Artists disapprove of the RIAA methods.

[Animal]

Article

   "Lawsuits on 12-year-old kids for downloading music, duping a mother into paying a $2,000 settlement for her kid?" said rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy. "Those scare tactics are pure Gestapo."

    "File sharing is a reality, and it would seem that the labels would do well to learn how to incorporate it into their business models somehow," said genre-busting DJ Moby in a post on his Web site. "Record companies suing 12-year-old girls for file sharing is kind of like horse-and-buggy operators suing Henry Ford."

I for one believe that calling this 12 year old a thief is a stupid idea. Times are changing. Its the industry who has to adjust themselves to this new method of comunicaton and distribution, instead of trying to fight an uphill battle against advancing technology.

Executives have to stop seeing the people as customers, or sheep. People and society flow forward with technology. As long as executives treat the people contemptuously they will lose business. Face it, file sharing works great. It is way ahead of its time. File sharing is the future. The RIAA either catches up with this future and makes it work for them, or they will sooner or later go down like the lighter than air airship industry did.

The true artists like Moby (I dont know about the rapper, havent heard his music) care firstly about their music. It is their baby. They want their music to reach as many people as possible. Of course they want money, of course they want food in their table, but not all of them are greedy enough to believe that because they spend 5 hours a day in a studio doing what they are supposed to love they have a god given right to demand money from every single person their music reaches to. This is specially stupid coming from "artists" who are so rich that their fortunes rival those of the most professional and hardworking people in the world. You pimp your trick-ass ride and jewelry to an audience, and then you ironically take that same audience, hold them upside down, and shake every single penny out of them.

If your life is so bling bling, why do you need to steal $2,000 from a 12 year old?

The internet was the future ten years ago. Sharing of information is now. Adapt, or step away.

But if you dont agree with this, you can always print this and put it on your wall:

[Pfunk]

Wow Animal actually has a good point, I whole heartedly agree.

[Tarmac]

Agreed also.

And Chuck D is definately an artist.  He, along with the rest of Public Enemy, basically invented mainstream rap.  Back when rap was political and had a message that had nothing to do with modern crap about *****es, ho's, chrome rims, and bling-bling.

Glad to hear some artists' points of view though.  Nobody's really bothered to listen to their opinions in a while.

[Animal]

I have not followed rap much, but I do enjoy it when its good. Too bad you dont hear good rap often.
I'll download some of his songs and see how I like them

[SirLoin]

Just more fear tactics from u no wear....

[Munkii]

I wouldn't really define Moby as a rap artist in any sense of the word.  Definantly pick up some songs by him.  I would recommend Honey, Find my Baby, 18, and south side.

[Animal]

Originally posted by Munkii
I wouldn't really define Moby as a rap artist in any sense of the word.  Definantly pick up some songs by him.  I would recommend Honey, Find my Baby, 18, and south side.

I know Moby is not a rapper. I enjoy his music and believe he is one of the best today.
When I said rapper I was refering to Chuck D. Sometimes i dont do write my sentences very good at times.

[Lance]

I don't have any sympathy for the RIAA.  They are suits that have set up the music industry to where 90% of the artists that actually make the music get a scant 5 or 6 pennies for every dollar of album sales.  That is a big reason why you see a lot of artists against the RIAA on this.  They depend on concert sales and merchandising for the majority of their income, and they don't want their fans pissed off and not spending their money in these areas because the RIAA sued them for downloading one of their songs.

Oh, and as for Public Enemy, "It takes a nation of millions to hold us back" is one of the best albums ever, regardless of genre.

[Vulcan]

Have a glass of vodka on me Comrade Animal.

[Gadfly]

Why don't the artists just give the music away on the web and make it up through concerts, then? Other than the fact that a big portion of the music being stolen is not currently being performed live, that is.

[Munkii]

Originally posted by Animal
I know Moby is not a rapper. I enjoy his music and believe he is one of the best today.
When I said rapper I was refering to Chuck D. Sometimes i dont do write my sentences very good at times.

Ahh okay, I figured as much, but always feel the need to edjucate one on the greatness that is Moby.

[Tarmac]

Originally posted by Animal
I have not followed rap much, but I do enjoy it when its good. Too bad you dont hear good rap often.
I'll download some of his songs and see how I like them

I can't stand most rap either.  But Public Enemy and Run DMC are two groups that I listen to every once in a while, mostly because they have a real message.  They're a part of music history... modern rappers, no matter how big, are just farts in the wind IMO.

[Engine]

If you're interested in why the RIAA is attacking so viciously, check out this article (supposedly written by Courtney Love):

http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/print.html

Basically, the RIAA is fighting so hard because their existence is threatened.

Why aren't record companies embracing this great opportunity? Why aren't they trying to talk to the kids passing compilations around to learn what they like? Why is the RIAA suing the companies that are stimulating this new demand? What's the point of going after people swapping cruddy-sounding MP3s? Cash! Cash they have no intention of passing onto us, the writers of their profits.

...

Somewhere along the way, record companies figured out that it's a lot more profitable to control the distribution system than it is to nurture artists. And since the companies didn't have any real competition, artists had no other place to go. Record companies controlled the promotion and marketing; only they had the ability to get lots of radio play, and get records into all the big chain store. That power put them above both the artists and the audience. They own the plantation.

Being the gatekeeper was the most profitable place to be, but now we're in a world half without gates. The Internet allows artists to communicate directly with their audiences; we don't have to depend solely on an inefficient system where the record company promotes our records to radio, press or retail and then sits back and hopes fans find out about our music.

[Manedew]

RIAA is so dead ...  How much money did they spend to get $2,000 from that little girl ... $50,000...a  $100,000 in lawyers fee's?   They are kinda funny if you think about it .....  they are going to go sooooo broke doing this BS

[Mathman]

If the artists were really that upset about the RIAA getting a $2,000 settlement from a 12 year old girl, they would pony up the cash and give it back to the girl and her family.

-math (who really doesn't give a rat's bellybutton about this either way)