All Posts Tagged With: "Op-Ed"
RIAA Wants To Teach Your Children “Ethical Behavior”
Mitch Bainwol and Cary Sherman, both of the Recording Industry Association of America explain why they feel it necessary to sue children for illegal downloading of music. Approximately 400 legal actions are aimed at college and university students.
Yet this is about far more than the size of a particular slice of the pie. This is about a generation of music fans. College students used to be the music industry’s best customers. Now, finding a record store still in business anywhere near a campus is a difficult assignment at best. It’s not just the loss of current sales that concerns us, but the habits formed in college that will stay with these students for a lifetime. This is a teachable moment — an opportunity to educate these particular students about the importance of music in their lives and the importance of respecting and valuing music as intellectual property.
Unfortunately I fail to see the lesson here. What I see is the latest attempt by an organization who’s so out of touch with it’s consumers that it can’t see the forest for the trees. The reason this is an issue is because RIAA refuses to acknowledge the consumer has spoken, loudly about what it wants & expects. Instead of embracing new technology to the benefit of both the industry, the artists and the consumer they ignore it and pretend nothing about the industry or the market has changed from twenty years ago, intent on protecting that piece of the pie they’ve held for many years now.
Antonella Barba: America’s New Sexiest “Idol”
America’s newest celebrity object is Antonella Barba. Yes, exactly. Who is she? Well, unless you’ve been living under a rock then you should at least be aware she has some connection with American Idol. If you’re not aware, here’s a refresher. Antonella Barba is one of 12 girls that made it into this years semi-finals of the FOX reality tv show. This past week she’s been the subject of national attention due to some rather racy photos she apparently posed for at some time or another. Some are topless, some feature lingerie, some are more revealing and then the end all, very explicit photos featuring the New Jersey native performing things most of us wouldn’t want mom & dad to see.
The authenticity of the latter photos has been called into question with a number of “experts” debating whether they were doctored, altered or whatever. That and support given by friends of Antonella’s and the lack of a response from the Idol people seem to suggest the worst of the photos are just that, fakes. However, there remains the question of her status on the show. Apparently she will be performing this week so FOX has taken no immediate action.
