When will artists wake up to the fact that the RIAA exists only for the interest of the major records companies and their profits. Like back in the earlier days of movies when actors formed their own production company, United artists,maybe musicians short tell the RIAA and other royalty collectors to go to hell and form your own Independent Musicians and work out a deal that gives everyone a fair deal. Time to kill multi national corporations and their power.
Look at history. The major labels pulled a similar stunt in 1959 when they raised the so called Payola Scandal after they missed out on early R&R. That resulted in independent labels being snapped up, with the help of bullshit Government legislation, by the big four. This time they caught with their pants down with the Internet. Same problem slightly different tactics and again with the help of legislation. They will eventually lose.
The record industry make the mafia look like choirboys. For decades they have been cheating, lying and falsifying data for their own gain. The Government of the USA should hang their head in shame allowing such practices. Artist are being mislead that the RIAA is on their side. Well they are not. They exist for one reason and that is to maximize the record companies profits. The Recording industry, the RIAA, Insurance companies and financial corporations are all is the same league, just a bunch of crooks
Firstly the copyright laws depend on what country you live in. Outside the USA different companies/distributors have exclusive rights to USA products. If that company/distributor has the distribution rights to a particular artist, label etc then they can demand that Spotify or any streaming service to exclude those artists etc from being stream into the company/distributor country. So the blame is with your local distributor. Again, depending on which country you live in you may be allowed to rip the cd's you have purchased to a format that can be played on an MP3 or similar player. In the UK the High Court ruled it illegal. In Australia it is legal. It is called "Format Shifting"
Can one imagine if the media copyright laws applied to say the furniture business, the motor industry (both share technology) housing construction and a plethora of other businesses, we would all be sitting on stones, Walking everywhere and living in caves. The whole music industry needs to wake up and realize the days of making big $$$$ for a few hours work has ended. It will never return. Those days of multi million sales of vinyl and plastic for a very small percentage of artists is history. My grnad children will probably ask, "What is a Sony"
All the existing laws governing royalties are out of date. The internet has simply turned the "old rules" upside down. We all agree that artists, writer should earn some form of income from their creation. But let us be frank. Most royalties came for record sales. A minority came from airplay simply because logs were only collected from handful of major market stations who played only the top 40 of each genre, a list compiled by the major record companies based on pre-order sales. Even though all stations paid royalties the majority of the money went to the major Labels. With online streamers such as Spotify at least everybody gets a cut. Think about this. 100 major stations play the top 40. That mounts to millions of people hearing the same song two to three times a day, They are the artists who get the money. 1000 non major stations may play a song 100 times. That artist gets nothing because the station's logs are not collected by the royalty magnets. What is needed is whole new way of collecting data from every AM/FM and Online station in the world and royalties distributed evenly. I will will well and truly dead before the major labels allow that to happen. Bottom line is the system is corrupt
The year is 2028. Joe is discussing history with his 16 year old son. "When you were born The USA had several policing regimes. The CAI, FBI, Rangers, County Sheriff, City Police, The IRS and the most feared of all, the RIAA. They were part of the record companies and were ruthless and determine to take down every music lover they could" said Joe. His son replied : "What is the RIAA and what is a record company?"
I wonder what soldiers who have fought for freedoms think about these sorts of actions? Was all their sacrifices just a useless waste? They might as well have let Hitler win because slowly the USA, UK and Australia are turning into the very fascist states they defeated.
I agree. Cloud storage is about as solid as a cloud itself. It would have to go down as the biggest scam so far this century. Having tried out several I have found I can send a parcel to the moon and back faster. No one needs cloud. I can backup my office stuff to my home computer or any other off site system using a mere 56k dial up connection direct to the other remote computers faster than any Internet based system and it is 99% more secure and it cost pennies.
It really looks like the study started with a number and then was worked backwards to make that everything else fitted nicely.
The whole study is so based on unsupported assumptions it is a joke.
If only I could use the same method to convince my bank I was worth 10 times more than I am. Of course my study would be rarely contain anything above three figures
Imagine what would happen if every email sent contained a line or two with the words that activate the NSA filters to intercept an email. 100 million emails a day with those lines written in Arabic would bring down any computer system and have the monitoring staff pulling their hair out.
In reality all NSA is achieving is creating a market for terrorists to use heavier encryption of find alternatives.
For every storage site that is shut down 10 more pop up within weeks. Ever since the kim dot com fiasco dozens of alternatives have risen. Eventually Governments will be pressured into spending the costs associated with shutting down such sites on things the people will consider more important.
That is the Government's Achilles Heel. Start publicizing how much Governments are diverting funds from needy programs just to support a handful of Moguls. The people will howl.
No matter what the situation, complaint, overwhelming evidence money will always prevail.
Unfortunately the majority of people are not willing to stand up and be counted. Most think that elections are the only time they really have a say.
Unbeknown to the people is they have the power to change policy by simply having a majority disobey a law
I'd be willing to pay the real value. Maybe .01 cent per track seeing as most new music will not have any lasting appeal or value.
Plus I already have multiple copies of most pre 90's music because of the never ending best of albums.
After a handful of week, if not days most new music can be purchased at give away prices from retailers, often at less than 50 cents per track.
The more I read TechDirt the happier I am that I do not live in the USA, the land of the oppressed. I speak with authority because I have lived there and held permanent residency (Green Card)that I have since allowed for it to relapse.
The people of the USA have become so complacent over the past 40 years. You have allowed successive governments strip your constitution to pieces and handed power to a handful of corporations and organizations.
The way patents, copy right and invasion of every bit of privacy, all under the orchestrated national security issues have been allowed to continue unchecked is frighteneing.
The more I read about the USA the more convinced I am that the "Land of the Free" no longer exists and has been replaced by an authoritarian regime.
Emigrate to Australia because at present we seem to be the last real free country left on the planet and we only have seven police forces and one, yes one, security organization.
The Internet is probably the last bastion that does not have a centralized control system over it.
Every other walk in life is controlled by someone somehow somewhere.
It as been that way forever.
RIAA Lies
Re: Anonymous Coward
This time they caught with their pants down with the Internet. Same problem slightly different tactics and again with the help of legislation.
They will eventually lose.
Nothing but criminals
For decades they have been cheating, lying and falsifying data for their own gain. The Government of the USA should hang their head in shame allowing such practices.
Artist are being mislead that the RIAA is on their side. Well they are not. They exist for one reason and that is to maximize the record companies profits.
The Recording industry, the RIAA, Insurance companies and financial corporations are all is the same league, just a bunch of crooks
Spotify
Outside the USA different companies/distributors have exclusive rights to USA products. If that company/distributor has the distribution rights to a particular artist, label etc then they can demand that Spotify or any streaming service to exclude those artists etc from being stream into the company/distributor country.
So the blame is with your local distributor.
Again, depending on which country you live in you may be allowed to rip the cd's you have purchased to a format that can be played on an MP3 or similar player.
In the UK the High Court ruled it illegal. In Australia it is legal. It is called "Format Shifting"
Takedown
The whole music industry needs to wake up and realize the days of making big $$$$ for a few hours work has ended.
It will never return. Those days of multi million sales of vinyl and plastic for a very small percentage of artists is history.
My grnad children will probably ask, "What is a Sony"
New laws required
We all agree that artists, writer should earn some form of income from their creation.
But let us be frank. Most royalties came for record sales. A minority came from airplay simply because logs were only collected from handful of major market stations who played only the top 40 of each genre, a list compiled by the major record companies based on pre-order sales.
Even though all stations paid royalties the majority of the money went to the major Labels.
With online streamers such as Spotify at least everybody gets a cut.
Think about this. 100 major stations play the top 40. That mounts to millions of people hearing the same song two to three times a day, They are the artists who get the money. 1000 non major stations may play a song 100 times. That artist gets nothing because the station's logs are not collected by the royalty magnets.
What is needed is whole new way of collecting data from every AM/FM and Online station in the world and royalties distributed evenly.
I will will well and truly dead before the major labels allow that to happen.
Bottom line is the system is corrupt
From The future
"When you were born The USA had several policing regimes. The CAI, FBI, Rangers, County Sheriff, City Police, The IRS and the most feared of all, the RIAA. They were part of the record companies and were ruthless and determine to take down every music lover they could" said Joe.
His son replied : "What is the RIAA and what is a record company?"
More freedoms eroded
They might as well have let Hitler win because slowly the USA, UK and Australia are turning into the very fascist states they defeated.
Clouded issues
Having tried out several I have found I can send a parcel to the moon and back faster.
No one needs cloud. I can backup my office stuff to my home computer or any other off site system using a mere 56k dial up connection direct to the other remote computers faster than any Internet based system and it is 99% more secure and it cost pennies.
Backwards
The whole study is so based on unsupported assumptions it is a joke.
If only I could use the same method to convince my bank I was worth 10 times more than I am. Of course my study would be rarely contain anything above three figures
Flood them
In reality all NSA is achieving is creating a market for terrorists to use heavier encryption of find alternatives.
Reversed Domino Effect
That is the Government's Achilles Heel. Start publicizing how much Governments are diverting funds from needy programs just to support a handful of Moguls. The people will howl.
The $$ rules
Unfortunately the majority of people are not willing to stand up and be counted. Most think that elections are the only time they really have a say.
Unbeknown to the people is they have the power to change policy by simply having a majority disobey a law
Nothing new
They are kidding
Plus I already have multiple copies of most pre 90's music because of the never ending best of albums.
After a handful of week, if not days most new music can be purchased at give away prices from retailers, often at less than 50 cents per track.
Outside the USA
The people of the USA have become so complacent over the past 40 years. You have allowed successive governments strip your constitution to pieces and handed power to a handful of corporations and organizations.
The way patents, copy right and invasion of every bit of privacy, all under the orchestrated national security issues have been allowed to continue unchecked is frighteneing.
The more I read about the USA the more convinced I am that the "Land of the Free" no longer exists and has been replaced by an authoritarian regime.
Emigrate to Australia because at present we seem to be the last real free country left on the planet and we only have seven police forces and one, yes one, security organization.
The cheap way out
The bottom line always wins.
Control control
Every other walk in life is controlled by someone somehow somewhere.
It as been that way forever.
One out another in
Seen worse
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