Some more thoughts on the RIAA

Posted by: Brian

There have been some comments written in response to the post about Gizmodo’s March boycott of the RIAA, and I would like to add a bit more context to the discussion.

Gizmodo’s boycott of the RIAA has very little to do with DRM…and the RIAA definitely doesn’t exist to help music artists.

The boycott has everything to do with the fact that the RIAA is evil in almost every sense of the word and does not exist to serve the artists in any way. In fact, in most cases, the RIAA blatantly hurts artists from the second they sign their first contract and stifles creativity in the mainstream music industry.

Gizmodo declares March “Boycott RIAA” month

Posted by: Brian

This is probably long overdue, but the folks at Gizmodo have decided to take on the Recording Industry Association of America by declaring March “Boycott the RIAA” month.

Putting Our Money Where Our Mouths Are: Boycott the RIAA in March

Alright, we’ve been following the RIAA’s increasingly frequent affronts to privacy and free speech lately, and it’s about time we stopped merely bitching and moaning and did something about it. The RIAA has the power to shift public policy and to alter the direction of technology and the Internet for one reason and one reason alone: it’s totally loaded. Without their millions of dollars to throw at lawyers, the RIAA is toothless. They get their money from us, the consumers, and if we don’t like the way they’re behaving, we can let them know with our wallets.

With that in mind, Gizmodo is declaring the month of March Boycott the RIAA month. We want to get the word out to as many people as humanly possible that we can all send a message by refusing to buy any album put out by an RIAA label.

C0ntinue reading…

Gizmodo goes on to say that you can continue supporting RIAA-backed artists during March by still going to see them perform live and buying t-shirts and other merchandise. Also, Gizmodo suggests turning your attention to the many great independent music artists out there.

Those of you who listen to our podcasts are well aware of our feelings toward the RIAA. For those who don’t know our positions, well, we pretty much feel the RIAA is an organized crime syndicate.

So I would like to extend my support to Gizmodo’s “Boycott the RIAA” month and promise not to buy any CDs or music released by an RIAA-backed label during March.