Comments on: RIAA's Cary Sherman says lawsuits were the only option

Group's president says lack of legal alternatives and "logarithmic" growth in piracy forced music industry to act to protect sector from being "decimated."

[Altotus]

I no longer listen to music no tuner speakers Ipod or radio. I listen to the sound of cars passing on the road.

[raisinkajinj]

I remember the Napster days. Before that I didn't buy music very often. After Napster, and the sharing that it encouraged, I was able to sample a lot of songs. I developed tastes for artists and found my favorites. It wasn't long after a $500 shopping spree on my part that the RIAA started getting sue happy. I immediately stopped buying all music. I haven't bought any music other than direct artist releases via the net since.

The statements made are pretty stupid. The comments on their Internet sales growth simply reflects the change in the market. Nothing else. I will say that the RIAA's lawsuit tactics have had a major effect on me.......I haven't spent a single dollar on music or music related merchandise wince the Riaa started suing it's customers. In fact, I quit listening to music period.

[badasscat]

You would think the RIAA could have found a better way to "educate" people about piracy than ruining a bunch of people's lives for downloading a few files from the internet, and alienating a large swath of the rest of their customers.

Classic Orwellian doublespeak. Sounds like something you'd hear from the Chinese government, as their dissidents are sent away for "re-education", never to be heard from again. Cary Sherman and the rest of his cronies should be thrown in jail for abuse of basic American rights, and for failure to recognize that copyright is not a one-sided deal (including infringing on *our* fair use rights).

[3rdalbum]

Want to know why people aren't buying as much music as they used to? It has nothing to do with the ability to download tracks! Here's a lyric from an overplayed Britney Spears song that might give you the answer:

"Womanizer, woma-womanizer you're a womanizer
Oh, womanizer oh, you're a womanizer baby
You, you you are
You, you you are
Womanizer womanizer womanizer womanizer"

I've heard Hi-5 songs with more meaning than this.

Or, listen to the melody line of Jessica Mauboy's song "Running Back". During the entire song, she only actually sings three notes.

I used to buy lots of CDs, and download only the songs that weren't available to buy in my country. Now, there is almost NO mainstream music that agrees with my musical tastes. It's been a long time since I bought an album and I rarely even download any music either. If the RIAA is serious about increasing record sales, it needs to give people the sort of talent (singing, playing, songwriting and composing) and genres that people were known to be buying years ago.

There is one more problem, and that's to do with radio stations killing songs. If you were impressed by Beyonce Knowles' latest song having only one chord, then I'm sure the novelty will wear off when you hear it three times every workday, five days a week. Even if you don't get tired of hearing the song, why would you bother to buy a copy when you can hear it being played once every hour on the radio?

[justasking99]

In my opinion the RIAA's use of lawsuits has brought shame and dishonor to the corporate music cartel running the music business. This is particularly true of Japanese-based corporations, where corporate conduct reflects on the nation's and Emperor's honor. Message to Japanese music cartel execs: In the "Duel at Ichijoji Temple" the priest tells Miyamoto Mushashi: " ... You are too strong ... you will not always be strong ... swordsmanship means chivalry ...".

[PhiDeck]

Presumably by "logarithmic" Mr. Sherman meant exponential. Too bad he doesn't understand the difference. Innumeracy remains rampant.

[erikhiga]

I think somebody needs to look at the rise in availability and check that against the rise in sales the come back and talk to me after you do that.

[kxmmxk]

RIAA is taking credit for the online music business???!!! Apple deserves all the credit for doing it when no one thought they could make any money at it, and doing it well.