Andre Yoskowitz
24 Jun 2011 23:40
No wonder they have to sue so many file sharers.
According to Bloomberg, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) spent $2.1 million lobbying the government in the last quarter, a big increase year-over-year (YoY).
The trade group, which is backed by record labels, has been pushing the government to impose stricter rules to protect IP rights in the U.S and other countries and has also been opposing a proposal that would force mobile phone makers to include FM radio chips in all handsets.
Two quarters ago, the RIAA spent $1.5 million lobbying and $1.4 million in the corresponding quarter last year.
In 2010, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) proposed the FM chip mandate but has been met with extreme resistance, especially from the Consumer Electronics Association (backed by device makers) who believes adding the chip will just add unneeded weight and cost to devices for a feature many users will not care about.
The NAB wants the mandate as a way to "bridge the gap" on a bill that RIAA has proposed which would force radio stations to pay performance artists for radio airtime. The RIAA wants those royalties as it sees little promotional value of playing tracks on the radio now, given cliff diving CD sales. The NAB would be "okay" with the bill if the FM chip mandate passes.