The Inquirer has posted an
interesting article on the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
and its members and their powers and activities in regard to anti-piracy.
The RIAA has lately been taking more and more
aggressive actions against music pirates since they blame
the pirates (and file-sharing software) for the drop in music sales. This
article has a different opinion on things:
 It would
be disturbing enough if the RIAA had credibility in its statements and
actions, but it doesn't. It chooses to ignore many plausible reasons for a
drop on music sales in 2001 and 2002, preferring to blame downloading from
the web as the entire cause of the ills of the music industry. Having
decided that downloads are to blame, it has put its own spin on the matter
and then taken draconian steps - out of all proportion to the situation -
to stamp out downloads.
One major problem with the RIAA's statements is that
there is no independent verification of its claims about the effects of
downloading. It has quoted the results of surveys, but as I have shown in
a previous article, one survey on which it heavily relied was subjected to
the bias of the questioner when user responses were put into different
categories. And, of course, the survey was commissioned by the RIAA so its
independence was already compromised.
The RIAA's attempts to blame Napster and other
file-sharing services ignore some basic realities, so much so that one
must question its competence.
The first factor is the downturn in the economy, a
downturn that started late in 2000 and really could only be expected to
appear in 2001 sales. The last few years have seen this downturn continue
with rising unemployment, tech stock collapse and the scandals of Enron,
Worldcom and others. Revenues and profits of US companies have taken a
battering. |
The article has a lot of interesting facts and figures. In short it
comes down to the conclusion that the RIAA has become too powerful and its
assertions that downloading and music piracy are to blame for the drop in music
sales are dubious, to say the least..
Source: The Inquirer
