Why I STRONGLY Dislike the RIAA

And it's NOT because I've got a ton of illegal music on my computer. In fact, everything I have on my drive right now is perfectly, 100% legal. I've bought some, I owned the CDs to some, and I've been given much of it for use on the podcast. So there.

But when the RIAA sues a stroke victim who is living on a monthly disability check -- and who has repeatedly stated that he has engaged in no copyright infringement -- I have a problem. They don't care about anything but their bottom line, and that is rapidly decreasing, as people find other ways to get their music -- most of them perfectly legal. Since I started podcasting, I haven't felt the need to go out and buy a CD at WalMart or any of the mall stores -- if I've got the money, I'm going to buy a CD from a band that's struggling to "make it" and has escaped the notice of the "major labels." There are thousands out there to choose from, in all genres. In fact, take a look on the right sidebar, and you can see what I'm listening to, thanks to a cool widget from the folks at Last.fm.

It takes some work -- you have to separate the wheat from the chaff. And there's plenty of chaff out there, but that just makes the wheat taste that much better. OK, now that I've run that metaphor into the ground, I'll stop.

To reassure my long-time readers, I'm not planning on turning this blog into a music-focused blog, or a podcasting-focused one either. I am working on a few things that are more in keeping with the intent of this blog -- pop culture in the light of Biblical principles, theological topics written so that the average, non-seminary-educated person can understand the issues, etc. THOSE posts take time, which I don't have a lot of right now. THESE posts, however, I can bang out quickly, and they keep the front page from looking so empty and lonely.