A word to the RIAA:
SHUT UP!
Who the hell do these people think they are? Why are they telling me what I can do with the material that I’ve legally paid for? Why should I do anything more than punch the first RIAA rep I come across just to take out my frustration?
I came across an article on Ars Technica that talks about how the RIAA is claiming that the FAIR USE Act being introduced in the States is effectively the end of all humankind. It bothers me a lot. Why? Because the RIAA is now so full of itself (and the idea of DRM) that it claims the DCMA is responsible for the creation of:
- iPod
- iTunes Store
- DVDs
- The Holy Roman Church
Well, maybe not that last one, but it’s equally as unlikely (and insipid to suggest) that the DCMA had anything to do with it.
News flash: The DCMA didn’t create, lend to, or even hint at the dawning of anything beyond a headache. The iPod exists because Apple wanted to dominate the MP3 market. (They switched from MP3 to AAC encoding to avoid licencing fees to Fraunhofer.) The iTunes Store exists because Apple had the foresight to see that selling the experience mattered more than the device that plays the music.
As for DVDs … c’mon, gimme a break. It’s called natural process of development. The DVD was inevitable the moment the first light went on in the mind of the guy who created the LaserDisc. DCMA just made the wrangling over its development (different regions, anyone?) way more complicated than it needed to be. Don’t even get me started on Blu Ray or HD-DVD.
The DCMA act was brought in by lawyers for the sole purpose of increasing profits for themselves, earned by assisting their clients in suing teenagers and little old ladies who downloaded a few tunes online. That’s what it’s done for us — it’s made the RIAA into a monster through its own ego.
And no, the FAIR USE Act it’s not legalizing hacking, ya idjits! It’s allow the legal schmoes such as myself (we’re in the majority, last I checked) to use the things that we legally paid for in whatever manner we feel appropriate (provided it doesn’t violate existing public use stipulations). Ideas that existed with the CD, cassette tape, 45, LP, phonograph, wax recording tube, Gutenburg’s printing press, and the freaking clay tablet.
Considering all the damage that’s been done, I’m almost amazed anyone wants to listen — let alone be associated — with the RIAA. So please, shut the hell up and let us get access to the damn media we bought.
