Piracy Rings Hurt the Music Industry More Than File Sharing

I wonder when the RIAA will just admit this? This is like Microsoft going after folks that got a copy of Windoze from their friend instead of purchasing it. I used to work with a Pakistani fellow, and one day he asked us if we needed any software for the office. We shrugged and said bring in what you have. The next day he came in with a hundred CDs with every imaginable piece of proprietary software on them. With license keys. And this wasn’t stuff he burned at home — everything was nicely packaged. He said he could get CDs like this at home for $5 each. These were obviously the work of professionals, not somebody just cranking out CDs in their room.

In America, we not really aware of this sort of piracy, but it occurs everywhere. The media and the RIAA would like you believe that that copy of the latest Madonna album is keeping her from feeding her kid, but truthfully, it’s the pirates in other countries that are killing the industry. When will the EFFstart their own campaign to really fight the RIAA? Sure, they’re trying to fight the RIAA, but they’ve got use other ammunition. Show the RIAA the piracy statistics.

Posted on 4 August 2003