THE riaa WANTS CONTROL OF YOUR COMPUTER

We need your support. The riaa (recording industry association of america) is on the rampage again. Not content with "cold shouldering" new artists, they are now also trying to shut down all music auditioning facilities.  The riaa recently issued a lawsuit against AudioGalaxy and other P2P firms.  They plan to control what music we hear, the artists/bands we hear, when we hear, where we hear, they plan to have taxes added onto purchases of CDs and CD-Rs, and even plan to hack our computers (ref www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47552,00.html), all for the benefit of themselves alone ~ of all the million$ they have "raked" not even $.01 has ever been given to a musician.

For some time the riaa has reveled in wielding it's power over the entire music industry. It has only ever promoted and supported music artists who are members of it's "exclusive old boys' club." It has ruthlessly grabbed and now holds control of 80% of the world's record sales and all of the American radio stations ... but maybe it's time for a change?

Many of us are fed up with record companies controlling what music we hear, how much money we will pay for music; and what we can do with that music once we actually own it.

People who use music-sharing programs (or P2P) are NOT the thieves that the riaa claimed in its lawsuit. P2P is simply a huge audition room consisting of music lovers who dedicate time to listen to music sounds, discuss them, then decide if the sound is marketable. We’re sound auditioners.  AudioGalaxy, with 50+ million members, is also the largest *free* market test facility in the world. 

We listen to sounds created by myriad different artists and if we like it … we purchase it and recommend it to others.  Nothing against the following artists, but not everybody wants to listen to Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys or the Top 50 repeated ad nausea every time we listen to the radio (also controlled by the riaa).

P2P such as AudioGalaxy facilitates free, fast, easy access to the entire rainbow of musical sounds from old to new and everything in between.  Studies have proved that because of P2P a wider range of music is being purchased than is *authorized* by the riaa.  When Napster (one of the original music sharing programs) was at its peak with 30 million members, market studies showed record-high purchases of music CDs.  Even though the court ruled against the riaa Napster was destroyed through riaa’s “expensive lawsuits” tactics.  Now riaa is doing the same thing to the other P2P companies.

The riaa would like you to believe that the music industry suffers because of these programs …  when in fact the actual truth is that purchases of music that is not authorized by the riaa means riaa doesn’t get money on those purchases.

It is ironic that some corporate riaa members manufacture and market products such as CD Burners, writable CDs (CD-R and CD-RW) and MP3 players yet these same companies want to severely restrict our use of these products.  It is similar to selling us a cassette recorder while saying we cannot record music off the radio (which many people do). Or selling us a video recorder and saying we cannot tape TV shows (which many people also do).  There shouldn’t be anything wrong with consumers simply making a tape or CD for their own personal use (to sample or audition different styles of music).  Consumers will always want to purchase original and high quality copies of music.

This is about your money … and your freedom.  The riaa intends to control both. That is why we must use the almighty dollar to regain some control for us, the consumers. To this end, and as a form of protest, we are asking for people to join in a worldwide BOYCOTT of CD purchases for the entire month of August 2002, when riaa’s lawsuit against AudioGalaxy is heard in court.  Please help us to express our dissention of the riaa’s lawsuit by NOT purchasing any CDs that are distributed by *riaa approved* record companies (a list is at http://www.boycott-riaa.com/membership.php).

We strongly encourage you to look at the following sites:

http://www.boycott-riaa.com – This site is a good one for keeping up to date on what is going on regarding the planned boycott and includes links at the bottom of the page: Why Should I Boycott? | What Can I Do? | Who To Boycott?

http://www.Death2RIAA.com – This site was created to give people general information about sound auditioning, the riaa’s charges, what actions music lovers are taking, as well as providing us with an online facility to post new and relevant info.

http://www.audiogalaxy.com/groups/group.php?&gID=447280 – This is the group page on AudioGalaxy for the group Save Audiogalaxy.  It was created so that people with a common desire to take action can get together to share news, ideas and unite in standing up to the riaa. Please become a member (it's free).

Thank you for reading this and we hope you will join us in August for the boycott.  Please disperse this email as widely as possible because we need numbers if we want to make a difference.

Sincerely,
The united members of Save Audiogalaxy

Links:
www.Death2RIAA.com
www.audiogalaxy.com
www.boycott-riaa.com
www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47552,00.html
www.riaa.com