For years (with me it was since 8-tracks) we have been scratching our heads wondering exactly what makes an ‘organization’ like the RIAA tick. I have seen some pretty stupid moves by the RIAA over the last 20 or so years, and they never cease to amaze me.
So I tripped on an article on their website today and had to laugh, are these guys for real? Perhaps the complete idiot would not see through their smoke and mirror analogies and stats, but anyone here can that’s for sure.
TITLED:
[b]The CD: A Better Value Than Ever[/b]
http://76.74.24.142/F3A24BF9-9711-7F8A-F1D3-1100C49D8418.pdf
Here’s where these guys have their heads:
“Positioned within an increasingly competitive entertainment marketplace, the
CD has become a better value than ever before, according to a newly updated
comparative analysis by the Recording Industry Association of America. While
many forms of entertainment have increased in price in both nominal and real
costs, the cost of a CD has actually decreased in real terms, and is on an
inflation-adjusted basis less expensive today than it has ever been.
The numbers are up and down, even mentioning that a vinyl album was over $20.00, but we all remember the $3.99 versions when they started pressing crap vinyl not even strong enough to wallpaper the kitchen with.
So now they are on about how cheap CD’s have become, compared to such entertainment as a live concert (which has gone up due to increasing travel costs, added security costs, higher wages for tour staff, much lower income from recording with the RIAA gouging the artist etc.
But this they see as a relevant comparison to CD costs. On the other hand, CD production costs are a mere fraction of what they once were, the price has dropped but not consistently, some years actually saw a hike in CD costs, but not the production costs.
They are comparing an industry with a constantly inflating cost, to a mirror of a commodity industry with a constantly lowering cost.
But hey, it looks good when they show you how cheap CD’s are now….I suppose.
No wonder nobody cares about them anymore.
[b]RIAA- Proudly ripping off artists since 1952![/b]
