Music! United! Never will be divided!

We've been delighted to come across musicunited.org, which is part of the RIAA attempt to convince us to stop downloading. A page full of people from the music industry giving their opinions on the hot issue of the day. Only... something's not quite right.

See, the site is meant to be all about people downloading music files and not paying for them. Yet some of the quotes clearly aren't about that at all - they refer to music piracy, or bootlegging, or unofficial releases. Which are all equally important, and some of which are actual threats to the music industry as it is; but it's like having a campaign to get people to wear seatbelts and using quotes from people talking about speeding and drink driving to support it.

It seems, as well, that the artists aren't actually talking from the heart - the constant repetition of the "you wouldn't steal a CD, it's the exact same thing" line makes this look oddly like a bunch of people being lined up by their employers to parrot their words.

Oh, and also - next time you try this, RIAA, you might want to brief your stooges more accurately - a lot of them seem to think that we should all "go into a store and buy the CD." You might want to explain to them about the legal downloads, the sales through Amazon and the one cent CD mail order offers. Oh, maybe you wouldn't, would you? Best keep them in the dark about that.

Let's choose one artist at random from the list, shall we... eeeny... meeny... mineey...

Kelly Price, R&B Singer, "Priceless": "[Piracy] threatens everything about the legitimate side of the business.

So, we're already away from the point. The subject on the card is Illegal Downloading.

From the artist perspective, they are raped because more often than not they don't make a lot of money on sales anyway, so what little they would see is largely reduced by piracy.

Let's just leave the whole issue about whether missing out on threepence from the sale of a CD is in anyway comprable to being raped, shall we, because that is such a stupid, vaccuous and insensitive claim it doesn't deserve consideration.

We do, however, approve of you managing to get an implied criticism of the system into your statement, although it doesn't seem to have occured to you that you're being wheeled up to defend a system - in the name of the artist, no less - which pays those artists a piffling amount.

It’s also a huge disrespect when those artists have emptied their soul for the whole world to hear and see, and to know that someone standing on a corner can pimp them for $5.

Let's hope Kelly never has to see those shops like MVD where their music is pimped for GBP2-99. We're a little lost here - it almost seems as if she's saying that art should trascend mere commerce, but doesn't want to in the end. There is prostitution, and there is free sex. There is no way of being paid and not being a prostitute.

I wish it was taken more seriously than it is.

More seriously? Jesus, you've already put it on a par with rape. How much more serious do you want it to be?

Artists aren’t the only ones who lose.

No, we bet your bosses are losing more.

The fans lose all of the quality and don't realize that in the eyes of the artist true fans would never support that in the name of saving a few dollars, anyway. It's not a good feeling

The fans lose all of the quality? Blimey. I know hi-fi wankers might argue that every piece of sibilance is vital to the whole, but total loss of quality? Even I'd notice that. And a nice 'how deep is your love' twist there - no true fan would do it to "save a few dollars." There speaks someone for who a few dollars is a moment or two to make. For most of us, Kelly, "a few dollars" is a whole big deal. Why not suggest to your bosses they drop the price of the records, if you're really that bothered?