Open-letter to my favorite bands
How low can RIAA go? Jammie Thomas was just fined $220000 for sharing 24 songs. I'm not saying that she should be allowed to share the files. But is this a punishment fit for the crime? Music artists need to find someone to represent them that shows more common sense. Some propose to boycott the RIAA. Very good, but I already did that for the past few years now. It reached the point where I feel bad to just own CDs published by RIAA members. So I started to mail my disks back to my favorite bands. Here is the letter that I include in the envelope.
I want to return this CD. It's a really good CD; I bought it a long time ago and I have many strong memories tied to its songs. But I can't enjoy it anymore.
Fined $220000 for sharing 24 songs, is this reasonable? Until the senseless law suits end, I will only listen to music not distributed by the RIAA. I hope you plan to join a non-RIAA label because I really like what you do.
Some bands include a snail mail address in the booklet but many don't. Is there a place where this kind of information is available? If you decide to boycott RIAA, let the artists know about it. Radiohead has got the message and they now offer downloads of their next album at a reasonable price. The EFF has a good plan but it can only work if the artists are with us.
There is hope but we need to get busy and loud or it won't happen.