No Rock And Roll Fun

PASSENGERS: About.com's article claiming that the RIAA is suing passengers in cars with radios on the basis that the music is intended for the original owner of the vehicle only is a joke, but it's the sort of joke that makes us uncomfortable - it'll only give them ideas...

Even Business Week, a title not known for its love of the little guy in the margins is condemning the RIAA's tactics of continuing the "time consuming and costly" lawsuits as "big music's worst ever move." Indeed, the only people who seem to support the RIAA - outside of their Wolfram and Hart style offices - are people who need to keep the big labels sweet. So Keith Girard, Billboard's editor-in-chief, is positively creaming himself over the lawsuits: "We've maintained all along that the biggest benefit of the legal campaign has been its ability to raise the public's awareness and to send a clear message that there could be consequences. In hindsight, if the campaign has proved anything, it's that public education and relying on the goodwill of people simply isn't enough of a deterrent to change public behavior." Um... so the whole thing has actually been an "awareness raising campaign" because "public education" doesn't work? Isn't that a little contradictory? Is there now a whole new way of raising awareness that isn't educative? It's almost as if Keith is dredging up something positive sounding about unpleasant activities purely because they're being pursued by his advertisers, ridiculous as that might sound.