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.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Bastard SAM, 5 Sep 2003 @ 8:19pm

    No Subject Given

    Same organization, different face today. Fact of the matter is that he's just a talking head. Hi opinions, like those of Hillary Rosen, are simply those of his technophobic cartel wielding mob boses. If you want progressive. Look at the crazy talk Sony's been coming out with lately. That's a lot more interesting. And that's what it's going to take. There are companies out there working on changing the business model. Universal comes to mind. Sony is another. And they are pioneering new areas of business. But the vast majority of the music industry, or any industry for that matter, are status quo thinkers. They will die by what they think they know, and they think they know file sharing loses them money. It's debatable. The numbers don't really say anything, and can be interprited ten thousand differant ways. So the general idea in the industry right now is, let the progressive companies go a little crazy and come up with new business models. If it works... it spreads. It's a lesson learned from Microsoft. Why take the risk if you don't have to?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Natural Flavor, 6 Sep 2003 @ 9:49am

    No Subject Given

    You mean, instead of actually fixing what's broke, they're just going to hire a likable face, do lots of PR, and try to change public perception?

    WHat a novel approach!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Hillary Rosen is Dead, 8 Sep 2003 @ 7:28am

    Going away party ...

    The ONLY thing the RIAA has done correctly in the last 10 years is to give that cunt Hillary Rosen a going away party.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.