ears. These are your ears on pirated music.". Really, what would become of us without the RIAA?

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

[Butisol]

Legally bought RIAA music has electrolytes. It's what ears need.

To play devil's advocate for a moment...

[Junta]

I too was amused by the notion that a product that could only exist in a music lover's dream could really exist, just they wouldn't put it together.

To be fair, a number of collections *can* be put together illegally for sale (or legally not for sale once purchased in other ways) that simply cannot possibly be legally put together by any single record company. Let's say for example, you liked for whatever reason, a handful of tracks by Green Day and The Offspring. Your 'dream' in this case could be a compilation of Greatest Hits between those two groups. However, according to Wikipedia, Green Day is under a label called Reprise, and Columbia Records has The Offspring currently. If either company didn't want the other to release such a thing, no matter what, it wouldn't happen.

Also, I personally don't know how the business works with respect to signing rights over and transfer of rights with group transfer. It is conceivable that maybe you want merely a Greatest Hits of The Offspring covering their entire career from 1987 to today. The problem there is that depending on the time, one of four different record companies could own the rights to the song (if it works that once produced by the label, the label doesn't transfer those rights to new labels, which I don't know either way). So in order to release a comprehensive collection, you might need the cooperation of all four to go ahead with such a project.

And finally, they could refer to the simple fact that a dream could encompass an existing product at an incredible price. In this case, bootleggers can charge for media+a little for themselves and be happy, while studios have to recoup production costs and such (which may be overinflated in the pricing, and don't forget the cost of all those lawyers for those nice lawsuits).

This as described seems a shameful approach, essentially slipping a commercial in as news (however, in the text world, press releases are commonly like this and are published unaltered). On the other hand, I don't mind them informing the public about leeches that sell product that's no better than the public could illegally put together for themselves (except for the plausible deniability for the customer). If someone actually for whatever reason wants to support the industry as fubared as it may be, they should know how to meaningfully contribute to it..

Re:To play devil's advocate for a moment...

[RedWizzard]

To be fair, a number of collections *can* be put together illegally for sale (or legally not for sale once purchased in other ways) that simply cannot possibly be legally put together by any single record company. Let's say for example, you liked for whatever reason, a handful of tracks by Green Day and The Offspring. Your 'dream' in this case could be a compilation of Greatest Hits between those two groups. However, according to Wikipedia, Green Day is under a label called Reprise, and Columbia Records has The Offspring currently. If either company didn't want the other to release such a thing, no matter what, it wouldn't happen. There may be licensing issues but they can be resolved. Look at the film industry - movie studios are constantly doing deals to acquire rights they need from their competitors and often co-produce films. The Hobbit movies will be produced by both New Line and MGM. It still boils down to the music industry being able to provide a product customers want and yet choosing not to do it.

Not just video...

[Junta]

Text mediums have published untouched press releases from companies and company groups for ages. So don't blindly assume television is all corrupt and sold out because of showing press releases and that text to some extent automatically lends credibility. Either you go with a big name in the media, which is far more likely to subject readership/viewership to propaganda press releases, or consult a number of smaller, independent sources (any one of which is likely to be subject to a greater degree of misleading editorial slant, so don't just trust any one). If you really care about a story, make sure it's reported amongst a number of sources and not suspiciously worded exactly the same, whether it be video or text medium. Also, try to be aware of the agenda behind the reporting agencies and be sure you read about it from sets of agencies with likely conflicting agendas with respect to the subject matter.

Bad sound quality

[Wowsers]

Maybe we could get good sound quality if the music "engineers" of today stopped the bloody awful use of dynamic compression to make music sound louder, and kill all the other natural frequencies of instruments in the process.

At least my classical music collection is RIAA free.

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

[enjerth]

Once again this Christmas I'll be looking forward to the compilation CDs the kids make most of all. Didn't one of Bush's kids do that? Why didn't the RIAA go after her?

Faux news

[HangingChad]

Sadly this is getting all too common. Energy companies pay PR firms to make feature spots panning ethanol production, ethanol producers countering with feature spots of their own, the Bush administration making fake news stories in support of No Child Left Behind and the Iraq war, the military does it, pharmaceuticals, Microsoft PR is quite active in print media and tech publications, the Men's Warehouse is famously behind the yearly "suits are back" media blitz every year...it's quite the trend in PR. No surprise RIAA would want to get in on the act. But, like everything else they do, they do it badly.

Perhaps if they laid off the cocaine the world might make more sense.

Heh, heh, heh

[hondo77]

Did you notice there is no copyright notice on that clip? No copyright? Doesn't that mean someone could take that clip and re-edit it into...oh, I don't know...something the RIAA never intended and have it bite them in the ass?

Re:Heh, heh, heh

[tooslickvan]

Unfortunately, no. The video is copyrighted the minute it's created regardless if there's a copyright notice. But following the fair use rules, you'll have a defense if you edit or distribute the video.

Re:Heh, heh, heh

[antispam_ben]

Also, a "mashup" or other remix or modification, if done for the purpose of parody (and I can't for the life of me think why else someone would do such a thing with this video), is covered under "fair use." (IANAL, YMMV, BLA, BLA, BLA)

You don't say....

[Cervantes]

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

Well, consider this: the "dreams of music fans" up north of the border include the "compilation/best hits" album from Trooper, a quintessential Canadian band, that they (the band) put together, rerecorded as necessary, and put some new stuff together for.

The label (Universal) has been holding it up for

• years

. Possibly more than a decade.
Now, it would be one thing if the label just didn't want to spend the money themselves to release the album. But, they're holding on to the rights to the songs, and refusing to let the band release the album itself or via a different label. Basically saying "We own your music, and it's not going anywhere, ever".

Every time a label whines about anything, I remember Trooper, and how they're pretty much stuck unable to put out an album (if I recall Ra ranting about it during one of the shows, it's something along the lines of 'they signed a multi-album deal and now the studio won't release their last album, basically leaving them unable to legally release a new CD'). That, more than any ranting about the whole "hey new band, here's your shiny contract with a million $$ advance" sucker-you-in deal, makes me realize that labels are not in it for the music, it's just the money and power.

On the bright side, Trooper does at least 100 shows a year, all sellouts. I'm sure they make more money from that than any CD could give them.

Re:most news are intentional leaks or press releas

[nyekulturniy]

Why don't you just reset the news to 10?

Flash

[Skapare]

Why is it these people are always putting up videos in Flash format that requires people to Borg their browsers that make them vulnerable on so many web sites around the net? Please include a normal link to a normal video file.

why isnt todays youth rebelious?

[cheekyboy]

Buy a damn real phone, unlocked. Like Sony ones. Anything else... junk it.

If todays youth like to drink underage and party, why are they so eager to bend over and take it up the a$$ with paid ring tones?

Re:why isnt todays youth rebelious?

[Kelz]

So either pay $400 for a unlocked phone, or take a plan and get a free phone and just pay for service, and pay ~3-4 for ringtones? I'm pretty sure I was a bit too broke at that age to afford the former.

Re:most news are intentional leaks or press releas

[Grygus]

But then if the news is at 10 and you get more news, where can you go from there?

Re:Easy!

[eat here_get gas]

allegedly this is exactly how the band was named. Someone suggested a name for the band, someone else remarked that would go over like a lead zeppelin, and .......

I for not am

[Todamont]

never paying for music again until the RIAA is dead and gone.

Systematic Bias Much?

[nog_lorp]

Come on now mods, you can't mod EVERY POST +5 Insightful and/or Funny.

HO MY GOD!

[eiapoce]

HO MY GOD. I just watched the video clip. There are obvious lies allover the place and a terrible stench of shit.

Ok some lies are obviuos: We all know that a digital copy is a perfect original (digitally talking) so no one can tell the difference between a original CD or a copy just listening to the sound (the video states atrocious sound quality). We could make jokes about the suspicious packaging where some unlucky guy tasted a rootkit from sony and so on...

but most of the stench of crap comes from the assumption that only a pirate CD can contain the good tracks that make it "TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE". This is just admitting that the music labels are producing and delivering inferior quality compilations. I repeat THEY DELIBERATELY SELL INFERIOR PRODUCTS IN ORDER TO SELL MORE AND ALSO CLAIM THAT PIRATES CAN DO BETTER. This also implies that there is NO COMPETITION. If there was some competition that would fill the gap producing legally these compilations. So in the USA now you have the signed proof that the music marked is not perfect and is in serious need for REGULATION to restore competition. If this clip was to be aired in the European Union they would be where they deserve (deep shit) with consumer unions already.

Now take MY advice for the shopping season. Don't buy any music, call the bastards airing those lies and... just if you really need then download some LEGALLY free at Jamendo (Guess none of these stations is givin this link)

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

[fishbowl]

They actually know to back down when somebody has an answer to "Oh yeah? You and what army?"

Legal or Illegal? My commentary

[zakezuke]

*You get what you pay for (Prices that are really low indicate the CD is pirated)

When I encounter a price that is REALLY low, to me it means the CD has hit the CD cutout bin, where it just so happens I bought much of my music from.

*Too good to be true (Compilation Cds that could only exist in the dreams of a music fan)
I've bought many a legit compilation CD, some good some bad.

In fact, cheap comp CDs are an excellent form of advertising. Some are designed to be silly like Grunge Lite featuring elevator versions of Nirvana, Perl Jam, and Mudhonny. "Grunge Light creates a relaxing mood, bringing sparkle and magic to your dinner parties and tranquilized moments at home" See the news on you tube.

*Suspicious Packaging (pirated products often look amateurish)
In this age of lasers and inkjet printers, home equipment can put out something pretty decent. However, to me a truly amateurish CD is one which comes from one of those record clubs, you know the type buy 12 for the price of 1, which near as I'm aware they duplicate in house which can result in amateurish results. Come to think about it, often commercial double classic rock albums, back when a release was less than 40min, look the most amateurish.

*Sold in unusual places (street corners or flee markets - legitimate producers DON'T sell CDs there)
In the late 1990s, not only did the indy record stores start to shut down, but also some seriously big names such as Tower records. Guess where legitimate albums got dumped? Not to speak of indy artists at the time.

In the 21st century I can't really imagine buying something in a store unless it's 2nd hand or a cutout bin.

*Trust your ear

As others have pointed it, it's digital. However there were issues with real pressed music with the reflective layer coming off or suffering CD rot. You would expect at the level of profit on a CD they would use the best materials and not cut corners.

But as we all know, most albums are mastered by some yahoo using pro-tools.

So my revised list

* You don't get what you pay for
* Cheep compilation CDs are a great way to expose your self to a many artists.
* Suspicious Packaging means jack squat
* Trusting your ear is pointless
* The RIAA should be investigated for anti-trust violations.

Re:Easy!

[sammy baby]

Evidently, that "someone" was Keith Moon, of The Who.

He contiuned: "And what actually happened was Keith and John went off and left Me behind, they were gonna go and form a band with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page called Led Zeppelin."
Townshend also revealed that is was Moon that came up with the name Led Zeppelin, adding that the only reason the band didn't materialise was because he found out about the others' plans.

Re:Easy!

[totally bogus dude]

I imagine the trailing zeppelins were staggered at ever increasing heights, forcing the pirates to display their acrobatic prowess to ascend to the highest zeppelin of all: the Led Zeppelin.

Needless to say, the ninjas were not amused by the pirates' display of athleticism, and challenged them to a showdown. The ultimate test of wits, skill and bravery, from which only the toughest would emerge alive... Dodgeball!

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

[Hyperspite]

Legally bought RIAA music has electrolytes. It's what ears need.

It's what ears crave.

There, fixed it for you.

you are not making your case effectively

[Johnzo]

My favorite bit: the camera zooms on a Matchbox 20 gift card while the voiceover chick says the words "cool and innovative."

Propaganda is illegal in the US?

[antispam_ben]

(Even though highly illegal in the US because it is 'propaganda')

My goodness! If this were enforced, it would SHUT DOWN most of broadcast AND cable television!

duh

[commodoresloat]

Holy crap! How'd the pirates get the grappling hooks up to the dirigible? Given that it was made out of lead, it pretty much sunk down to where the pirate ships where.

Re:duh

[fugue]

Aaaahhhh. I always pictured it being led around on a leash or something. Forgot that spelling something correctly might be seen as intellectual elitism. D'ougx4h!

This is exactly what i do too...

[Cyno01]

My shared folder for emule is pointed to a folder with 10gb of porn downloaded from the most popular results from a search for "porn". Went through everything and deleted anything where the girl looked like she could be underage, just in case. Emule lets you prioritize your uploads too, i set all this porn to High, and all the partial current downloads to very low. I download probably 250gb of TV shows a month, and i dont think i've ever seen anything in my uploads that wasnt from the porn honeypot. Finished downloads come out of the shared folder ASAP. Havn't recieved any takedown notices since i started doing that. Although none of the ones i recieved were legitimate, i certainly wasnt sharing the italian language version of Norbit...

Re:Phew! I'm safe!

[antispam_ben]

So the RIAA is saying that "Real" compilations suck...

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

[ClubStew]

Those aren't hard to find.

Of course the RIAA companies want to sell crappy CDs, though - the ones with one good track on them. That way, you buy more CDs. Frankly, I'm surprised they even allow the release of "Greatest Hits" albums because then fans actually do get what they want. Where's the profit in that? After all, music is only a means to make a profit...right? Profit-whoring high five?

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

BEWARE: Bad news reports may be RIAA Propaganda

[antispam_ben]

A news report warns consumers that some local TV news videos may actually be propaganda platforms of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). According to this article, the following tip-offs may indicate that a news report may be from the RIAA are:

* Shockingly Bad Video

* Poorly Paced

* "Fly In" Bullet Points done in Microsoft Movie Maker

* Shown in Unusal Places on Your Local Newscast.

* Trust your eye. If it looks like schlock, it's probably from the RIAA.

Finally, if the video says that Christmas-themed cellphone ringtones are one of several "cool, innovative" ways of buying music, you may be looking at an RIAA-produced video.

Ah, that explains it!

[sapphire wyvern]

RIAA: "[I]llegally copied music usually sounds 'atrocious.'"

That'll be thanks to the wonderful lossless, digital ripping technology we have now!

At least, Occam's Razor tells me that's the most likely explanation for the sound of Top 40 pirate tracks... :)

Re:Phew! I'm safe!

[TheGratefulNet]

the compilation cd's are fine.

its the RING TONES that are fake.

(people actually spend MONEY on ring tones? I must be out of touch. or too old. or both.)

Ringtones

[Arancaytar]

sounds atrocious [...] ringtones instead

This... this is a joke. Isn't it? Please.

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

[Dunbal]

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?

      And contribute to the environmental contamination from the manufacture of the packaging, the CD, the fuel used to ship the raw materials and finished product, and the fuel used by me to get to the store and back/for the UPS guy to drop it off at my house...

      Downloading an electronic copy is far more environmentally friendly. I'm sure the impact of the routers (which would be on ANYWAY and don't use more electricity per packet) and the 0.5 kWh used by my computer is far less damaging than all the waste products in the manufacture/retail sales model.

      Go green! Pirate your music today!

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

[discordia666]

You could just buy the download then. But I like a good balance between buying stuff I like and being able to access information. The RIAA wants to charge for buzz and hype and I'd prefer not to pay for that.

Lucky - I wasn't drinking a caffeinated beverage

[Gazzonyx]

Or you'd owe me a new keyboard!

I guess I misread that line!

[Gazzonyx]

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. I assumed that atrocious was referring to the quality of the music, not the system on which it was played. My sincere and humble apology to anyone pirating anything by Michael Bolton; atrocious still applies regardless of legal status. Doubly so for pirated Michael Bolton Ringtones.

Re:I guess I misread that line!

[causality]

"Why should I change MY name? HE'S the one who sucks!" - Michael Bolton, the office worker.

42

[rice_burners_suck]

Did your local news recently do a two-minute clip on music copyright infringement?

The answer to this and all other questions is: 42.

Subject

[Legion303]

"because illegally copied music usually sounds 'atrocious.'"

This is why you should pirate all of your music in MP3 format, which according to the RIAA is a "nearly perfect digital copy," instead of buying pirated CDs.

Thanks for the clarification, RIAA. I'll be sure to use the Genuine MP3 Advantage [tm] from now on.

Re:Phew! I'm safe!

[delirium28]

I say too old since I'm in the same boat. Why the hell anyone would spend money on a ringtone is beyond me, let alone this madness of having your caller listen to music when they try calling you before you pick up. I mean, COME ON!!!

"illegally copied music usually sounds atrocious?

[Dr. Hellno]

How true. My legitimately owned copies of the latest Chingy, Fergie and My Chemical Romance albums sounds simply divine. When I put on my surround-sound headphones, everything comes through so crystal clear I can even hear legitimate, unsigned artists weeping in the distance.

RIAA: Die in a fire.

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

[ms1234]

This sounds like the Finnish version of RIAA who in co-operation with the Ministry of Education went out and told students that you can recognize illegal music by the cheap price (think russian mp3 store here) and that they should trust only online stores that are expensive.

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

[iosq]

YES!!! Brawndo for the win :-)

Yeah!

[Shag]

Clearly, "America's Top 40" is pirated music.

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

[AdmiralAudio]

But what ARE electrolytes? Do you even know?!

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

[KDR_11k]

Naah, you heard them: If the recording quality is good it's definitely genuine!

Heh why stop there?

[rpillala]

midichlorians

cheers ..

[freaker_TuC]

.. I'm already only buying wax ; I banished CD's since the Beastyboys CD (which wasn't even mine but of my best friend!) left scars on my system; It literally disfigured the invoice package on my PC, rendering it useless. I won't touch ceedees anymore let stand buy them. I used to buy atleast 1 to 4 cd's a week because of my sub-profession as DJ; that time is over now.

It'll be only around 10-15 records / week now, and it'll be the brands I will like most; mostly no cartel assigned music.

They have casted that upon themselves, I'm now CD illiterate ..
thanks RIAA and other counterparts in other countries for putting so much trust in their customers!

Also thanks for rendering 10% of my CD's useless on pro-DJ-player thanks for the copy-protection-a-go-go tricks...
I'm so thru with this.

short question long answer ?

[freaker_TuC]

Society is getting a lot more materialistic; if you see what the kids are getting for X-mas, newyear, birthdays and other occasions I already mostly start drooling already in advance. It's gadgets all over. It started when I was in the 5th grade, in Belgium, when kids started to "relax" and started to think more materialistic wise.

Their material became a lot more important than the environment around them. When day starts parents go to work; in the current society with a lot of overtime, which they need to hand in to their children in one or another way. Values and norms are not really getting teached anymore ABOVE this materialism.

I can sound old when saying this; I'm only from 1976; although in my time we just did not get what we wanted before these values and norms where lived up right. After that we got our reward which was mostly a lot cheaper of the stuff kids get now...

To answer your question ... If you are already, as kid, in such relaxed state of mind, while getting all those things just like that; would you be rebelious? How many parents pay up for their kids phonebill? I'd not be staggered if I would say "almost all".

I used to be that rebelious and I feel good I'm still living up my true values towards the society around me; do the others too?
Not to say the least, values & norms cost "money"; sometimes not even cash as in cash, but rather into giving up a lot of little things which affect life in positive and negative ways. The one thing I feel bad with is to see the world diminishing in such state that my values and respect towards other people is not "worth" to others anymore as it used to be when they were important for everyone; including dad and mom. I wish parents would think more about this fact; since it's their offsprings ruling the next world...

I'd rather call it overspoiling and the industry is sure liking such form of consuming. I still wonder; when will values be more important again next to the stuff you buy, wear and own? At the call of the third worldwar ? ... I really wonder ...

You Cannot Just Boycott Them. Not A Music Lover.

[milsoRgen]

Just for shits and giggles let me through out a list of my favorite artists... Now keep in mind I am fairly esoteric by anyones standards, and also set aside your tastes in music and just look at these bands, now can you tell me which (if any) are not on an RIAA affiliated label? BTW, Epitaph/Hellcat is a member... Alice In Chains, Andre Nickatina, Beastie Boys, Bush, Candlebox, Cranberries, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dead Kennedys, Dropkick Murphys, Eazy-E, Everclear, Flogging Molly, Garbage, Gogol Bordello, Guttermouth, Gwen Stefani, HorrorPops, Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros, Johnny Cash, KoRn, Lars Frederiksen And The Bastards, Motion City Soundtrack, Nirvana, No Doubt, NOFX, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Operation Ivy, Rage Against The Machine, Rancid, Sneaker Pimps, Snoop Dogg, Social Distortion, Sublime, System Of A Down, Tech N9ne, The Distillers, The Matches, The Offspring, The Pogues, The Presidents Of The United States Of America, The Ramones, The White Stripes, Tiger Army, Tim Armstrong, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Tool, Transplants, U.S. Bombs, Weezer, White Zombie, Wu-Tang Clan, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Zerbahead
This is not simply a matter of boycotting the RIAA, this is something that requires some serious thought and action so that we might preserve the quality and types of music we enjoy in this day and age while still ensuring fair use and consumer rights. As soon as someone has a concrete plan for that, let me know.

Did it work?

[pycnanthemum]

Does anyone have any evidence that news stations actually used this (either the video or the press release) to report a story? Just curious.

How do I buy ringtone?

[nobodymk2]

Is it just me or 99.99% of all ringtone advertisements are blatantly describing pirated, badware-infested, low-quality, ringtones placed in passworded .rar files with trojaned keygenerators?

This is a "Bush" clause case.

[DrYak]

Shouldn't the RIAA be going after Dell (etc) then for Aiding and Abetting

...and then, the very next day, the RIAA's financial division have to do all calculation using abacuses.

Mixtapes are legal

[LandruBek]

As an aside, your mixtapes were legal, provided you did not sell them. Maybe you already knew that. If not, I think it is an interesting fact that the Audio Home Recording Act permits non-commercial analog copying of music.

so what's new?

[bandmassa]

It's called "rip'n'read" or "rip'n'print" depending on the medium, it's been around since newspapers first started accepting leads from the public. I'd be surprised if less than half the news (especially on TV) weren't "rip'n'read".

You know how I know this? I watch my journo colleagues (I'm an audio tech) put their own by-lines on rewritten handouts all the effing time. It's why I come to slashdot for news, at least I know the "news" here is mostly found by people looking for news, not looking to fill a news bulletin on a slow day.

Public Sub Set_Corruption(Transparent As Bullshit)

[EdIII]

I just love this commercial. They act like it is a public service announcement to "educate" us all on the evils of Piracy and Bittorrent.

They then further advise us to use iTunes instead and deliver us the hottest Christmas Gift of 07'..... Ringtones.

Anybody else reminded of the commercials where doctors recommended their favorite brand of cigarettes?

LOL - God I love their transparent bullshit. I'll bet my left nutsack that Apple and other ringtone companies ponied up the dough for these commercials... Oh wait the RIAA is entirely FUNDED by asshats in the entertainment and music industry.