The Man Who Wasn't There

I read an intriguing article at Ars Technica last week about music label EMI pulling support to RIAA and how this could be a domino effect for the much-maligned company. Then, I see today an article at CNET about the RIAA and what happens when they open their mouths (hint: it's not pretty).

There's also 10 interview questions with the RIAA. From going after grandmas and twelve year olds to completely ignoring the source of piracy, there's a lot to complain about.

There's even the classic example of the quote from a RIAA spokesperson who said it was the RIAA's belief that basically everyone is a thief. They didn't say that directly, of course, but they said...I dug up the quote because it's too good to pass up:

"When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song," said Pariser, RIAA's lead counsel. Making "a copy" of a song you own is just "a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy'," according to Pariser.

All those CDs you copied to your desktop so you could listen to them on your MP3 device? Illegal, you jerks!

So, the news that EMI is pulling from the RIAA is a good thing, since the RIAA relies on the industry's financial support.