As of now, I am officially boycotting CDs. I've probably only bought a handful in the last couple of years, but the RIAA's recent attack on Muxtape has crossed the line. This is WAR.
Muxtape, as I saw it, was a pretty benign compromise. You could only stream music on the site and there was link to purchase the Mp3 of the song you were streaming. That's a far cry from the anarchic days of Napster and it has roots in a tradition older than I am: that of the mixtape.
But no. According to a statement by the RIAA what Muxtape was doing was illegal. Well I've HAD IT. The goddamn recorded music industry isn't going to get a cent out of me until it shapes up.
Sure, maybe some artists will be deprived a nickle or two that the RIAA would have tossed them, but it's acceptable losses to kill the cancer of the RIAA. Here's my pledge, I urge you to take it with me:
I __________ hereby vow that from this day forward I will obtain music only in the form of used vinyl and illegal download until the RIAA quits being such fascist assholes. (Fine print: Exceptions may be made for purchases directly from bands with no ties to the greater music industry machinery.)
Sincerely,
Jason Simms
PS Please buy my band's CD.
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Hmmm, how about buying CDs from the merch table of bands that have already sold out to the music man? Or how about emailing a band directly every time you pirate their music, so they can put pressure on the RIAA and music execs themselves? Personally, I hope more artists try the Radiohead/Saul Williams/Girl Talk "pay whatever you want to download" model. But yeah, screw the RIAA. They also make live music a pain in the ass for little places who can't afford licensing fees.
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