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RIAA About to Transform?
It has been reported for a while that the RIAA was suffering some cutbacks and dwindling support, but techdirt is reporting that the cuts may be even deeper than most originally suspected. Who knew suing potential customers would ruin your business? "I'm sure some will somehow 'blame piracy' for this turn of events, but it's hard to see how that's even remotely the issue. The real issue is that the RIAA has basically managed to run one of the dumbest, most self-defeating strategies over the last decade. Rather than helping major record labels adjust to the changing market, it continually, repeatedly and publicly destroyed its own reputation and the reputation of the labels — each time shrinking their potential market by blaming the very people they should have been working to turn into customers."
each time shrinking their potential market by blaming the very people they should have been working to turn into customers.
Worse than that, they were shrinking their market by blaming the very people who already were their customers. Contrary to the way we sometimes talk about it, "people who download music in violation of copyrights" and "people who buy music" are not mutually exclusive groups.
Often enough, the same people who will spend money on high-quality convenient products that they feel are worth the price will also look for alternate channels in cases where they don't think the product they are being offered is high-quality enough, convenient enough, or worth the price.
Now I'm not trying to excuse people who download music illegally. It's illegal. I don't do it. I don't advocate that others do it. I don't approve of it. I'm just pointing out that all those nasty/evil group of "pirates" and "thieves" that the music industry keeps blaming, vilifying, and suing-- that group has a fair amount of overlap with that industry's legitimate customers.
Same as the old boss. Heh, Just because the RIAA transforms, does not imply that the copyright laws they try to enforce or fight for have changed. Slam them all you want and call'em a failure, as far as I'm concerned this means nothing. When the laws change toward cultural liberation, (like they used to be) only then will I celebrate. Only then.
Blu-spec CDs are just CDs. They hold no more data than a regular CD. The only difference is that the masters are made with a blue laser instead of the standard red laser, which supposedly lowers their error-rates.
Blu-spec CDs are nothing more than a marketing gimmick.
My sig can beat up your sig.
Given the RIAA's usual complaints, a BAW filter seems appropriate.
"Who knew suing potential customers would ruin your business?"
SCO did. Worked for them as well.
-Charlie
That said, I do appreciate Trent Reznor providing FLACs, both in CD-quality format -- 16/44.1 -- and in 24/96.
I wish everyone did this. Even if I didn't like the music I would've bought Ghosts anyway just to support people selling music in good format.
It's not exactly rocket surgery.
this was a bad move by the RIAA because they didn't anyone would pay attention. well someone did. and it appears that enough help is being focused on particular cases that some unfortunate for the RIAA precedents have been or are going to be shortly set. lets not stop now. but score one for the internet.
Agreed. They embarked upon a ludicrous campaign and they have lost. It is now all over except for the mopping up. Unfortunately for the families caught up in it, though, there's still a lot of mopping up.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
It's a technology to be avoided because it is from Sony. The same people that installed root kits on it's customer's computers. We shall not forget that they despise their customers.
ZOMG! Even for /., this is self-congratulatory beyond the pale..
Also, fuck you. ;}
What was once true, is no longer so
>>>You, cibyr, can't tell the difference between a high-bitrate MP3 and a FLAC
You can when you hook it up to your 4.1 or 5.1 surround system. The difference becomes immediately obvious, even if you've used a 320 kbit/s MP3. There are weird sounds coming from the speakers which should not be there. AKA compression artifacts.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Why do people make posts like this one to undo their mod? Why not instead make a useful post anywhere else in the thread?