Just Who Is The New RIAA Chief?
from the open-to-compromise? dept
The Washington Post has an interesting article looking at Mitch Bainwol, the new head of the RIAA. It's a fairly balanced piece, suggesting that he gets stuff done and that people (even those who go up against him) seem to like him. They also suggest he's smart and recognizes when to compromise. Since taking the job, he hasn't said much, but is apparently trying to get himself as educated as possible (he's not even a big music fan). That all sounds good. However, then there's the bad part. He says that file sharing is just "plain wrong" and pulls out the old line that it's the same thing as walking into a store and taking a CD off the racks. His focus appears to be on "changing the perception of consumers" rather than figuring out how the music industry can update their obsolete business model. Well, that's what he was hired to do, so it's no surprise - but it probably means there will be little change in how the RIAA conducts its business. He even says that the RIAA has done everything right up to this point - which suggests he doesn't realize (or just won't admit) all the mistakes the music industry has made over the last five years.
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WHat a novel approach!
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Going away party ...
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