If You Can't Beat 'Em …

Quote:
[E]arlier this year, the four-store chain announced its new "Buy It, Burn It, Return It" policy. Customers can buy a used or new CD, take it home, listen and, if they want, burn a copy to a computer. Within 10 days, they can return the CD for 70% store credit.


Quote:
The reaction from the Recording Industry Association of America, which represents the recording industry, was even stronger. Late last month, Jenni R. Engebretsen, a spokeswoman for the association, warned that programs like the Scottis' could mean copyright violations, illegal record rentals or "rentals in disguise." Then the association contacted the Scottis directly.


Quote:
They'll be unhappy if they have to take a step back from the "Buy It, Burn It, Return It" policy. Not only has it increased sales, says Jeff Scotti, but he also sees customers trying new music because they know they can return a CD they don't like. And stores' selection of used CDs -- another growing business -- is better.


So it occurs to me that the RIAA should be happy about increased sales, right? After all, they represent the people that are getting profits from those sales. So they must be concerned about something else. One of the other parts they talk about are used CDs, which I can understand the RIAA being concerned by, since used CDs can cut into new CD sales, but they said that new CD sales were up.

The other is folks listening to more "new" music, by which I assume they mean "new to the listener", or, in other words, not mainstream. Since a lot of that "alternative" music is put out by non-RIAA labels, maybe what they're really concerned about is that other companies are getting a piece of the pie; that good music is being effectively spread by word of mouth, and that has an impact on their bottom line. When you add that to the fact that they were agressively pursuing illegal downloads of music that they didn't have any financial stake in, to the point of listing non-RIAA labels as RIAA members, maybe that's really their concern. Not that people might be getting music for free, but that people might start listening to music other than the stuff approved for consumption by them. Do they have a stake in ClearChannel, too?

</theory type="conspiracy">
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Bitt Faulk