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RIAA nominated for "Internet Villain of the Year" 197

Posted by CmdrTaco from the well-isn't-that-nice dept.
Joey Patterson writes "Slyck reports that the UK's Internet Industry Awards organization has nominated the RIAA for its Internet Villain of the Year award because they support "'right to hack' proposals and other unworkable solutions to curb copyright abuse"." Congratulations to them on being nominated for this prestigious and appropriate award ;)
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RIAA nominated for "Internet Villain of the Year" More

RIAA nominated for "Internet Villain of the Year"

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  • Only nominated? (Score:5, Funny)

    by cybrpnk2 ( 579066 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @12:57PM (#4953091) Homepage
    You mean they expect more nominations, and didn't just go ahead and award them the prize?

    • Re:Only nominated? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by AndroidCat ( 229562 )
      A lot of people on Slashdot seemed to think that Alan Ralsky (the spammer) needed more things. A nomination might be nice too. Another conviction, better!

    • For those who post without reading the article (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ninewands ( 105734 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @01:26PM (#4953297)
      The nominations are:

      BBC Watchdog: 'for a report on the important issue of spam that was more intent on vilifying ISP's than educating consumers'

      The Home Office: 'for the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security (ATCS) Act and continued delays associated with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)'

      Oftel: 'for (amongst a host of other things) failing to ensure expedient local loop unbundling by BT which has hindered both competition in the telco sector and the development of Broadband Britain'

      The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA): 'for supporting "right to hack" proposals and other unworkable solutions to curb copyright abuse'

      Telecommunications analysts: 'for their substantial contribution to the meltdown in the telecommunications and Internet sector'

      That really is a nasty group of suspects, but we might want to add:

      John Poindexter: 'for attempting to destroy world-wide privacy.'

      The United States Congress (both houses): 'for (among too many other offenses to list in detail) passing the PATRIOT Act and other privacy-invading and security-compromising legislation that will be completely ineffective in stopping terrorism.'
    • As reward for the RIAA being named Internet Villain of the Year, [ispaawards.org.uk] Let's all give them a consumer boycott. [dontbuycds.org]
    • I say we take away The Biggest Douche in the Universe award away from John Edward and give it to the RIAA.
  • Why not just "villian of the year"? They've done enough to deserve that.
  • Villian? How about Villain
  • boris and natasha are going to be pissed.

  • Of course that would be a sure way to slashdot the site....

    well I hope they "win" the award. They've certainly gone out of their way to piss off many of the Internet's users.

    Oh, and Merry Christmas everyone!

  • They'll just sue all the web sites reporting it as violating electronic copyright, just liek Wal-Mart did with Black Friday sales.
    • Nah, Wal-mart was sueing because the information was leaked and publishde without permission. Most people here already *know* the RIAA is evil, so it's not a secret... and they don't seem to be trying to keep it a secret that they're either.
      • I guess the RIAA is going to win the intermural Evil Cup from the MPAA this year. Talk about a tough match!
        • I think the RIAA is more evil simply because of how much their product sucks, and they don't care. I may not like the MPAA, or a lot of what they do, but at least they can still give out a quality product (LOT2 is worth the money, for example)... whereas you may pay the RIAA for a CD full of crap just to get a little goodness. 2003 is looking like the movie companies are going to bring out a lot of goodness, to bad some people piss them off by not paying for it.

          They're both evil though... but the sludge of the RIAA tends to float at a lower level... :-)

  • I'm going to congratulate them... (Score:5, Funny)

    by smack_attack ( 171144 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @12:59PM (#4953111) Homepage
    ...nah, I'm just going to be complacent about it like everyone else and keep buying CDs. Hooray for unchecked capitalism and industry lobbying.

  • In other news... (Score:5, Funny)

    by JessLeah ( 625838 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @01:00PM (#4953114)
    ...the sky has been nominated for the prestigious "Big Blue Thing" award...
    • You mean the ocean lost out again? Those judges are bought and paid for, I tell you!
      • Well, since the ocean derives its blueness from the sky, I think that this award is, in fact, appropriate.

        Just look out at the ocean on a cloudy day and tell me how blue it is.
    • However the ocean is also a major competitor and has said that "the sky sucks." and "People can don't care about the sky, can't swim in that!" and "The sky is so ugly, people cann't have mirrors facing up or they'll break." Sky has refused to comment.

  • Yeah (Score:1, Redundant)

    by tswinzig ( 210999 )
    But who won "Internet VILLAIN of the Year"?

  • But in reality... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by aerojad ( 594561 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @01:00PM (#4953121) Homepage Journal
    It's sad to realize, that when you step back, all that this will amount to is a good chuckle for the geek community and a *shrug* so what? from the record industry. What needes to happen is for publications on what the RIAA is doing to reach farther than the tech community and get on mainstream news. Of course, for reasons you can already probably figure out, it won't.
    • I think this is exactly the sort of filler news which is likely to be picked up by local news shows and newspapers which have nothing better to talk about. It makes them seem "net/tech-savvy" and doesn't require any research.

      Then the average joe hears about the RIAA (probably for the first time) and that they are evil. Sounds like a great introduction to me.

      Doug

  • The RIAA won't win this because... (Score:5, Funny)

    by vudufixit ( 581911 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @01:04PM (#4953141)

    1. It doesn't have a handlebar moustache to twirl
    2. It doesn't shoot its own henchmen to prove how evil it is
    3. It may be incorporated, but it isn't corporeal enough to die of impalement, the default method of bad guy death since the heyday of 70's action films.

  • Whats the prize johnny? (Score:3, Informative)

    by Theros ( 573535 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @01:06PM (#4953157)
    So who are the other nominees? The nominations are: BBC Watchdog: 'for a report on the important issue of spam that was more intent on vilifying ISP's than educating consumers' The Home Office: 'for the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security (ATCS) Act and continued delays associated with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)' Oftel 'for (amongst a host of other things) failing to ensure expedient local loop unbundling by BT which has hindered both competition in the telco sector and the development of Broadband Britain' The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA): 'for supporting "right to hack" proposals and other unworkable solutions to curb copyright abuse' Telecommunications analysts: 'for their substantial contribution to the meltdown in the telecommunications and Internet sector'

  • To: RIAA (Score:2, Funny)

    by SuperBug ( 200913 )
    From: Santa

    I hope this little award shows just how much very you're appreciated. Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year.

    Santa Clause

    P.S. I still haven't seen any royalty checks for "Santa Got Run Over By a Reindeer."
    • This guy's a fake! The REAL Santa would know that his name was "Santa Claus"!
    • I thought that was Grandma? And I think Santa would spell his own name correctly (for some reason I typed that as Satan the first time - freudian (sp?) slip?). Anyhow, here's a better one - course, it's a parody so I doubt Santa is entitled to any money:

      The Night Santa Went Crazy by "Weird Al" Yankovic
      Down in the workshop all the elves were makin' toys
      For the good Gentile girls and the good Gentile boys
      When the boss busted in, nearly scared 'em half to death
      Had a rifle in his hands and cheap whiskey on his breath
      From his beard to his boots he was covered with ammo
      Like a big fat drunk disgruntled Yuletide Rambo
      And he smiled as he said with a twinkle in his eye,
      "Merry Christmas to all... now you're all gonna die!"

      The night Santa went crazy
      The night St. Nick went insane
      Realized he'd been gettin' a raw deal
      Something finally must have snapped in his brain

      Well, the workshop is gone now he decided to bomb it
      Everywhere you'll find pieces of Cupid and Comet
      And he tied up his helpers and he held the elves hostage
      And he ground up poor Rudolph into reindeer sausage
      He got Dancer and Prancer with an old German Luger
      And he slashed up Dasher just like Freddie Krueger
      And he picked up a flamethrower and he barbequed Blitzen
      And he took a big bite and said, "It tastes just like chicken!"

      The night Santa went crazy
      The night Kris Kringle went nuts
      Now you can hardly walk around the North Pole
      Without steppin' in reindeer guts

      There's the National Guard and the F.B.I.
      There's a van from the Eyewitness News
      and helicopters circlin' 'round in the sky
      And the bullets are flyin', the body count's risin'
      and everyone's dyin' to know, oh Santa, why?
      My my my my my my
      You used to be such a jolly guy

      Yes, Virginia, now Santa's doing time
      In a federal prison for his infamous crime
      Hey, little friend, now don't you cry no more tears
      He'll be out with good behavior in 700 more years
      But now Vixen's in therapy
      and Donner's still nervous
      And the elves all got jobs
      working for the postal service
      And they say Mrs. Claus,
      she's on the phone every night
      With her lawyer negotiating the movie rights

      They're talkin' 'bout - the night Santa went crazy
      The night St. Nicholas flipped
      Broke his back for some milk and cookies
      Sounds to me like he was tired of gettin' gypped

      Wo, the night Santa went crazy
      The night St. Nick went insane
      Realized he'd been gettin' a raw deal
      Something finally must have snapped in his brain
      Wo, something finally must have
      snapped in his brain
      Tell ya, something finally must have
      snapped... in his brain

  • Their icon should be a dog with shifty eyes.

  • This award sponsored by... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Zigg ( 64962 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @01:08PM (#4953169)

    ts.com [ts.com], who "is Europe's leading online ticketing service, enabling venues and promoters throughout the sporting, entertainment and travel industries to sell, market and distribute their tickets directly from their own websites.".

    Anyone want to take bets who won't be getting a lot of contracts with RIAA member-backed acts if the RIAA wins this one?

  • LIVE FROM THE MGM GRAND BALLROOM:

    Hillary Rodam: Thank you, thank you, I really appricate all of the hard work that I put in to do this and I would like to thank all of my financial backers for making this possible...

    Dennis Rodman: (Hey, I can see down her shirt from up here) psst.. you know what this ceremony is for right??

    Hillary Rodam: Uhh, Yeah... This is my supreme ruler award ceremony

    Dennis Rodman: (oh boy she's loaded) UH YEAH, supreme ruler lets go back to my dressing room and I will give you the real award.. this is part on stage is just for all of the people watching on TV.

    Hillary Rodam: oooh, you got any vodka there

    Dennis Rodman: Uhh, yeah whatever you want baby... I got it all, here let me show you...

    Fade out with audience applause and standing ovation.
  • This is a subject I've hacked weezed and moaned about a lot- so I'm glad there's more people who think the RIAA is a villain.
  • Peter Enckelman was voted the Online Villan Of The Year.

  • In Soviet Russia (Score:5, Funny)

    by jwilcox154 ( 469038 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @01:18PM (#4953234) Journal
    RIAA nominates You for "Internet Villian of the Year"

    Oh,

    Wait a second, that's this country, never mind.
  • ...should really go to the Organisation of UK ISPs for nominating RIAA and ts.com for sponsoring this particular award.
  • That's like saying Lars Ulrich is a capitalistic pig...
  • After hearing the news, an RIAA spokesman stated that the accusations were ridiculous. He then twirled his mustashe and broke out in a bout of uncontrollable laughter.

  • To the leader of the Internet Villian of the Year, H [cnn.com] i [openp2p.com] l [riaa.org] l [nab.org] a [tapediscbusiness.com] r [mtv.com] y [boycott-riaa.com]!
  • All your RIAA belongs are to villan.
  • The RIAA is not anyone's friend. I can see them being anti-piracy, but they go overboard. Why not break into other computers to fight piracy. Why not congest internet with broken songs so peopel try over and over to t a working song. The RIAA is dumb in its tactics nd those tactics will not work.

  • an idea whose time has come? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fermion ( 181285 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @01:29PM (#4953310) Homepage Journal
    First, the RIAA member companies as businesses have the right to charge for and protect product as they wish, within the limitations of the law. The association has been convicted of price fixing, and may be in violation of certain laws by labeling non-CD plastic disc products as CD's. They are also probably moraly wrong [counterpane.com] in their desire to hack. However, as is the case with most anti-terror legislation, we in the U.S. have been made so afraid by the rhetoric of our politician, reality shows, and newspapers that we are willing to give up any rights if we are allowed to hide behind our bricked in subdivisions and drive our SUVs. As such, giving the right to hack to the RIAA may be a small price to pay if we are allowed to continue to listen to Britney Spears, who likely would not exist without the RIAA.

    However, ultimately, the success of a business depends on it's customers. If we buy RIAA CDs, even as used products, we support their methods. If we go out, find other music, and purchase those non-RIAA CDs, we support an alternate model that depends on quality and personal customer service, not mass appeal and copy protection. There is no way to legislate the RIAA from destroying the right of fair use anymore than there was a way to legislate Wal-Mart from destroying main street. In both cases, the presence of customers determines success.

    • If it were only that simple (Score:5, Insightful)

      by geekoid ( 135745 ) <dadinportland@ y a h o o . c om> on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @01:46PM (#4953406) Homepage Journal
      ". If we buy RIAA CDs, even as used products, we support their methods. "

      It has been my experience that many independant/small artists get there first "distribution"(usually self made) from small 'used' music stores. If we didn't buy Used stuff from them, they wouldn't be able to support themselves as a Business, and then there would be even fewer outlets for independent/small artists to become 'known'.
      OTOH it has also been my experience that artist who complain about the riaa's methods would happily accept a contract with them. If the people creating the content won't bite the bullet and use alternative means so they don't get screwed, how can the consumers be expected to boycott?
      the only way to fix this is to create a music production/distibution company that doesn't enforce the draconian methods on the artists the current music companies do, and to entice signings by giving a higher percentage of sales, and not lovking them into more then 2 or 3 records per contract.
      Of course that means:
      a)low to no signing bonus
      b)musicians will have to actual have a track record of sales before they become rich.
      c)Huge start up capital.

      I consider both a and b to be good for music and consumers, but not to enticing to the big name musicians.

      *Bold added by me

    • Britney Spears, who likely would not exist without the RIAA.

      You overestimate the terrori^WRIAA. Britney Spears' label is Zomba, who is not a member of the RIAA.

      If we buy RIAA CDs, even as used products, we support their methods.

      RIAA gets money from plenty of other places than just CDs. If you buy blank music CDs or any CD burner, they get a "royalty." If you listen to the radio, they get royalties from a compulsory license. If you buy from a store that plays music, the RIAA also gets your money from a compulsory license. Look at how the system is set up. Compulsory licenses or "royalites" on digital media always get funneled through the RIAA. This needs to change too.

    • First, the RIAA member companies as businesses have the right to charge for and protect product as they wish,
      within the limitations of the law

      And there's a substantial part of the problem: With the money they are spending in Washington, they decide what those laws will be.

      They own the ones who rule you; in other words, nothing they do is illegal, or to put a finer point on it, by the time they're ready to do it, it will be legal for them to do it. It's as easy for them to change a law is it is for you to pick up a dagger.

  • ...the MPAA for the same award. They're just as guilty as thier friends in the RIAA. In fact, I think it should be a co-nomination. Given this co-nomination, they should also get a new name: The EMCAA - Evil Media Corporations Association of America.

    An idea for the trophy: I've seen novelty gift catalogs that have what's called the "Horse's Ass" award, and the trophy is exactly that: The backside of a horse. For wanting to hack our machines and launch DoS attacks against us, they deserve nothing less.
  • Villian of Progress Award!

    Take away the copyright idea, seriously. Now kick out all the millionaire's (or get them to take on the task of creating this new system). Create new companies (or convert old ones) that can be mediators between the public and the artists. These companies would help the artist produce, CD's and merchandise, and work on setting up concerts and shows, etc. (Isn't this sort of what the music companies now do?) I guarantee CD's would both fall in price dramatically, but at the same time sales of CD's would far exceed what it is today. (I think people have been saying this for a long time now) Sure, many would trade mp3's, ogg's, CD's. (Just as they already do) Yet the only artists this new system would hurt are the extremely rich ones. Imagine that, more equality among artists, wider selection of music, and simply more music.
  • Do we really need an award to let them know this? Stop encouraging them!
    This must be the first award anyone has ever given them...
  • I was hoping to yet that award, but I don't think I'm nearly as villainous as the RIAA... I was hoping everyone would forget about them and notice those movies on Kazaa that say they are Harry Potter but are really porno or all those files that say they are GTA3 or MS office but are really Mechwarrior 4. I think you all know how villainous I am, but even I don't compare to the blasted RIAA.

    --average internet script kiddie

  • The REAL villain of the year... (Score:4, Funny)

    by _bug_ ( 112702 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @01:47PM (#4953412) Journal
    anyone who posted a link to goatse.cx

  • 2002 (Score:3, Interesting)

    by rjamestaylor ( 117847 ) <rjamestaylor@gmail.com> on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @01:49PM (#4953428) Journal
    Maybe 2002 will be remembered as the year that the RIAA began to unravel. This year the RIAA has been exposed as a self-profiting organization--not caring for the artist or the consumer but for the pockets of the "radio execs." Maybe 2002 will be the year that the heretofore unknown consortium became a household byword. This is Not Good becuase the RIAA stands as an unpopular middleman between two parties that want each other: artists and their public. Common everyday folk in America began to understand in 2002 that the RIAA doesn't represent the ARTIST but the RECORDING STUDIO and RECORD LABEL. What happens when two parties are attracted together (say a lovely teenage girl and a handsome teenage boy) but are restricted in contact by a third party (say a domineering dad)? At first the girl may appreciate the protection of her dad, but the desire will grow so that the daughter and boyfriend will seek a channel of communication without the father's interference.

    Maybe in 2003 the girl and boy begin sneaking around to date behind the father's back (via limited direct distributions direct from the artist's website?). How long until the couple are enagaged (using the Internet to directly market the music?)? The question is, will the father walk the daughter down the aisle or will the couple elope?

    In 2002, the public began to dislike the RIAA. I predict wedding bells by 2006.

    • Re:2002 (Score:3, Interesting)

      by SuperDuG ( 134989 )
      Well here's what really gets me about the MPAA and RIAA. This is an industry of complete capitalistic control (lets face it entertainment has a whole lotta money), but even more strange is that in this "dog-eat-dog" society that these groups are able to get along.

      I think what everyone needs to remember is a rather funny quote "remember even your closest friend will sell you out for the price of a extra value meal". They'll go to battle destroy each other, and the bottom feeders are looking to pick up what pieces fall. Many people are still there to make great albums or movies, but in the wake of Britney Spears and NSync along with "The Hot Chick" and "Analyze That" these aren't things that will "make history" or even be remembered in 3 years, but look at Lord of The Rings or quite a few bands out there today Incubus, Foo Fighters, and many more.

      People will get tired of the bullshit, and when that time comes, change will come. The MPAA and RIAA are fueled by lack of alternative entertainment, as is true for even the computer world. But as has been proven in the past, you can only be king of the hill for so long before you get knocked off.

      Good Post BTW

  • Maybe the RIAA should be informed? (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Amy Weiss
    Senior VP, Communications
    Recording Industry Association of America
    1330 Connecticut Avenue, NW
    #300 Washington, DC 20036

    I am sure she will love to hear about her organization's public image.
  • .. stupidity should be granted to them as well. Does anyone else think they were also the ones behind the 'mp3 lossy format's will make you go deaf!' speech?

    Anyways, three cheers for the RIAA getting a stick up their ass. What goes around comes around.

    And merry christmas everyone!

  • A Humble Suggestion (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Badgerman ( 19207 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @01:55PM (#4953482)
    Why isn't Slashdot doing this? Let's have a Slashdot villain of the year contest.

    Yeah, we can joke. We KNOW one of the nominees will be CowboyNeil. But in all seriousness, perhaps this is another way Slashdot can do some good. Have people suggest villains, send the reasons why, and the most popular and best-explained ones go up.

    Sure, it may seem silly, but today, on the net, a little spectacle and some humor can break down barriers and make a point.
  • from last year, the blame P2P Networks. Yet P2P is just a small problem in there larger scheme of things. Ofcourse they will never admit to that.

  • Sadly the nomination resulted in an indictment (Score:3, Funny)

    by gelfling ( 6534 ) on Tuesday December 24, 2002 @10:03PM (#4955532) Homepage Journal
    But on the upside when RIAA came to the podium to accept it's award it was struck with 200 trillion tons of flaming shit sent down from heaven.

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