Lobbying: CRIA leads the way
p2pnet news view RIAA | P2P | Music:- Is the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association of America), Canada’s version of Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG’s RIAA, among various regional Big 4 sue ‘em all units which’ll soon be announcing dramatic staff layoffs?
The RIAA will survive, even if it’s dismembered and parcelled out, but as one of the least effective of all the corporate music industry extortion units, will the CRIA simply be quietly closed down?
IOHO, it’s a more than distinct possibility and we won’t be surprised if an announcement to that effect is comes soon.
In the meanwhile, it’s still weaselling away at the spineless Stephen Harper Conservative government (and the Liberal opposition, just in case) on behalf of the Big 4.
Ottawa law professor Michael Geist occasionally reports on lobbying activities which have been posted online.
And in January, the CRIA led the way with the following meetings, says Geist »»»
- January 9, 2009 – Barry Sookman meeting with Tanya Peat, policy advisor to Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore and Zoe Addington, policy advisor to Industry Minister Tony Clement
- January 9, 2009 – David Dyer meeting with Zoe Addington
- January 9, 2009 – David Dyer meeting with Tanya Peat
- January 23, 2009 – David Dyer meeting with Tanya Peat
The only other reported copyright-related meeting was with the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, he says.
Allowed to continue festering
The CRIA is, fo course, but a pale facsimile of the RIAA, which is itself in dire straits.
If the RIAA was a normal business operation in which effectiveness and satisfactory results had any meaning, the people who run it and ran it, — ie, Hilary Rosen, Cary Sherman, Mitch Bainwol, Cary Sherman, Jonathan Lamy, Cary Sherman, Jenny Engebretsen, Cary Sherman, Cara Duckworth, Cary Sherman, and so on — would’ve been dismissed with ignomy.
Instead, the outfit has been allowed to continue festering, grossly infecting the Big Music corporate body, deeply injuring families across America, alienating music lovers, turning the US civil court system into a travesty, blackening the names of Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG.
In a comment to our post on its current unlamented troubles, “You know, people been telling these yoyos that suing your customers isn’t exactly a smart thing to do,” says a Reader’s Write, going on »»»
It’s not conducive to keeping repeat business happening when you tee off the very ones you depend on for your income. Of course I am sure we will once again hear the moan and groan of it’s all the pirates fault.
Doesn’t it just give your heart a little joyful flutter to hear such good news for those that do deserve it?
What’s so sad about all this, is it never had to be this way. But the majors know greed and nothing else. Could have been that they granted license to Napster back in the day. Just think how much income they would have made today had they, even charging just 5¢ a download would have brought them a fortune they don’t have today. During that time, P2P groups would have given their left nut to have been legally licensed to continue what they were doing. But the majors just couldn’t see any other way than being an a$$hole about things. Well, that part hasn’t changed today. What has changed is the world around them. They have woken up to the idea that money just isn’t flowing in like it used to.
They have managed to alienate the very people they depend on for their livelihood. There is no longer the interest there was back in the heyday with music. People don’t hear new music all the time any more through the commercial outlets. Instead they hear the same old pap gone through for the umpteenth time for the day on an hourly basis. The music is now bland. The artists no longer connect to their audience like they used to. Was a time when you felt a connection to the artist through what they were trying to say. It meant something to you.
All that is dead now. People no longer line up in front of record stores for block length lines to obtain that newest release and for the ability to say they had it first. Music is no longer worth the money when it goes through the corporate channels to reach them at the high prices for the little that is on a new album. Its so bad they can’t hardly sell albums anymore. They’ve filled the album with filler until finding an album with three good songs on it is a challenge to do. Who wants that?
I can remember the time of concept albums when there was a theme running through the album that tied all the songs together into a complete work. There was experimentation, there was a fresh look to each new album. It wasn’t more of the same. Artists don’t seem to be growing any more. It’s like they lack the originality that was there during the heydays. Covers are a big thing now. What that tells me is that they don’t have the spark to drive that originality and are depending on the fame of recognition to drive the sale, not the skill of something new standing on it’s own to make it’s own way.
With this lack, are others that were cut in the effort to funnel more money into the pockets of the majors. Things like the large artwork. I can’t tell you how many times I stood in front of mind boggling artwork and that alone convinced me to try something new. I somehow just can’t connect with it on the small digital artwork. Go ahead and dig out the magnifying glass and maybe you can see up close what they have in the image.
Artists are no longer groomed to be acts that will last. All that got dropped. With that dropping came the lack of care about artists and part of the reason why they have no long term life on the hit list.
But hey, this is great news to hear there are major layoffs with the RIAA. Now for the rest of them to crater if they can’t sit down and figure out what the customer has been telling them with their wallets.
Stay tuned.
(Cheers, Marc)
Jon Newton – p2pnet
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February 28th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
what they are saying is that the made in america eocnomic crisis is real bad and like hte great depression they are getting ready for the big hit.
WHY, cause htey suck ,
look at the leaders own words , he hates Canada, and us in general , and we should never forget that.
March 1st, 2009 at 1:35 am
OH and there media giants associated to ghollywood are in big financial trouble …globe media has a 4 billion debt ( prolly half that went to buying off all the buddies htey could get HAHA)
ctv is reporting a 100mill loss, another schill company, and dont expect any handouts , buyouts or sympathy due to YOUR love of bill c-61.
“we won’t be fooled again” and “we’re not goinna take it”
March 1st, 2009 at 1:04 pm
As usual, good article Jon.
If theres one good thing thats come from this whole economic slump is…. *hopefully* these companies are in real trouble with HUGE debts..
the reason I wrote ‘hopefully’ is its hard to know what exactly to believe with all the underhanded and shill companies these scumbags have to make the money disappear as well as dirty accounting (aka hollywood accounting)
To bad for them (RIAA) Bush isnt in power, i’m sure he would have bailed out the “poor” industry.
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Yes poor RIAA all they want is to rule the world, but nothing goes right for them. In the future dictionaries will have RIAA/MPAA/USA as part of the definition to the word “FAIL”. They will probably shut down all the RIAA branches and MPAA etc and just form a huge one. Or at least cut back to one per industry. But they fail.
Random made up fact: Today is lol at RIAA day.
Happy LOL at RIAA day. LOL.
Random made up fact2: Tomorrow is R.I.A.A Fail day.