Democrats Appoint RIAA Shill For Convention (Barf!)

Slashdot ^ | 04/13/2007 | kdawson

[abt87]

An anonymous reader sends us to Boing Boing for a report that "the Director of Communications for the RIAA, Jenni Engebretsen, has been appointed Deputy CEO for Public Affairs for the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Denver." The DNC site has the official press release. Cory Doctorow notes that the RIAA is the most hated "corporation" in America, having beaten out Halliburton and Wal-Mart for the honor, and writes for the DNC's attention, "This represents a potential shear with the left-wing blogosphere."

[abt87]

Another, more obvious reason to hate the MAFIAA. They already have the likes of Jack Valenti and Hilary Rosen supporting them (the majority of their donations are for Democrat candidates) so this doesn't quite surprise me.

[Michael.SF.]

Cory Doctorow notes that the RIAA is the most hated "corporation" in America, having beaten out Halliburton and Wal-Mart for the honor

RIAA, I had to look them up on google just to find out who they were. Can't be all that 'hated'.

[SengirV]

My guess is that you are older than 35 and/or don’t have an iPod/MP3 player.

[abt87]

If the RIAA had won its 1998 suit against Diamond Multimedia, mp3 players would be all but illegal today. They made the first mp3 player, and the RIAA, like the MPAA in the early ‘80s when it went into convulsions of the VCR, saw the mp3 player as the epitome of evil. Fortunately, the 1984 SCOTUS decision that allow electronics makers to prosper without the copyright cartel getting on their backs, saved Diamond. Unfortunately, I’m not sure whether or not the 2005 Grokster decision has set back this precedent, or if that decision was a wash.

[Michael.SF.]

I down load I tunes and others, usually to transfer onto CD's.

I pay for them and do not mind doing so. I also do not begrudge an artist for wanting to get paid for what he has accomplished.

[abt87]

The debate is more about the RIAA’s tactics in suing consumers and lying to us about DRM spyware, then about the legality of file-sharing. Also, the major labels do have a knack for price-fixing. And 99 cents would still ad up for individual songs. There are better ways to compensate artists than the current itunes model.

[antiRepublicrat]

"This represents a potential shear with the left-wing blogosphere."

It sure does. The spokesman for their second most hated enemy (Bush is first of course) is now the public face of their most beloved party. That's gotta hurt.

[Michael.SF.]

Thanks for the input. I would say though that the statement “most hated” and more so then Haliburton or Wal mart is a bit of an over statement.

[mouse_35]

For me personally, they are my second most hated corporation. Number one is Archers-Daniel-Midland.

[abt87]

I’d say that Monsanto deserves the title, what with suing farmers for saving seeds (they have turned commonsense agricultural practices on their head and equate saving seeds to theft.) They event sued a farmer for copyright infringement because Monsanto hybrid seeds from a neighboring farm got cross-pollinated in with his crops.

[abt87]

Hating the RIAA isn’t the exclusive province of the left. There are plenty on the right who hate them as well (me and other FReepers included.)

[SengirV]

Neither do I, but I also don’t like the RIAA sueing anyone tey please and having the courts bend over backwards for them, especailly without proof other than their word that people are guilty.

[antiRepublicrat]

Hating the RIAA isn’t the exclusive province of the left. There are plenty on the right who hate them as well

True, but we hate the RIAA and Hillary. From our view it's two enemies getting together.

[abt87]

And former RIAA CEO Hillary Rosen is friends with the Clintons. She filed suit against the maker of the first mp3 player back in 1998 (Diamond Multimedia) led the suit to shut down Napster in 2000, and was responsible for putting DRM on CD’s, which ended in disaster after Sony was caught putting rootkit software in them.

[canuck_conservative]

“I also do not begrudge an artist for wanting to get paid for what he has accomplished.”

Thanks to bloated media companies and the RIAA, only a tiny fraction of your payment actually ever reaches the artist.

[Michael.SF.]

only a tiny fraction of your payment actually ever reaches the artist.

Yet so many seem to be able to live a life of luxury. My $0.99 is only a small portion of what they can recieve, such as income from concerts.