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Audio Overflow was founded on piracy. Were it not for the advent of the internet, of BitTorrent, this blog would probably not exist. If it did, it would hardly be what it is today. All of that music that I reviewed back in 2006 was mostly downloaded from P2P networks and file-sharing sites. In fact, it wasn't until mid-late 2007 that Audio Overflow started receiving legitimate advance copies of albums from artist, labels, and other sources. No surprise there. Most music blogs operate the exact same way.
But that is not what I will discuss today. Today I will ask you, the reader, to pick a side. Are you on the side of the pirates? Or do you you side with the villains? The RIAA? The big-business cronies looking to secure their fortunes for their trust fund babies? Both sides are at fault here. Who do you sympathize with?
Two days ago, I had no clue what I would write about today. But I knew that I had an advance copy of The Faint's new album, Fasciinatiion, in my "to-review" box and that I would probably go ahead and knock that one out if I had the time. Now, keep in mind that this is a legitimate advance copy with an FBI Warning and everything! I go to pop this CD into my laptop with the intention of transferring the songs to my MP3 player so that I can listen to it wherever I go. I do this with all my reviews, as i just don't have the time to sit at a desk all day and listen intently. To my surprise, an error message flashes across my monitor, informing me that my laptop cannot read this CD. Odd. I grab the CD case to find this message emblazoned across the back.
WATERMARKED & COPY PROTECTED CD! THIS CD HAS BEEN PROTECTED AGAINST UNAUTHORIZED COPYING AND HAS BEEN WATERMARKED WITH A UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION CODE THAT ALLOWS US TO TRACE ANY UNAUTHORIZED COPIES OR USAGE TO THE INTENDED RECIPIENT (YOU). YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY UNAUTHORIZED US OR DISTRIBUTION OF THE MUSIC ON THIS CD. THIS CD IS DESIGNED TO PLAY IN STANDARD AUDIO CD PLAYERS ONLY. IT IS NOT DESIGNED TO PLAY IN PERSONAL COMPUTERS AND MAY ALSO EXPERIENCE PLAYBACK PROBLEMS IN CAR SYSTEMS, DVD PLAYERS AND GAME CONSOLES.
0 out of 10 Stars
Think about this for a second. Even though I legally obtained a copy of this album, I am unable to use it in a legal and fair manner. Discouraged, I humbly walked over to my stereo system and put the CD in. Guess what, my stereo can't read it! The same goes for my car stereo, my game consoles, and my dvd players. What I have here is a useless piece of plastic, at most, a 5 second microwave light show! Notice the second sentence of that warning. If, say, I were to have this CD in my vehicle and someone broke in, stole it, and uploaded it to the internet, I would be punished!
How did we get to this point? Every month, we're bombarded with PSAs, FBI Warnings, and news of the latest RIAA out-of-court settlement. The RIAA has reported declining sales over the last decade, coinciding with the increase of P2P networks. Their reasoning, their explanation is piracy. But is it?
To an RIAA suit, this graph shows that piracy is affecting the music labels' bottom line. To me, it just looks like the high album sales that the RIAA was experiencing was a short phenomenon and that things are leveling back off. But what do I know? Well, I know that according to this study, that pirates actually buy MORE music. But how can that be? Well, it's simple.
Before the advent of the internet people had just a few ways to discover new music (television, radio, etc.), and all of those ways involved being told what to listen to by the record labels. MTV doesn't go out and find obscure artists. Clear Channel isn't browsing through hole-in-the-wall record stores. They're just playing what they're told to play, what they're PAID to play. But with the internet, people are actually able to hear as much music as they want to, and not just from RIAA artists. Sites like MySpace, iMeem, and Pandora are allowing music fans to hear music that they want to hear, not what they're told to hear. P2P networks offer the same freedom, and the same opportunities. As a result of hearing more music, couldn't it just be that these same people are choosing to buy more music?
I know that's true for me. I buy more CDs than anyone I know, so much so that I'm often lampooned for spending so much damn money on music. My personal collection is now over 225 individual albums. And guess what? Most of those were bought within the last 4-5 years as I started getting into indie music and downloading it illegally on the internet. You see, I do my downloading by a code. If I like what I download, I buy it. If I don't, I get rid of it. After all, there's no point in clogging up your hard drive with music that you won't listen to. Honorable as it may be, it's still quite illegal and I'm smart enough to know that not all people can say the same thing.
However, I'm also smart enough to know that I am never going to be prosecuted by the RIAA simply because I haven't downloaded an album from a major record in years. But far be it for them to reach out and help independent labels who are "struggling" (strange how you ever hear about that, ain't it?). The bottom line is that the big whigs at the RIAA don't care about their artists or their employees. They care about themselves, about their pocketbooks. Personally, I don't. Do you?
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