Hillary Rosen Chimes In Again, About 5 Years Too Late

from the what-took-you-so-long? dept

Since quitting as head of the RIAA, Hillary Rosen's made comments a few times showing a total change of heart about the need for the music business to change its business models to thrive, rather than try to maintain the status quo by bullying consumers with DRM and suing file-sharers. She's done it again, saying that the RIAA's lawsuits are useless and that the industry needs to embrace technology rather than run scared from it. It's not as if these issues have changed drastically since she left the record labels' lobby group, so it's hard to understand what's made her completely turn around her views. Again, we're left with one question -- why didn't she say any of this when she was running the RIAA? Its policies and actions during that time only made a bad situation worse, and not only frustrated consumers, but hurt the record labels.
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


  • identicon
    Mitch, 6 Jun 2006 @ 8:06am

    Amazing

    It is amazing how many peoples ideas and feelings change when they leave companies/organizations.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Jason, 7 Jun 2006 @ 11:19am

      Re: Amazing

      Yeah, it's difficult not to believe in something if your paycheck is directly related to you not believing it.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Chip, 6 Jun 2006 @ 8:20am

    Better Late than Never

    Perhaps she simply grew to understand that her position was incorrect. I applaud her for reaching the correct conclusion, one that is obvious to many here, but unfortunately seems like a great stretch to others. Perhaps one of the reasons she is no longer the head of the RIAA is that she started to feel that the solution was not 'improved' DRM or was a new business model, and was pressured/forced to leave. One person, even if they are the head of the RIAA, is not going to change this ideology overnight. I think that this is an individual who has come to appreciate an inevitability over the course of time, and I think this is very much to this woman's credit!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Moneyguy, 6 Jun 2006 @ 8:29am

    Why didn't she say ...?

    I'll be the first to admit that money isn't everything, but is this really a serious question: "...why didn't she say any of this when she was running the RIAA?"

    When your paycheck is based on touting the company line, you say what you're told to say. (Which is one reason why I run my own business.) I don't think Ms. Rosen would have been long for the position if she spoke out against the RIAA propaganda while working for them.

    I wouldn't have a problem with this if she still held the belief that the RIAA's position was the correct one. After all, people of good conscious often disagree.

    Then there is the possibility that she has since changed her mind, but it reminds me of one of my favorite quotes and one I strive to live by:

    "The truth of the matter, is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it."

    General Norman H. Schwarzkopf

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Tashi, 6 Jun 2006 @ 8:56am

    It makes me think that though she made have been head of the RIAA, she wasn't actually running the RIAA. Which makes me wonder who's really pulling the strings.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    anonymous coward, 6 Jun 2006 @ 9:31am

    hilary rosen is a whore, but instead of putting something IN her mouth for money, stuff comes OUT of her mouth for money.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 6 Jun 2006 @ 9:33am

    After her change of heart she may have realized that she couldnt make any real changes on the inside of the RIAA so she left.

    Or perhaps her first thought was to get a safe distance away from the RIAA before making a move. We all know that that corporation would have easily destryoed her if she had tried to stay and fight from within.

    If Darth Vader's last actions in Return of the Jedi taught us anything they taught us that its never too late to change.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Chance, 6 Jun 2006 @ 9:34am

    Call me a cynic

    But I always feel money is at the root of it all, especially when history has shown this true. So the cynic in me immediately thinks that she is getting paid from somewhere to make these statements.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 6 Jun 2006 @ 9:44am

    perhaps we need to find a way to get her back into the RIAA driver's seat. not knowing for sure why she left in the first place, perhaps now that she spoke out publicly her actions on the inside can be more affective and perhaps even, over a long period of time because we dont forget over night, improve RIAA's image.

    ye right...like that will ever happen

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 6 Jun 2006 @ 10:14am

      Re:

      perhaps we need to find a way to get her back into the RIAA driver's seat(/i>

      Why? People like this are merely prostitutes. Except instead of selling their bodies, they sell their values. I seriously doubt if she suddenly became head of the RIAA she'd continue to hold her current "beliefs" as she'd come to "realize" how "unaware" she's been of how truly the the recording industry was being "hurt" these days.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Sean, 6 Jun 2006 @ 9:49am

    Group Blindness

    Could be one of those situations, when you're inside the "group", you don't fully appreciate what the group is doing. Only an outsider can see clearly. And now she's an outsider.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    cabin, 8 Jun 2009 @ 8:57am

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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.