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?

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.

[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.

who needs RIAA music?

[wikinerd]

the best way to avoid counterfeit music

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

Re:who needs RIAA music?

[RepelHistory]

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

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.

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!

[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.

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

[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

[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.

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

[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

[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

[Walkingshark]

Hey, keep your Ninja Propaganda to yourself.

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??

[Stanislav_J]

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

Maybe the loud, obnoxious, personal conversation that follows?

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

But you wouldn't...

[Jess (geek-chick)]

steal a baby!

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...

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: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.

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

[Butisol]

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

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?"