The RIAA, Online Sharing, The Law, and Reality

The RIAA has decided to wage war on the very people who actually support it. Through the filing of subpoenas, threatening letters and illegal internet wiretaps, they are attacking the very people who they rely on to support them, and estranging many in the process.

The RIAA argues that online file sharing hurts the artists, and the industry as a whole. They claim that the decline in record sales is a direct result of online file sharing and that it must be stopped at all costs. Here is my reply to that argument:

---a) From a personal standpoint, my purchases of CDs diminished after I left college, down to the point where I might buy 3 or 4 CDs a year. If anyone else is like me, who is interested in mostly older music, their collection of that which was worth buying has already been mostly completed. It took 10 years of CD buying, but I have most of the music I like and listen to. I suspect many people have done the same.

---b) The vast majority of commercial music released in this day and age is absolute crap. The boy bands, pop divas and boiler plate grunge metal have become intolerably redundant and unnecessary. That being the case, I can see why people in my posiition would not be interested in such things. However, it is probably those bands that are carrying the industry since people are going to be mostly done buying the Beatles, Stones, Floyd, Zepp, etc. All the boxed sets are out and purchased by those who are interested. Sure you get a few folks who might still be collecting, but I suspect the vast majority of sales is on new music now.

---c) Copying music does not hurt sales in my book because if I were to download something, it was probably because I didn't think it worth paying for, therefore, it isn't a lost sale if I would not have bought it anyway.

---d) If I do find something I like, I will want to support the band, and I will want the music in the best quality possible (unadulterated by a bad mp3 rip) so I would have gone out and bought it. However...

---e) Now that the RIAA is taking incredibly harsh actions against the consumer, screw that. I will no longer purchase a new CD. Ever. Even if I like the music... forget it. It is not worth dealing with that industry. Ask the RIAA how much of the money they recovered actually goes to the Artist? Or does it just go to lining the lawyer's and executive's pockets, or just paying for the expense of pursuing the cause?