# Fuck The RIAA **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 8, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365 "2003-04-08T19:10:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/41 "2003-04-10T17:29:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by neutron star \* > \*\*Correction/Clarification: > > I misread the Dolby article the first time. The 80x tapes were commercially reproduced. Having not purchased a tape deck in many years, I have no idea if home units are capable of this speed. \*\* They’re not. ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/42 "2003-04-10T18:41:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*2. There is this bizarre unwillingness on the part of people to accept that **costs do not determine price.** Jesus, guys. CDs cost $15-$20 because that is what people will pay for them. > \*\* But that’s just it – people are becoming less and less willing to pay that much for them. But instead of lowering prices, the RIAA is trying to blame file-sharing for the problem, and is advocating increasingly draconian laws to deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/43 "2003-04-10T18:48:38Z")
Well, hell. Wouldn’t **you** in their position? \ Tell truth now! \ ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/44 "2003-04-10T19:07:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by davidw \* > \*\*But that’s just it – people are becoming less and less willing to pay that much for them. But instead of lowering prices, the RIAA is trying to blame file-sharing for the problem, and is advocating increasingly draconian laws to deal with it. \*\* Yeah well if people are less and less willing, why was 2002 a record year for sales in the industry? (IIRC) 😃 If people _actually_ stop buying albums, perhaps something will change. Certainly more then if people only keep bitching about it. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/45 "2003-04-10T19:24:30Z")
Additionally, being less willing to pay $15-$20 should mean that you go without, not that you steal it, and then enable others to go on stealing it. Yes, the RIAA has their collective heads up their collective asses so far that they can see the collective backs of their collective teeth. But so does every Robin Hood who thinks (s)he is robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. I’m still waiting for the obligatory “Because I can try out music on the internet, I buy more, therefore everyone does” argument. There’s one in every file sharing thread. ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/46 "2003-04-10T19:30:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by World Eater \* > **Yeah well if people are less and less willing, why was 2002 a record year for sales in the industry? (IIRC) 😃** I’m not sure if that’s right. [According to the RIAA website](http://www.riaa.com/PR_Story.cfm?id=618) , "According to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, CD shipments dropped almost 9 percent in 2002, while unit shipments of all music formats decreased 11 percent. " Of course, they blame the problem on piracy, not on the public beginning to refuse to buy over-priced CDs. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/47 "2003-04-10T19:34:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kanicbird \* > > For a **commody** this is true but the RIAA acts like a **monolopy** (actually something like a **oliglopy** , which is close enough to **monolopy** pricing) and pricing is not set where supply and demand would naturally meet but at a higher level. \*\* Spelling like this, especially when the errors occur in spelling the key concepts with which you are dealing, does not inspire much confidence in your economic analysis. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/48 "2003-04-10T19:38:36Z")
Whoops, I stand corrected, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/49 "2003-04-10T19:46:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by davidw \* > \*\*Of course, they blame the problem on piracy, not on the public beginning to refuse to buy over-priced CDs. \*\* Of course, I could say the inverse about you. ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/50 "2003-04-10T19:57:59Z")
You sure could. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/51 "2003-04-10T20:47:42Z")
Given the depressed economy worldwide, reduced sales might have little to do with either piracy or overpricing, or at least have a third, equally viable, cause. ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/52 "2003-04-10T21:00:47Z")
Good point. ---
**Author:** ![arandomwinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@arandomwinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arandomwinner)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/53 "2003-04-10T21:37:23Z")
i recall a time when i would buy CDs. since then i’ve seen that the people who run this organization known as the RIAA are stuck in the past, unwilling to adapt to changes in demand. they go so far as to sue college students and demand universities commit their resources to protecting their product. they get laws passed for the same purpose. i mean, i never had a problem with buying CDs… they’ve always been expensive. but i’m afraid the RIAA has fucked themselves this time. i will never purchase a CD from a major label again. thousands of dollars of profit lost with just me. the more they fight mp3s the more their profits will decrease. mp3s are already mainstream, people aren’t worried about it being illegal… if they push this any further i think they will find people who download songs without buying CDs for the sole purpose of spiting them. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/54 "2003-04-10T21:50:50Z")
It does raise some questions, because seriously, if you can hear it you can record it. There is absolutely no way to secure audio, so I’m very curious to see how their business model will eventually evolve, 200 years from now of course. ---
**Author:** ![Payton\_s\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@Payton\_s\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payton_s_Servant)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/55 "2003-04-10T22:06:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by neutron star \* > \*\*So what about sound quality then? It’s pretty common knowledge that a sizable group of audiophiles prefer records to CDs for their “warmer” sound. \*\* I believe that whole _warmer_ sound thing is more myth then reality, or a case of people hearing what they want to hear. Nevertheless, what you didn’t point out was that in order to hear this supposed _warmer sound_, you need a stereo system that costs upwards of $9-15,000 which is just a wee bit ridiculous to my ears. The only way that one would get the absolute best sound would be if you were in the studio with the act at the time of the actual recording. But even that is a very, very, very, very rare thing these days, as the majority of artists resort to the old “_cut and paste_” method of recording, and most songs on an album don’t consist of one take, but rather bits and pieces of innumerable takes spliced together. It **is** a lot easier these days with digital recording. ---
**Author:** ![HoldenCaulfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@HoldenCaulfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoldenCaulfield)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/56 "2003-04-10T23:39:36Z")
I don’t know much about the validity or bias of this article, but I thought it was a pretty good read. It discusses how the movie industry increased profits last year even though movie piracy has been increasing. It compares the film industry to the record industry. Check it out: [http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/02/01/file\_trading\_manifesto/index.html](http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/02/01/file_trading_manifesto/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/57 "2003-04-11T13:47:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Payton’s Servant \* > **The only way that one would get the absolute best sound would be if you were in the studio with the act at the time of the actual recording.** You’ve obviously never been in a studio while an act was recording. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/58 "2003-04-11T15:07:48Z")
Yeah, since frequently essential things like ‘drums’ are laid down weeks before the actual melody and other such things. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/59 "2003-04-11T15:35:50Z")
Not if it’s Gregorian chant. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365/60 "2003-04-12T01:16:39Z")
What pisses me off is how the RIAA pretends like they’re suddenly so concerned that a bunch of high school and college kids are stealing from the artists. The record companies have been stealing from the artists for years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-riaa/167365.md?page=4)