Rosen Resigns from RIAA

by JRoyale

2003-01-22 19:49:46

Viva La Musica

With the record label obituaries being written after they stupidly ignored and then fought tooth and nail against the coming age of digital music, the leader of this failed crusade and abysmal business model, Hilary Rosen, is resigning as the head of the RIAA at the end of this year.

While trying to put a positive spin on her resignation (Hilary says she wants to spend more time with her children), it seems obvious to this reporter that she was sacked for moronic judgment and piss fucking poor results. The record companies, blinded by their absolute greed for years, are in a free fall, and like any pro sports team, when things are horrible, the easiest thing to do is fire the coach. So they fired Rosen. But unless they replace her with someone who is willing to accept and embrace the potential of the Internet, they are doomed. HAHAHAHA. DOOMED I tell YOU!

There are zillions of ways to make money on the Internet, but companies need to adapt. And that might mean completely overhauling their business model and sharing a smaller revenue source. Admittedly not great news for a CEO to take to his shareholders, but still some revenue is better then no revenue and if the record labels don’t get IT quickly, that’s what they are gonna have... ZERO.

Personally, I no longer see the need for record companies. The digital revolution has made it cheap to produce and edit music - so state of the art studios are no longer the exclusive province of major corporations. And the Internet is the best marketing and distribution tool ever invented. Bands no longer need record companies and neither do music consumers. So maybe the record companies can find a niche and maybe they can’t. After ripping off bands and consumers for year, hopefully, record companies will disappear, much like buggy whip manufacturers did when autos replaced horses as our primary means of transportation.

As for Rosen, I’ve hated her for years. She’s lead dozens of ham-fisted attempts to thwart reasonable copyright laws and fair use. Ignoring consumer rights and insulting their intelligence, Rosen along with her pit-bull compatriot at the MPAA, Jack Valenti, have also stolen much Intellectual Property what was once (or soon to be) in the public domain. Even as she leaves, Rosen is trying to get ISPs to pay for P2P music... completely oblivious to the impossibility of doing such a thing. Not only that, Rosen is partially responsible for the draconian DMCA, which is one of the worst pieces of legislation to ever make it out of Washington. So I take special delight in watching her and the record companies that supported her, crumble against the unmatched power of the global Internet. DIE YOU BASTARDS, DIE!

Check it out yourself

jared@pigdog.org