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Musician says RIAA reminds him of Mafia

23 February 2008 18:58 by Andre "DVDBack23" Yoskowitz | 18 comments

Jello Biafra, the former Dead Kennedys lead singer, recently had a few choice words for the RIAA, going as far as to say that the group reminds him of the mafia.

�I have two different opinions on file-sharing,� says Biafra, �you may take from the big labels...because the only thing they do is steal from both the artists and the audience.�

Besides calling the big labels the "bad guys", he placed the "small guys" on the "good side." �Don�t take from the smaller, independent labels. Then fantastic bands would have to surrender way too early, because they can�t afford it,� he says.

�Support the independent labels, but the big ones �****�em. Anyways, I haven�t found anything in many years which come from a large label worth buying� adds Biafra.

Moving on to the RIAA, Biafra gets even angrier.

�The RIAA reminds me most of the Godfather,� Biafra says, actually going into a Marlon Brando impression, �we will sue you. If you want out of this without going to court, we can make an arrangement: Give us $5000. If not, you will find a horses head in your bed.�

�They are doing this to 12 year old girls, they are doing it to 80 year old women, and they do it to students. There are plenty of examples that show people having to quit school because they had to give all their money to the recording industry instead,� he finally notes.

There are many of us who agree with these statements, especially knowing how little these lawsuits have done to stop overall piracy. The model has changed, but the record industry has not adapted as quickly as they should have.

Permalink to this article | Topics: Lawsuits & Legislation MP3 & Digital Audio

RIAA representative forecasts a comeback for DRM (8 May 2008)

AOL, Real and Yahoo! could lose $100m to songwriters (1 May 2008)

Judge shuts down RIAA in music piracy case (30 April 2008)

Jailtime coming for two software pirates (8 March 2008)

Sorry MPAA, Hollywood box office hits new highs despite piracy (7 March 2008)

Piracy is caused by lack of choice, says study (6 March 2008)

RIAA to prosecutors: beware of crack dealing pirates (21 February 2008)

RIAA contractors accused of illegal investigation in New York (5 February 2008)

RIAA beaten in court by Tanya Andersen yet again (17 January 2008)

EFF targets RIAA's 'making available' claims (14 January 2008)

Update: RIAA fights back against accusations (3 January 2008)

Reports of the RIAA suing over CD ripping prove to be unfounded (3 January 2008)

University of Washington may not cooperate with RIAA (3 January 2008)

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Discuss this article!
nintenut (Member) 23 February 2008 19:26
Agreed! I chuckled at the idea of the Godfather impression. XP [ + quote]
Deadrum33 (Senior Member) 23 February 2008 20:58
This man does a brilliant spoken word tour, I was lucky enough to meet him when he came through my area, and his views on big business and its role in the USA government are spot-on. [ + quote]
21Q (Senior Member) 23 February 2008 22:08
I agree with this article, but the first thing I saw when reading this was ****'em. I know that many people here at AD are adults, but they are younger people as well. [ + quote]
DVDBack23 (Staff Member) 23 February 2008 22:43
*Originally posted by 21Q:* I agree with this article, but the first thing I saw when reading this was ****'em. I know that many people here at AD are adults, but they are younger people as well. Good call, I have edited his quote. Thanks. [ + quote]
21Q (Senior Member) 24 February 2008 0:20
*Quote:* *Originally posted by 21Q:* I agree with this article, but the first thing I saw when reading this was ****'em. I know that many people here at AD are adults, but they are younger people as well. Good call, I have edited his quote. Thanks. No problem. Just looking out for AD's reputation and those younger members. I also just noticed that my ad age is set a bit young, as well as my profile page. That's what happens when you stay logged in, even on your own computer. [ + quote]
thekingo7 (Senior Member) 24 February 2008 1:10
God Bless you Jello Biafra. A great activist from a kick ass punk band. California Uber Alles!! But seriously folks, he truly is spot on with his observations, its too bad people don't take action. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 24 February 2008 6:21
Hell big biz reminds me of the mafia....... [ + quote]
varnull (Senior Member) 24 February 2008 6:48
Hey.. at least the mafia are honest criminals.. They don't get the governments to do their dirty work for them. Big ups for Jello.. My ******* hero. I'm also glad the space shuttle blew up ;) Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work.... Commercial "pay for" software = made by software developers who want paying... see where I'm going with this? [ + quote]
nobrainer (Member) 24 February 2008 6:52
If you want to get them to change you have to boycott them. as it says in my sig purchase only 2nd hand media and avoid their propertarian, anti consumer, crippled by DRM hardware, (blu-ray, ect) & download services. And do not be party to the RIAA's global price fixing scam of regional pricing via credit card blocks from the RIAA members, forcing stores like iTunes, Amazon ect to engage in anti consumer price fixing practices. The EU blames record labels Anti Trust Probe *Originally posted by hyperlink:* The EU blames record labels, apparently considering Apple to be more or less a conduit of the record companies' wrongs rather than an active violator. An EU spokesperson said "this is an arrangement imposed on Apple by the record companies [...] The main focus of our attention is the major record companies." RIAA Claims Ownership of All Artist Royalties For Internet Radio *Originally posted by hyperlink:* SoundExchange (the RIAA) considers any digital performance of a song as falling under their compulsory license. If any artist records a song, SoundExchange has the right to collect royalties for its performance on Internet radio. Artists can offer to download their music for free, but they cannot offer their songs to Internet radio for free. (http://soundexchange.com/faq.html#a7) So how it works is that SoundExchange collects money through compulsory royalties from Webcasters and holds onto the money. If a label or artist wants their share of the money, they must become a member of SoundExchange and pay a fee to collect their royalties (http://soundexchange.com/faq.html#b6). But, and this is a big "but," you only get royalties if you own the sound recording copyright. If you are signed to a major label, chances are you don�t. Even if you do own the copyright to your own recording of your own song, SoundExchange will collect Internet radio royalties for your song even if you don�t want them to do so. Don't let big media dictate our culture to us, boycott big media and allow the real artists play time, lets rid the world of Sony payola deals to keep indie artists from air time. always remember digital downloads are cheaper because of less overheads don't get ripped off ppl or get some of this: The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI. The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI. The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above! The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX. How do you stop anti consumer = its easy purchase only second hand media and avoid their propertarian hobbled by DRM hardware! http://www.boycott-riaa.com/ [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 24 February 2008 8:25
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 24 February 2008 6:55
NObrains I don't buy new media anymore I find a music group I like I give them a 5 or 10$ donation, I avoid mainstream DRM riddled services with every fiber of my being. [ + quote]
vinny13 (Inactive) 24 February 2008 10:40
Wow lol I wonder what the RIAA made of this :P Those bastards... [ + quote]
varnull (Senior Member) 24 February 2008 10:48
The last new record I paid for on release was the Cult - Love.. how long ago?? I know back then new vinyl was less than �5 Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work.... Commercial "pay for" software = made by software developers who want paying... see where I'm going with this? [ + quote]
jetyi83 (Member) 24 February 2008 11:15
someone should start a boycott against big labels, or anyone associated with the riaa. they could make a website with every band under their label named so you know who to avoid. i would love to see a group like anonymous boycott the riaa [ + quote]
vinny13 (Inactive) 24 February 2008 14:14
Easy solution. *BIT TORRENT* [ + quote]
bdoggie08 (Newbie) 25 February 2008 10:36
Originally posted by vinny13 *Quote:* Easy solution. BIT TORRENT[/i] HAHA Nice. Agreed :P (use it all the time, its soo damn slow, but its works so well..) [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 25 February 2008 10:43
xSModder (Junior Member) 25 February 2008 12:34
Bittorrent and IRC will be all I ever need. And yes, ** the RIAA. Donate to your favorite band directly and don't fall victim to buying the $20 packaged 5cent disc. Or even your $2 hosted digital free download. And hell with paying for a $9 accommodation fee for your free movie. Even your $20-30 packaged 10cent disc. It's bull** plain and simple. The RIAA simply finds little ways to incorporate the payment of their wages into sales. It's nothing new, but it's nice to see it brought out into the public. I just wish it would change something. However, not everybody can ignore the horse's head. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 25 February 2008 18:59
*Originally posted by xSModder:* Bittorrent and IRC will be all I ever need. And yes, ** the RIAA. Donate to your favorite band directly and don't fall victim to buying the $20 packaged 5cent disc. Or even your $2 hosted digital free download. And hell with paying for a $9 accommodation fee for your free movie. Even your $20-30 packaged 10cent disc. It's bull** plain and simple. The RIAA simply finds little ways to incorporate the payment of their wages into sales. It's nothing new, but it's nice to see it brought out into the public. I just wish it would change something. However, not everybody can ignore the horse's head. well for bands that do their own stuff it can cost 15-25 for a starting band to do a CD launch, for the industry hell no they can do it for 8-10$ and still get a good profit in. [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 18 April 2008 0:38
I like it turning the tables on the riaa and showing people who the real criminals are :) [ + quote]