Manifesto against music magnates

Without any exaggeration, the statements that were made by the authors of the Gizmodo blog over the past few days, their determination and fighting spirit, as well as the public reaction to all this, can be called an Event, with a capital letter.

For the first time, such an authoritative force, one of the most widely read resources on the Web, openly announced its sharp rejection of the policies pursued by the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ). Such a large-scale campaign was launched for the first time, which will vividly show the possibilities of an organized Internet community against an influential organization with a multi-billion dollar turnover.

The Gizmodo Manifesto , which the authors asked to consider as their “raised flag”, aims to rid the world of the RIAA’s almost monopoly control over the music industry: this organization sets CD prices and artists ’rewards for themselves; business models on the Web, suppress any new ways of distributing music and are constantly suing violators of the controversial intellectual property laws she lobbies. Moreover, the intimidation of society with such lawsuits has reached such proportions that the majority of RIAA lawsuits do not even reach court - cases are resolved "amicably", that is, through cash payments to the Association.
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Although in fairness it must be said that this was not always the case: since its inception in 1952, the RIAA has done a lot of useful things, for example, to coordinate efforts in developing new media, such as magnetic tape cartridges. However, when it ceased to be in charge of exclusively technical issues of the development of the industry, a period of increasing hostility of society towards its activities began.

Today, the Manifesto says, the RIAA and the Big Four major labels that it represents have become an unnecessary link between the artist and the audience. To find an audience today, we no longer need giant budgets for recording an album, shooting a video, and promotion on the radio. Computer and more or less high-quality equipment (which is becoming cheaper with each year) provide everything you need. There are often cases when an artist becomes popular, first on the Web, and then publishes his CD.

The whole of March, Gizmodo will publish materials on how to learn about new music, support your favorite artist, and otherwise do without the mediation of the RIAA. However, the struggle declared by them will continue after.