RIAA atacks!

Well, there it is:
CNN.com - 261 music file swappers sued; amnesty program unveiled - Sep. 8, 2003

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is officially in the running to be elected the most despised organization in the United States. Though probably they’ll just serve as vice-despised organization to Al-Quaeda.

I mean don’t get me wrong – they are totally within their rights. And fun or liberating as it may be, copying and distributing music, like software, is technically illegal. However, I have never witnessed a corporate organization so willing to alienate so many of the very people it should be BEGGING to buy music. As with examples in other public arenas during the past year, the RIAA has, while being technically correct, taken so many political mis-steps that it is surprising anyone wants to purchase any music at all.

When an average DVD with a full-length feature and often hours and hours of extra content costs just a few dollars more than a single CD of unknown quality with a measly 60-70 minutes of content, it should be obvious that the music industry is charging hugely inflated prices for potential CD-clock construction projects.

At least part of the industry is doing something halfway correct… They’re lowering their prices! Hard to believe, but maybe someone in the industry grew themselves a brain. Or maybe they needed to get cheap music after emptying out all their ill-gotten Kazaa music .