Biting the hand that feeds you

The Onion rules so very, very much:

RIAA Bans Telling Friends About Songs November 30, 2005 | Issue 41*48

LOS ANGELES-The Recording Industry Association of America announced Tuesday that it will be taking legal action against anyone discovered telling friends, acquaintances, or associates about new songs, artists, or albums. "We are merely exercising our right to defend our intellectual properties from unauthorized peer-to-peer notification of the existence of copyrighted material," a press release signed by RIAA anti-piracy director Brad Buckles read. "We will aggressively prosecute those individuals who attempt to pirate our property by generating 'buzz' about any proprietary music, movies, or software, or enjoy same in the company of anyone other than themselves." RIAA attorneys said they were also looking into the legality of word-of-mouth "favorites-sharing" sites, such as coffee shops, universities, and living rooms.

Crap, I think this means we're in trouble! :)

In other (and in this case, actual) music-sharing news, the Associated Press reported yesterday that the Grateful Dead has asked a nonprofit Web site to stop offering the band's live-show recordings for free download. Now, any other band, I'd be inclined to nod and say well, yes, the band needs to make money on its music and is within their rights to protect its ability to do so. But this is the Dead! Requesting a stop to music-sharing! But isn't music-sharing in all its old and new forms the only reason the Dead have really survived this long anyway? Would Deadheads be Deadheads without the swapping of tapes labeled "Missoula 4/13/83" and the like? I mean, shit, if Jerry Garcia had stamped his feet and protested music-swapping back in the day, well, there'd be a whole lot less tie-dye in the world, now wouldn't there? The article points out that money may be more of a worry now for the band, since touring revenue is no longer a source of income, but please. If I can go to some tiny store in Japan and find a whole wall of the teddy bears and Dead T-shirts and such, I have to believe the band can afford to continue embracing that which made it the icon it is. The AP reports that the band has not made a final decision on how much -- if any -- music to allow this nonprofit Web site to offer, and word is a compromise (some songs/shows but not others, perhaps) is possible. But Dead fans, sensing this could definitely shackle their buzz, have already started an online petition protesting the idea of the band changing course on music sharing.

Interesting note: Outrage on the subject apparently is far-reaching, as one of the many papers picking up this wire story was The North Korea Times. Despite the name, though, I'm guessing The North Korea Times is produced outside North Korea, since (a) it's in English and (b) it makes no mention of Dear Leader and (c) it carries news about music from American oppressive imperialist pigdogs. A quick look at the state-run KCNA Web site (hours of fun!) did not turn up any Grateful Dead news. Shocking!