The proof is in the pudding (to use an old cliche) - a majority of the artists at the top of every internet chart that measures popularity are those involved in one way of the other with the organized entertainment industry ... They get the concepts the bloggers you suggest are talking about ... more importantly, they get the concepts your blogger AREN'T talking about. They get the WHOLE picture - they understand the multiple marketing outlets and financial support needed to attract meaningful numbers of fans ...

The internet is not the be all end al - it's now just one additional element to include in a complete marketing strategy.

Ron, they get it!

Thanks for the great post, Seawrx. You point out a lot of the other issues, beyond the lack of understanding of the internet, that the average consumer has with RIAA techniques. Thanks again for your post.

seawrx - Just so you know, I am not an RIAA stooge ... I'm a songwriter ... Songwriters are not associated with the RIAA. The RIAA is a trade association that represents record companies. Record companies release recordings of the songs we write ... Occasionally we have differences with the record companies mostly to do with what and how they pay us. Those differences are always worked out in a legally based, business like way.

All we ask is that the digital distributors deal with us in the same manner.

By the way, we have never sued a consumer ...

As to the quality of today's music ... That determination is so uniquely personal that anyone making a statement such as "today's music is ‘rubbish'" is only talking to himself ... therefore, the comment is irrelevant to any conversation relating to how music is promoted, distributed and more importantly paid for.

Well, thank you for responding.

Firstly, regarding RIAA suits ... try Google. I appreciate that paper research material might better suit the RIAA approach, but I don't have such a library handy.

For example, search using "riaa suit" gave me the following first hit.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...t-run-now.html

Secondly, about your dismissal of my comment about the quality of today's music: yes, it's personal. It's perception. What you need to understand is that this is my point. RIAA bemoans the fact that sales are not what they once were, and blames piracy. However, there is likely another culprit: rubbish music. In any event, if you read my post, my intention was to talk about perception.

And, when it comes to perception, I disagree with you and assert that perception--including perception of music quality--is an important ingredient in discussing "how music is promoted, distributed and more importantly paid for."

I do respect your personal right to think today's music is the best thing since sliced cheese, and indeed, "cheese" is a word that features in my opinion, as well.

"There was no use in pretending
No magic left to hear
All the music gave me
Was a craving for lite beer" (Petty)

Never made a comment about my taste in music ... It would be as irrelevant as yours.

Market forces (ie kids) usually dictate what is currently popular. Throughout history those of us who aren't kids usually don't like what's popular ... Kids enjoy outraging us regarding their choice of music - it's their first taste of freedom.

That's interesting. You see, my taste in music determines what and how much I buy and to a lesser degree what my kids and my wife buy, so it is "relevant." Agreed about the generational thing--today's Green Day is not the "Dookie" Green Day I enjoyed, and I see less of the dramatic and colorful punk influence that my parents had to cope with, though Goth seems to be a morphed headbanger-type scene (where's my bovva boots?). Nevertheless, this thread is about RIAA, right? I've offered my perceptions on the RIAA to counter your defense of them. Take these as designed for what they are worth.

Musical taste aside, no matter who it is, a classic rock act like Led Zeppelin or today's Top 40 phenom or an unknown kid trying to establish herself, it all comes down to using the internet to your advantage.

Suing and prosecuting potential customers instead of finding a way to turn them into customers just alienates everyone. Whether you are an RIAA spokesperson or just someone who spends his days defending them, this is the key point of my discussion. The internet is not your enemy. Embrace it and watch your career take off.

Never defended the RIAA. I only defended the creator's rights to get paid.

I don't think anything I've written suggests I don't support a song writer's right to be paid. On the contrary, I think you should be paid whatever your talent supports, but the RIAA's tactics are not helping you if that's what you think.

Techwriter10: "The internet is not your enemy. Embrace it and watch your career take off."

Define "take off." Examples, please ... Don't include artists previously branded by the entertainment industry (Radiohead Grateful Dead) or new artists who have sold out to the entertainment industry