Every now and again, I flip back through the archives here at conradzero.com, and yesterday I came across this easily forgettable post from a year ago. Back in March 2007, Gizmodo announced their position on the RIAA's unethical tactics, and posted an accurate and meaningful manifesto which called the RIAA out on their own bullshit.

If you are a musician, or even a music fan, you owe it to yourself to know the truth, and at least skim through the manifesto. You should understand who the RIAA are, and what they are doing. Once you know what they are doing, you won't need to be told that it's unethical. You'll understand why established bands like Nine Inch Nails are leaving their labels. You'll understand why new bands like Jagged Spiral have no interest in being 'signed'.

The RIAA served their purpose when we had nothing else, but for years they have actively fought against using the internet as a method of music distribution, and when they finally (begrudgingly) put their music up on the internet, they poisoned it with DRM.

This is the point where we don't need the RIAA anymore.

The parting could have been avoided if they simply gave the customers what they wanted (and were more than willing to pay for,) internet distribution of music that we could purchase and play on our own terms. They wouldn't give it to us, and the internet opened another method of music distribution, so this is the point where we say "Goodbye RIAA, it's been great! So long!"

The parting could have remained amicable if the RIAA hadn't decided to become unethical. Unfortunately, the RIAA decided to rewrite and twist the laws of this country to their own ends, and to start unfairly suing their own customers and innocent people.

So this becomes the point where we don't need OR WANT them anymore. This is the point where we say, "Piss off RIAA, you really screwed up that relationship! Fuck you!"

What saddens me most is that all this bullshit gets between the musicians and the consumers. The desperation of consumers to get at music they want is being held up by the greed of the RIAA to restrict access, and control how consumers use the product they sell.

It didn't have to be this way, but the RIAA made their choice. They went to the Dark side. They chose...poorly.

It doesn't have to continue to be this way, but that's for YOU to decide.

What can YOU do about it? Simple. Don't endorse the behavior. Don't fuel the RIAA's efforts. Now that the RIAA's antics are public knowledge, people don't have the right to be ignorant. Anyone purchasing music from the RIAA labels is endorsing, enforcing, and promoting this behavior. Likewise for artists who sign contracts with RIAA labels.

Trust me, there is SO MUCH independent music out there, that the RIAA labels and artists could all die today, and you wouldn't miss them for long. Finding the music you like is half the fun. Check out local bands, and "indie" labels. Look at myspace, pitchfork, Hype Machine and such. If you like music, there's plenty to pick from, lots of it better and lots of it worse than what the RIAA provides, and much of it is in your hometown!

If you want music to thrive, the best thing you can do is to give your money directly to the artists - go to their shows, go to their websites, and buy the art directly from them. The worst thing you can do is give money to the RIAA. Don't fall for I-Tunes. Don't fall for Rhapsody, Zune or Napster. Support websites that support independent artists:

emusic
mp3tunes
Magnatune
Garage Band
CD Baby
Yes, even Amazon.com.

If you know of others, please comment them!

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Labels: Call To Action, DRM Sucks, Music Industry