Stealing Music or: How The RIAA Got Dumber

Y'know, I was one of those people who thought that the RIAA pretty much reamed Jammie Thomas back in November. Making a person pay close to a quarter million for what amounts to 2 CD's worth of tunes? Total bullshit man.

I was willing to at least pretend I understood the reasons for harping on Napster, Morpheus, and Kazaa. Those sites were responsible for moving tons of music, and it may have meant a lot of cool artists weren't getting their pittance from the labels. And while I didn't think it was the all out destruction of musicians, like they were making it out to be, I could at least see their point.

However, throwing around outrageous numbers and dumping them on a woman, who's in a less than secure financial position, just seems mean. And this all happened for what? Vanessa Williams and Richard Marx? For fuck's sake man, most of the shit she downloaded could be purchased at Wal Mart in some eight dollar compilation. It's petty scare tactics, which upsets me greatly. So, I shook my head and figured that the RIAA couldn't get any more low-down.

Somehow, they managed to surprise me.

Apparently there's a new lawsuit going on, and the level of bullshit has escalated. Here's the scoop, the RIAA is after a dude from Arizona. And it's not because he's taken gobs of tunes from Kazaa, or is selling black market CD's on street corners. His crime, according to the RIAA, is that he legally purchased music, and then ripped it to his computer.

Uhh..... what?

Are you telling me if I spend my hard-earned coin on a CD, then slap it on my mp3 player, I can be prosecuted for a crime? And all on the basis that I can potentially pass it around? Is that how this works?

I guess you sorry sacks must be too busy weeping about how you had to trade in the Lexus for a Toyota, you forgot to consider that "I BOUGHT THE SHIT!!!!!!"

If a crack-head breaks into my home and plundered some CD's, the ensuing police report would clearly indicate that MY albums were stolen. Every time I picked up some tunes, I was given a receipt that clearly denotes ownership. My compact disk collection is not on lease motherfucker. And if I ran my life by your logic, then every time I bought a watermelon, I could be fined by keeping the seeds! Because god forbid I should try to grow my own goddamned fruit.

For those RIAA supporters out there (all twelve of you,) you may think I'm being a little insensitive. After all, these guys are trying to insure that musical types get the money they're owed for the work they've put in. I'd like to point out to you people, I am one of those musical types. And despite my presence in the musical industry, I wouldn't let the RIAA near my business if they were offering me hookers and ice cream.

And I know with all certainty that there will be folks who will buy BGO tunes, then make copies of it for their chums. And I am also aware that this will mean I only earn money for one album when several were spawned from it.

But I could care less.

The reason being is that the minute someone pays me money for something I've created, I no longer have any say so in what gets done with it. If someone bought a pretty picture I painted, then dropped it on the ground and pissed on it, there's not much I could do. Sad as I would be watching my work turn yellow, it's no longer mine to protect. I write my music for the people. Every song I wrote was done with the hope that someone would like it so much, they'd want to keep it for themselves. Hell, those people might like the music so much, they'd share it with their friends. Friends who may never pay for it. That's cool too.

And does that scare me? You bet your ass it does. Being an artist is an investment of time and resources. Aside from spending the cash to put music in the world, there are promotional costs, instrument maintenance, acquiring new gear, maintaining old gear, and tending to the occasional catastrophe (like having a computer that swallows music.) Artists, loving what they do, will pay those costs. But in a world where credit cards and mortgages rule, one's craft must always come secondary. And when that happens, the art remains a hobby. Something you do when you have the time.

The BGO has yet to pay for itself. I have yet to recoup what I paid to get the music out in the world. But that's not a super big deal to me. I enjoy the work and was writing all those tunes for fun. Making music is a way I relax, and can challenge myself, all while reveling in creation. It's my zen baby.

That said, I'm getting to that place where I'm looking at second vehicles, my own home, and the joys of security. These things involve a lot of coin, and more time away from the studio. If the music cannot sustain me, then I need to turn to the big boy jobs. That means I'll have less time to write, which may mean less music for you. If things get too hectic, there might come a day where I would have to put the bass down forever and focus on being an adult.

It's a scary thing for a guy like me, who only wants to make music for the rest of his days. I'm happiest when I write, and would love nothing more than to be able to do this as my job. The less I would earn, the harder it would be for me to follow that dream. If nobody ever buys the music, it's possible there may never be another BGO album.

But despite my concerns, I still refuse to be bothered by the notion that people can freely copy my music whenever they like. I am an artist, and an artist is made by fans. All you good people who read my bitching and listen to my shit are what define how good I am. And if you're giving copies of my stuff away to your buddies, it means I've got a chance to have a new fan. And that's a damn cool thing. Certainly something that's of more value than a few extra pennies in my pocket. So, I'll let you folks decide my destiny. If I'm successful, it'll because you made me that way. In the end, I'm just glad you were willing to even listen.

So, to summarize, the RIAA remains an organization of smelly douche bags, and I am grateful that I'm around in a time where I don't have to have them in my business. I put out my music on my terms, and there isn't a damn thing they can do about it. You hear that you RIAA needle-dick suck cows? My music is freely available to people, and they can choose what happens to it. Woe is you motherfuckers, you'll be handing me cheeseburgers in a paper hat within 3 years time.

UPDATE (12/30/07) Engadget is now reporting that the facts may have been stretched regarding the lawsuit. Supposedly, they are suing not because of ripping CD's into digital files, but for old school illegal downloading. However, the RIAA is hasn't stopped claiming that making those digital copies is copyright infringement. Which means, I'm still as angry as I was before.