RIAA radar
20 May 2003
"The RIAA Radar is a tool that music consumers can use to easily and instantly distinguish whether an album was released by a member of the Recording Industry Association of America. [...]
Why should I use it?
Just as people can currently find out where some products come from and
who made them (Is this banana organic? Does this milk contain GMOs? Were
these clothes made in a sweatshop?), it is important to have that
knowledge for as many consumer goods as possible. Knowledge is power,
and knowing where the product came from can (and should) influence what
you buy. [...]
Why is it important to know if an album was released by an RIAA member
or not?
That's possibly a fairly long answer, but just the highlights of the
RIAA's practices involve price-fixing, blaming its poor financial state
on unfounded digital piracy claims (and in turn, blaming its own
consumers), lobbying for changes that hinder technological innovation
and change copyright laws, underpaying the artists it represents,
invading personal privacy to enforce copyrights, and dismantling entire
computer networks just because of their ability (of their users) to
share copyrighted files."