THE RIAA FOLLIES: Lawsuits “Educate”. University Of WI Won’t Cooperate.
The University Of Wisconsin has reminded its students of copyright use laws, but refused to forward RIAA settlement letters without specific subpoenas. (Interesting coverage from the campus newspaper here.)
Maenwhile, RIAA heads Barinwol and Sherman have written an opinion piece for "Inside Higher Ed" magazine attempting to explain their seemingly endless stream of litigation against college students:
"…College students used to be the music industry’s best customers. Now, finding a record store still in business anywhere near a campus is a difficult assignment at best. It’s not just the loss of current sales that concerns us, but the habits formed in college that will stay with these students for a lifetime. This is a teachable moment — an opportunity to educate these particular students about the importance of music in their lives and the importance of respecting and valuing music as intellectual property."
What is the RIAA "teaching" kids by suing them? That record labels suck? That loving music is an underground activity? Will being a fan of recorded music become a new subculture? That kind of marketing has been great for the drug trade.
What they are saying about: The RIAA versus the UW-Madison
This morning as I surfed the net looking for interesting topics of discussion concerning Madison I found myself singing “The RIAA took my baby away” to the tune of the Ramones classic “The KKK took my baby away.” Why? The internet is a-buzzing with discus
1) I think you are right, that being a music fanatic is now going to entail being part of an underground culture. “Be a music fan, go to jail” is one of the messages being sent.
For those of us of a certain age, there is a growing echo of 1970s marijuana culture. I wonder if soon we will see RIAA narcs, recruited to inform on the private filesharing of their friends?
2) Another message being sent by the RIAA: “You’re better off if you listen to less music.”
3) The RIAA writes of “the habits formed in college.” Current college students were roughly 11 years old when Napster was at its peak, and when CD burners became common appliances. Since their musical tastes moved beyond “Fraggle Rock,” they have been marinated in a culture of freely copied and shared music files. These habits were formed long before they were college freshmen.