The first person to come up with a BILL/OPUS 2004 campaign gets my vote, regardless of their actual political stance, viewpoints and the fact I can't vote here.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (the worldwide equivalent of the RIAA) reported earlier this month that a third of all CDs sold worldwide are pirated--1.1 billion last year, for a total value of $4.6 billion. It's not clear what hat they pulled those figures out of, but as anyone who's shopped for 50 Cent rarities on Canal Street can tell you, CDs can be made and distributed for only a couple of dollars, especially if the people selling them don't pay production costs, artists' royalties, or radio promotion fees. Most pirated CDs, though, are sold in countries with bigger issues to worry about than copyright. At Russian street kiosks, for instance, 60 rubles (about $1.80) will get you a professionally manufactured greatest-hits collection by anyone from Annie Lennox to Helloween, often designed to look just like Abba's Forever Gold. Another 10 rubles, and you can get a CD with MP3s of every song by your favorite artist (Marie Osmond, Brian Eno, Nurse With Wound . . . ), with lyrics and pictures thrown in for good measure.
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The first person to come up with a BILL/OPUS 2004 campaign gets my vote, regardless of their actual political stance, viewpoints and the fact I can't vote here.