I went to Tower a few days ago, and, unbelievably, bought 3 CD’s for a little more than 30 dollars. Pretty impressive huh? I swear these weren’t in the “priced so low we’re going to give them away” bin either. What I found amazing about it was that a few years ago, this scenario was closer to the norm than the exception. These days, a CD is “on sale” at 16 or 17 dollars, instead of 13 or 14. Twenty dollars won’t even buy a CD when the tax is included, but all we hear is the RIAA crying out about how their artists are getting screwed, getting cheated out of profits they so rightly deserve. Universal Records has listened to the complaints, and has managed to drop their CD prices to 12.98, although no other record labels seem to be following suit. Maybe if the other labels went with this type of pricing the amount of illegal music downloading would go down.I think music piracy is ruining the music world. I would much rather support the bands I listen to by seeing them live and buying their music. It’s hard to believe the reports of “illegal music file-trading accounted for a 31-percent fall in compact disc sales since mid-2000”1 are fully accurate. It seems that popular music isn’t being innovative anymore, instead relying too much on past successes. We’ve had the Britney’s, Christina’s, the boy bands, and all the hardcore gangsta wannabes. While music file-trading has put a damper on CD sales, maybe the real problem is the large amounts of crap that the music industry is trying to feed the public. These unoriginal artists, who’s only reason for making music seems to be making money, are now being the focus of this music piracy war started by the RIAA.
Who are the artists that the RIAA is trying to defend? The “About Us” section of their website does not list a single artist, only record labels and recording companies. Why then is the RIAA on their white horse, riding in at the defense of current recording artists? The articles, features, and commentaries featuring the RIAA all speak of the artists’ creative integrity, not about the record labels, producers, or other managers of these artists. Why is this?
It seems to be that the RIAA is trying to use the artists as a tool for listeners to feel guilty about downloading music. If they said that Sony Music was losing sales, or that Maverick Records wasn’t doing as well, the majority of people wouldn’t care, saying it serves these huge companies right with their billions of dollars. Instead, the RIAA says the artists, ones like Madonna, Eminem, Garth Brooks, (note also most of them are individuals, not bands), are losing record sales, which affects their lifestyles.
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