In what is a both an obviously concerted PR and legal campaign, the RIAA and MPAA took down a huge piracy operation that included music on CDs and still non-released to the public DVD movies. In an attempt to elude authorities for the longest possible time, this is how it was operated by a Abdouraitamance Diallo:
Of course, the RIAA portrays this as a 'significant blow to the nation's piracy market''”although only ONE MAN was arrested and charged. It is obvious one person could not have purchased all the CD/DVD blanks, duplicator towers, burned all the copies, packaged them, maintained the equipment AND moved to different locations alone. So, this begs the question of how did this strike a major blow to piracy in the nation? It is assumed since the organizations could only trace financial activities back to Mr. Diallo that the distribution and sales must have been in cash. While an assumption, the article nor the MPAA/RIAA duo did not mention the 'street value' of the merchandise, how much was charged per unit, nor how much Diallo may have earned in this enterprise. As with any 'major' drug bust, police departments proudly proclaim street values in dollars of cocaine or other illegal drugs they confiscate. Yet curiously, they refuse to name concrete figures, yet continue spouting the unsubstantiated myth that piracy 'costs them billions.' This raises another issue: given the fact the product was bootlegged and any savvy buyer would have known this, how are we to know the bootlegged product was inferior to what the music and movie industries produced? Because they say so? It is obvious Mr. Diallo's business thrived and, while illegal, in some way further supports the fact that both music CDs and movie DVDs are seriously overpriced. If the consumers did not feel they were overpriced, they would gladly buy from retail outlets and the piracy movement would be largely eroded. Of course, this conclusion never escapes the official spokespeople's lips! All we read is the same, tired and hackneyed line that 'we need to convince the public (implied: that they are evil for wanting a lower cost product).' That said, most would agree this is really the only kind of operations the RIAA/MPAA should engage in, ones that shut down large-scale operations that profit from reproducing music and movies in this way. To hear the RIAA's recent PR video at public universities, it is ALWAYS illegal just to download one song'”even if it leads the person to want to buy the album! Of course, the best way to convince the public would be to tell them the truth, not spin a fairly minor bust and distribution center with only one person's head on a stake ('the group') and somehow proclaim it as a huge victory. Sadly, the RIAA/MPAA only desires to shape the public's perception to its distorted way of thinking, one that does not accept practicality nor reality.
Source: The Houston Chronicle
