Who is the fucking RIAA anyway? I always read articles about them suing people and companies for piracy but I never stopped to think about who they were. Basically they are a legalized mafia. That sounds dramatic but think about what the mafia does best.

The mob likes to offer “protection” to businesses that go beyond what the police department can provide. But really it’s “give me money every week or you won’t have a store anymore” which is almost what the RIAA does. Here what they say…

“The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry. Its mission is to foster a business and legal climate that supports and promotes our members’ creative and financial vitality.”

You can read the whole thing here. Does anyone really think they are needed at all? With computer prices so low and audio software as good as it is, most people can do the recording in their basement. You can send a master CD to a duplication company to print up CDs and labels for you at a very low cost. Records companies do help put up the money for engineers, studio time, and most importantly marketing but they can be easily bypassed. Where does the RIAA come into play here though? What do they do except “try” and I do mean try to stop piracy? They sue people because that’s how they generate cash flow. They don’t sell a product or any real service so suing pirates puts cash in their pockets.

I wish I was an artist so I would bypass them altogether but I lack any natural talent in anything creative so I guess I’ll continue to be a ranting loser with a blog.