My Friday Five for September 19, 2003

1. Who is your favorite singer/musician? Why?
   Hrm... Tough question. I dunno.

2. What one singer/musician can you not stand? Why?
   So many choices... Any manufactured pop star (Britney, boy bands, etc.), because they're marketing vehicles, not artists. Barney the Purple Dinosaur because, well, Barney is evil. Generic-sounding bands - if there's already someone out there who sounds just like you, what do we need you for?

3. If your favorite singer wasn't in the music business, do you think you would still like him/her as a person?
   Beats the hell out of me. I just listen to the music. Aside from a few relatives who are in bands, I just know what they sound like. I don't know jack about what they're like in real life.

4. Have you been to any concerts? If yes, who put on the best show?
   Yeah, I've been to a few concerts, but, again, I just listen to the music. I couldn't care less about "the show".

5. What are your thoughts on downloading free music online vs. purchasing albums? Do you feel the RIAA is right in its pursuit to stop people from dowloading free music?
   I don't do either. I don't download music without permission from the copyright holder because it's illegal (and most of it isn't worth the bandwidth - see answer 2 above). I generally don't buy albums because I don't want to support RIAA (and most of them aren't worth the money - see answer 2 above). Now, if a band is decent and produces their own albums (or uses a non-RIAA publisher) or allows free official downloads of their songs, that's another matter entirely...

   On the second half of the question, I have no problem with RIAA attempting to identify and prosecute (in civil court) people who are making money off of illegal copying of their members' music. However, eternal copyright durations (for some reason, it seems to get extended every time the copyright on Mickey Mouse is about to expire... and the extensions are always retroactive), reclassification of copyright infringement as a criminal offense, draconian assaults on casual infringement, attempts to eliminate fair use, and similar heavy-handed measures are not acceptable.

   What it comes down to is that the RIAA has outlived its usefulness. The member companies had a chance to adapt to the new technological landscape, but they passed it up. Now better alternatives have arisen, and RIAA is spending millions (if not billions) to try and halt progress so that they can remain viable. It won't work and, in the end, all we'll have to show for it is a gaping hole in our civil liberties.

   The sooner RIAA dies, the better.