RIAA declares radio stations to be pirates

[bilateralrope]

Of course, with the number of congressthings they have in their pocket they'll likely manage to arrange a deal whereby anyone playing any kind of music on the air has to pay the RIAA royalties, regardless of where the music comes from. In that case it'll just be another day in the office for modern copyright law.

Isn't that what they did with internet radio ?

[Drooling Iguana]

PRetty much, yeah, but Internet radio stations weren't owned my huge corporations for the most part and therefore don't matter.

[K. A. Pital]

Wow, that's like, Greed 2.0 or maybe even Greed Millenium Edition something.

[18-Till-I-Die]

Wow, that's like, Greed 2.0 or maybe even Greed Millenium Edition something.

"Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind."

--Gordon Gecko

[Adrian Laguna]

On Monday, the recording industry sent the National Association of Broadcasters -- the trade group representing the $16 billion a year AM-FM broadcasting business -- a can of herring to underscore that it believes its arguments against paying royalties are a red herring.

The herring present followed another gift -- a dictionary, a bid by the recording industry to explain what it saw as the difference between fees and taxes.

And two weeks ago, the recording industry, under the umbrella group musicFIRST, sent the NAB four digital downloads: "Take the Money and Run" by the Steve Miller Band; "Pay me My Money Down" by Bruce Springsteen; "Back In the U.S.S.R" by Paul McCartney and "A Change Would Do You Good" by Sheryl Crow.

Oh wow, I'm surprised to see that from the RIAA, that's actually pretty classy.

[18-Till-I-Die]

On Monday, the recording industry sent the National Association of Broadcasters -- the trade group representing the $16 billion a year AM-FM broadcasting business -- a can of herring to underscore that it believes its arguments against paying royalties are a red herring.

The herring present followed another gift -- a dictionary, a bid by the recording industry to explain what it saw as the difference between fees and taxes.

And two weeks ago, the recording industry, under the umbrella group musicFIRST, sent the NAB four digital downloads: "Take the Money and Run" by the Steve Miller Band; "Pay me My Money Down" by Bruce Springsteen; "Back In the U.S.S.R" by Paul McCartney and "A Change Would Do You Good" by Sheryl Crow.

What the fuck is this, Monty Python?

Hey, next time, we send that killer joke thing that Johnson's team in R&D has been working on.

[Alan Bolte]

So they want radio stations to pay them money so the DJs can spin their records? Who remembers when it was the other way around, radio stations got paid to play the records the recording industry wanted them to play?

Has the world really spun that far around?

Isn't it still that way?

Also, is there some law against recording corporations merging with radio corporations? I'd think that would be the simplest way of dealing with the matter.

[Faqa]

On Monday, the recording industry sent the National Association of Broadcasters -- the trade group representing the $16 billion a year AM-FM broadcasting business -- a can of herring to underscore that it believes its arguments against paying royalties are a red herring.

The herring present followed another gift -- a dictionary, a bid by the recording industry to explain what it saw as the difference between fees and taxes.

And two weeks ago, the recording industry, under the umbrella group musicFIRST, sent the NAB four digital downloads: "Take the Money and Run" by the Steve Miller Band; "Pay me My Money Down" by Bruce Springsteen; "Back In the U.S.S.R" by Paul McCartney and "A Change Would Do You Good" by Sheryl Crow.

Clearly, NAB must retaliate by sending back Queen's "Radio Ga Ga"....

And a can filled with cow feces.

Maybe a little model of a dodo bird or a dinosaur?

The RIAA has all but ensured, I think, that no new artist will ever sign a contract with them. Ever. They have assured their own death by their continual fucktardery.

It strikes me, though, that the entertainment industry is always a drama-fest waiting to happen. You put creative minds in the thrall of money-hungry, practical businessmen, and hilarity WILL ensue.

Oh wow, I'm surprised to see that from the RIAA, that's actually pretty classy.

[Faqa]

FAQA SMASH STUPID QUOTE TAGS!!!!!

Erm, sorry about that. Coudl a mod fix it?

[Sarevok]

I wonder how long before they move on from radio to sound waves. How long before you can be sued for playing music aloud because other people can hear it ?

[The Grim Squeaker]

I wonder how long before they move on from radio to sound waves. How long before you can be sued for playing music aloud because other people can hear it ?

That's already happened, with radios or boomboxes/stereos being played aloud. (By policemen in...England I believe. My google fu seems to fail me this morning)

[Andrew_Fireborn]

I wonder how long before they move on from radio to sound waves. How long before you can be sued for playing music aloud because other people can hear it ?

That's already happened, with radios or boomboxes/stereos being played aloud. (By policemen in...England I believe. My google fu seems to fail me this morning)

That sounds more like them being poked with the local noise ordinances than a lawsuit for "Unauthorized public playing of licensed property."

[Alan Bolte]

I wonder how long before they move on from radio to sound waves. How long before you can be sued for playing music aloud because other people can hear it ?

Well, a business can't operate a television or radio in a public area without paying certain fees. Ridiculous, considering that the radio waves are already there.

[Keevan_Colton]

I wonder how long before they move on from radio to sound waves. How long before you can be sued for playing music aloud because other people can hear it ?

Well, a business can't operate a television or radio in a public area without paying certain fees. Ridiculous, considering that the radio waves are already there.

It gets better, as I recall Kwikfit got sued because mechanics were listening to radios while working on cars.

[Mad]

"It's a form of piracy, if you will, but not in the classic sense as we think of it," said Martin Machowsky, a musicFirst spokesman. "Today we gifted them a can of herring, about their argument that they provide promotional value. We think that's a red herring. Nobody listens to the radio for the commercials."

Is this quote accurate? Is this Machowsky person really this stupid? The "promotional value" of radio is that radio promotes the music being played. The music is the commercial.

[Hawkwings]

I believe lying is a worse debate tactic than using a red herring.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Now taking bets on when the greedy fucks will start going after musicians that perform live concerts. Ah shit, I may well have just given them the idea.

I think it pretty well goes without saying that the RIAA is one of the worst things to happen to music. I'd even say it's second to rap and emo, which are tied for worst thing to happen to music.

[Patrick Degan]

Now taking bets on when the greedy fucks will start going after musicians that perform live concerts. Ah shit, I may well have just given them the idea.

Oh, I'm sure they've had that idea bouncing around in their heads for quite some time now, but haven't managed to invent a legal fiction to justify lawsuits in that direction. But somebody at RIAA's volcano base is doubtless working away on that very problem.

[Stormbringer]

Now taking bets on when the greedy fucks will start going after musicians that perform live concerts. Ah shit, I may well have just given them the idea.

Oh, I'm sure they've had that idea bouncing around in their heads for quite some time now, but haven't managed to invent a legal fiction to justify lawsuits in that direction. But somebody at RIAA's volcano base is doubtless working away on that very problem.

Sure they have, it's called the "contract" and its already fucked many a musician.

[bilateralrope]

Now taking bets on when the greedy fucks will start going after musicians that perform live concerts. Ah shit, I may well have just given them the idea.

And the artists will cancel their concerts, telling the fans that bought tickets that they cannot perform because they are afraid of RIAA lawsuits. I don't think that would be good for the RIAA.

[Darth Wong]

I wonder how long before they move on from radio to sound waves. How long before you can be sued for playing music aloud because other people can hear it ?

It's already illegal to do "public display" of copyrighted material, which might include playing it loudly enough for many people to hear. It's probably illegal when an electronics store puts a movie on its big-screen TV to demonstrate it for customers (that's why they have these licensed "movie sampler" discs now, which endlessly play short clips of movies on demonstration TV sets)

[Sea Skimmer]

Well, a business can't operate a television or radio in a public area without paying certain fees. Ridiculous, considering that the radio waves are already there.

Almost the entire radio spectrum is currently in use, and who gets to use what parts of it is something which has to be tightly regulated, which in turn costs money.

[Zablorg]

Wow. Imagine if their delusional hissy fit was actually implemented, though. It would be hilarious to watch the RIAA take this to court and every single music station in America prepare a counter-suit of colossal proportions.

I am quite seriously willing to bet at this point that at some time in the future, internet screenshots from movies will be dubbed illegal by these loons.

[Darth Wong]

Wow. Imagine if their delusional hissy fit was actually implemented, though. It would be hilarious to watch the RIAA take this to court and every single music station in America prepare a counter-suit of colossal proportions.

I am quite seriously willing to bet at this point that at some time in the future, internet screenshots from movies will be dubbed illegal by these loons.

FOXNews once went on a website-busting campaign and shut down most of the Simpsons websites, because the Simpsons is a commercial property. Their view was that any unlicensed use of any Simpsons imagery was unlawful and would be prosecuted. That included any screenshots on any website, which resulted in the shutdown of many, many fan websites.

I'm not sure whether they've given up on this campaign since that time, or whether it's still in operation. Technically, if you had a Homer Simpsons avatar, they could issue a cease and desist order.

[Uraniun235]

Didn't Paramount do the same sort of thing several years ago with regard to unofficial Star Trek websites?