RIAA membership

[jc2977]

I love many of the bands on Matador records. I own many albums that have the Matador label on them. I love a lot of the bands that are talked about here.

However, I've decided to never buy a Matador album again, as long as Matador is a member of the RIAA.

This sucks for me as I like a lot of this music, but I can't give my money to this label, knowing that they are a member of the RIAA.

I love music. I own 900 CDs. I also download a lot of music to listen to it before I buy records.

I hope the people at Matador read this and rethink their membership with the RIAA.

[johansen smith]

hey, guess what?

[anagrama]

jc2977....grow the fuck up.

[Paul]

Dear jc2977:

Before you come in here and make a COMPLETE ass of yourself (although, it might be too late), please check archived threads. Had you done so, you might have found these:

http://www.matadorrecords.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=550

http://www.matadorrecords.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=722

In both cases it was established that Matador is NOT an RIAA member, but using such criteria when shopping for music is silly in and of itself.

[Joseph]

Originally posted by anagrama
jc2977....grow the fuck up.

Yeah, bro. Take some shrooms and open up that third eye, buddy!

[jc2977]

Paul,
Thank you for the links to those other threads.
I may have been mistaken.
boycott-riaa.com has Matador listed.
I trusted them since they're leading this fight.
I will have to contact them to find out what the real deal is.

I don't spend much time surfing around the sites of the labels of the music I listen to.
That seems childish to me.

BTW, anagrama... The RIAA should grow up. People like me will stop complaining about RIAA affiliation when they stop going after people. This is a serious issue to me. I could explain why I'm not giong to buy an "RIAA" record, but people who know anything about this issue have already decided what they are going to do with the present situation.
Go to boycott-riaa.com if you don't understand.

"If you don't stand for something, you fall for everything"

[Joseph]

Considering how much Anagrandma brags on this board and others about downloading music offa "The Web," I'd have figured he'd share yer anti-RIAA sentiments...maybe he needs open up that third eye...

[tinobeat]

yeah, annie does brag about getting music online, but he's no petty thief! no no! he "pays" for his music. a whole $10 a month! its like getting it for free in that I bet only emusic makes money, but look ma! no guilt!

if he's justifying it to himself that he's actually supporting artists by using emusic, I don't see him having trouble with the RIAA in that its got nothing to do with supporting artists. its not the same, sure, but I'd much rather people just use P2P for free and then pay for records than live in a fantasy world where they pay marginal sums and think they're actually participating in some sort of commerce. I really think emusic probably does more damage than P2P setups.

10 bucks (US$) says anagrama's reponse(s) will have a little yawning face icon.

JC2977:
I don't spend much time surfing around the sites of the labels of the music I listen to. That seems childish to me.

I dunno, trying to learn about the music you listen to and talking to the people who actually run the label is a much better way to make decision about whether or not to continue to patronize them or not. Exactly how is it childish to visit label web sites? Talking shit on the BBs certainly is, but hell, its fun. but visiting label sites is often the best way to learn about music.

either way, this boycott riaa thing, though it seems noble, is a bit worrisome if its implicating labels that aren't involved, especially if there's idiots looking to make snap judgments out there.

[Funk]

Originally posted by jc2977

boycott-riaa.com has Matador listed.
I trusted them since they're leading this fight.
I will have to contact them to find out what the real deal is.

I don't spend much time surfing around the sites of the labels of the music I listen to.
That seems childish to me.

The Internet has faulty information?! That's unpossible!

I don't get how visiting label websites=childish, but taking the time to register to a record label's message board just to tell them "Hey, I'm not buying your records"=what? Sticking it to The Man? If you bothered to surf this label's website and learn aboot their business associations you'd have been better off than just blinding following some website giving you wrong information, wouldn't you?

Martin, the RIAA doesn't exist in Canada, so Anagrama probably doesn't give a fuck.

[tinobeat]

yep, you're right. forgot about that little detail. do you canucks have any lobbying body like that at all?

[Funk]

Originally posted by tinobeat
yep, you're right. forgot about that little detail. do you canucks have any lobbying body like that at all?

Yeah, the CRIA (www.cria.ca/). They don't really have any money, so all you get are statements in download articles saying "Please don't download. Please?"

[winterwooskie]

i wonder what the chances are that this person is starting these threads on boards of as many of the labels mentioned on that list as he can. and does not even listen to any bands on the matador roster probably. especially since he seems more like an earth crisis hardcore crap kind of fan. his thread seemed like a stock response that he is probably giving to all the labels.

and i read the list, it is ridiculous. it has a over a hundred labels on it and then it has like bon jovi, liz phair, and billy corgan on it. how do you have one person from a band but not the band listed? it's a good thing they are only going after lead singers and not shitty bass players. yes tico that means you.

[Paul]

Shit, you're right!

I love many of the bands on (label name here) records. I own many albums that have the (label name here) label on them. I love a lot of the bands that are talked about here.

However, I've decided to never buy a (label name here) album again, as long as (label name here) is a member of the RIAA.

This sucks for me as I like a lot of this music, but I can't give my money to this label, knowing that they are a member of the RIAA.

I love music. I own 900 CDs. I also download a lot of music to listen to it before I buy records.

I hope the people at (label name here) read this and rethink their membership with the RIAA.

[Joseph]

Originally posted by winterwooskie
i wonder what the chances are that this person is starting these threads on boards of as many of the labels mentioned on that list as he can. and does not even listen to any bands on the matador roster probably. especially since he seems more like an earth crisis hardcore crap kind of fan. his thread seemed like a stock response that he is probably giving to all the labels.

and i read the list, it is ridiculous. it has a over a hundred labels on it and then it has like bon jovi, liz phair, and billy corgan on it. how do you have one person from a band but not the band listed? it's a good thing they are only going after lead singers and not shitty bass players. yes tico that means you.

First, where do you get Earth Crisis from?! I don't believe the guy mentioned anything about "hardcore crap music." And describing hardcore as "crap music" just shows your ignorance -- the Bad Brains have had more of an impact on the music you listen to than anything Liz Phair has ever shit out.

Second, I am sure Billy Corgan, Liz Phair and Bon Jovi are listed because they (not their respective bands) are signed to their respective record labels. For example, Kim Deal, not the Breeders, has a deal with her label.

Third, why all the Bon Jovi dissing on this board?! When you dis Bon Jovi, you dis yourself, fool.

[evil_speakers]

Once again, Joseph is here to point out how unintelligent, uninformed and uncultured someone else is. If we didn't have Joseph around, how would we know what was cool?

[Joseph]

Originally posted by evil_speakers
Once again, Joseph is here to point out how unintelligent, uninformed and uncultured someone else is. If we didn't have Joseph around, how would we know what was cool?

First and foremost, that guy is unintelligent, uninformed and uncultured. He was also being a total asshole for no good reason. You're gonna defend someone who accuses other people of liking Earth Crisis as if it's a crime? Isn't he doing the exact same thing you're accusing me of doing?

Cheers to intelligent debate and Bon Jovi's classic album Slippery When Wet -- Jeers to overusing sarcasm to make a point.

[jc2977]

Hi again,
Some good replies. :)
I am a real person, I belong to no organization, I have nothing against Matador if they have nothing to do with the RIAA.
Hey, I haven't found out yet, but maybe I did rush to judgement.
I'm sorry! Please forgive me! I know you love this label!
If in fact (record label) is not a part of RIAA, I will never say anything bad about it again.
Oh shit, did I not fill in the record label name!

Good try guys. Quite amusing, but seriously this is the only label I've posted this comment to. Last night I found out this information and posted here, because I looked at some of my CDs and saw that Interpol and Yo La Tengo were on Matador. I had always thought of Matador as a "good" label and was shocked at the information I read.

Earth Crisis are ridiculous. I never said anything about hardcore. I like hardcore. I like anything from Company Flow to Burt Bacharach, Sun Ra to Blood Brothers.

Do you people who despise me so much ever post to other labels' boards?
Most importantly, would you ever talk to people to their faces the way you talk in here or is this just your fantasy land?
That's not meant to be tough. I'm just wondering.
Seriously guys...

I'm serious. The RIAA issue is a big one. I assume that you people don't download music. This conversation really doesn't involve you.
If you do, however, download music and you agree with what the RIAA is doing or you think that buying music from labels who are members of the RIAA doesn't matter, maybe you'll rethink your position in the future when your ISP is forced to rat you out and you end up in jail.

(Joseph's doing a great job - most of the people here besides him seem like idiot savants. Emphasis on the idiot.)

[Joseph]

Some good replies. :)

We aim to please, guvner!

Earth Crisis are ridiculous.

Yeah, ridiculously good!!!

I like anything from Company Flow to Burt Bacharach, Sun Ra to Blood Brothers.

Do you like the Blues Brothers? Or Howlin' Maggie?

Do you people who despise me so much ever post to other labels' boards?

I don't despise you nor do I post on other labels' boards.

Most importantly, would you ever talk to people to their faces the way you talk in here or is this just your fantasy land?

I'm sad to say that I act like this in real life as well, only I present every ill-conceived argument with a smug self-satisfied shit-eating grin that y'all can't see in fantasy land.

(Joseph's doing a great job

Wow, you are new here!

most of the people here besides him seem like idiot savants. Emphasis on the idiot.)

And yet you seem to have figured out the lay of the land already!

[tinobeat]

I have a feeling most people here download music from the web, and I think everyone here is very keenly aware of the RIAA thing, hence two entire other threads on the subject before you even got here.

I think most of the shit you got was because of your jumping to conclusions based on a non-label affiliated site, and then hopping over here to tell the label that you would never buy another CD on the label. Then you essentially insult everyone you're talking to, saying that going to label sites is childish (though your immediate based-on-one-piece-of-information total boycott of matador products isn't?), even though you could have actually engaged the management at the label about the topic and formed an opinion that way. Instead you come out, guns blazing, like some kind of demagogue, which naturally leads most of us to assume you've got some kind of organized cause. we don't despise you, because we never had a secret meeting and said "we hate jcwhatever." All the shit you got was independent, just like Matador.. heh heh..

notice that nobody disagreed with you about the RIAA. yep, they're complete scum, and if they get their way, it'll be a police state. please don't preach to us about issues when you have no idea what goes on over here, mmkay?

[Joseph]

Originally posted by tinobeat
I have a feeling most people here download music from the web, and I think everyone here is very keenly aware of the RIAA thing, hence two entire other threads on the subject before you even got here.

I think most of the shit you got was because of your jumping to conclusions based on a non-label affiliated site, and then hopping over here to tell the label that you would never buy another CD on the label. Then you essentially insult everyone you're talking to, saying that going to label sites is childish (though your immediate based-on-one-piece-of-information total boycott of matador products isn't?), even though you could have actually engaged the management at the label about the topic and formed an opinion that way. Instead you come out, guns blazing, like some kind of demagogue, which naturally leads most of us to assume you've got some kind of organized cause. we don't despise you, because we never had a secret meeting and said "we hate jcwhatever." All the shit you got was independent, just like Matador.. heh heh..

notice that nobody disagreed with you about the RIAA. yep, they're complete scum, and if they get their way, it'll be a police state. please don't preach to us about issues when you have no idea what goes on over here, mmkay?

Damn, Tinobeat brings the hammer down! Who would have guessed that a Bright Eyes fan would have such spunk in him? I mean non-semen spunk, of course...

[tinobeat]

Bright Eyes fan? why I oughtta... that Vic Funk's askin' for it! spreading rumors about me like that.

heh heh...

[Joseph]

Originally posted by tinobeat
Bright Eyes fan? why I oughtta... that Vic Funk's askin' for it! spreading rumors about me like that.

heh heh...

Rumors? Pfft...you're not fooling anyone, boy.

[Funk]

Hey, let's make this thread even more fun: here's lists of labels that use RIAA-affiliated distribution! ADA (http://www.ada-music.com/generic.asp?module_map_id=1169&view=labeltext) and Caroline (http://www.carolinedist.com/labels/default.html)!

That's right, American music fan, never buy any of yr favourite artists again! That'll show... somebody!

[tinobeat]

I guess its all Drag City all the time then! (the only one I specifically looked for on both lists and couldn't find in 2 minutes)

there's always Eskimo Laboratories! we're so independent, we don't even HAVE distribution! or sales over 50-100 on any titles! fuck you, The Man!

[Funk]

Originally posted by tinobeat
I guess its all Drag City all the time then! (the only one I specifically looked for on both lists and couldn't find in 2 minutes)


Read the Caroline one again (and also check out Touch & Go- Con on ADA).

[tinobeat]

yeah, I know, a 3rd glance proved me wrong. Also I remember a previous RIAA conversation where someone quoted Dan or Rian of DC as saying that even the most indie label isn't indie if they're depending on checks from major distributors, the way DC depends on them.

[Funk]

Originally posted by tinobeat
yeah, I know, a 3rd glance proved me wrong. Also I remember a previous RIAA conversation where someone quoted Dan or Rian of DC as saying that even the most indie label isn't indie if they're depending on checks from major distributors, the way DC depends on them.

And that someone was me. Jeez, Martin, you get all upset at what I write on Pure Rock Fury (http://purerockfury.pitas.com), but you can't even remember when I write things that don't involve you.

[tinobeat]

get all upset? I laughed out loud when I read what you wrote..

your post on PRF was aimed at me, and posted yesterday, while the RIAA thing was, um, longer ago. I don't smoke pot so I can't blame my bad memory on that... just forgot the details... besides, its all about me. you know that, everyone should know that. whenever someone introduces me to someone else, I enthusiastically tell them my name and then run off before they can burden me with telling me who they are...

[Joseph]

Originally posted by tinobeat
your post on PRF was aimed at me, and posted yesterday, while the RIAA thing was, um, longer ago. I don't smoke pot so I can't blame my bad memory on that... just forgot the details...

Sounds like someone needs to open up that third eye!

The RIAA wants to ban shrooms too, dudes!

[jc2977]

"notice that nobody disagreed with you about the RIAA. yep, they're complete scum, and if they get their way, it'll be a police state."

So what are you doing to stop the RIAA?
Seriously, I'm looking for other answers.
I assume you're not just sticking your thumb up your butt, thinking the RIAA will magically disappear.
Do you really think that a boycott would do nothing?

[vesper]

Originally posted by jc2977
"notice that nobody disagreed with you about the RIAA. yep, they're complete scum, and if they get their way, it'll be a police state."

So what are you doing to stop the RIAA?
Seriously, I'm looking for other answers.
I assume you're not just sticking your thumb up your butt, thinking the RIAA will magically disappear.
Do you really think that a boycott would do nothing?

I think his point is that making educated decisions (eg: researching a label before boycotting it) is more effective than jumping on a hater bandwagon.

I don't think I've seen anyone shit on the boycott either, no one is suggesting that you cross your fingers on it.

[boycott-riaa]

Originally posted by jc2977
Paul,
Thank you for the links to those other threads.
I may have been mistaken.
boycott-riaa.com has Matador listed.
I trusted them since they're leading this fight.
I will have to contact them to find out what the real deal is.

Go to boycott-riaa.com if you don't understand.


As I recall, we went through this several years ago when I founded the boycott website. The RIAA had Matador listed and later removed the listing. At the request of Matador I removed them from the list of RIAA lmember labels. They were also removed from the RIAA website listing of member labels.

I update the list, usually once a month as it does change from time to time. On June 27th the list was updated from the RIAA website. Once again Matador was listed. http://www.riaa.com/about/members/default.asp For this reason they were included in the latest list. Patrick assures me (in the forums here) that they aren't a member. I will remove them from the list on boycott-riaa.com. We support indie music.

Bill Evans
founder of boycott-riaa.com

[winterwooskie]

Originally posted by Joseph
First, where do you get Earth Crisis from?! I don't believe the guy mentioned anything about "hardcore crap music." And describing hardcore as "crap music" just shows your ignorance -- the Bad Brains have had more of an impact on the music you listen to than anything Liz Phair has ever shit out.

Second, I am sure Billy Corgan, Liz Phair and Bon Jovi are listed because they (not their respective bands) are signed to their respective record labels. For example, Kim Deal, not the Breeders, has a deal with her label.

Third, why all the Bon Jovi dissing on this board?! When you dis Bon Jovi, you dis yourself, fool.

i mentioned earth crisis because the person reminds me of many of the hardcore punk posers that jump on bandwagons to show how punk they are and i know many earth crisis fans who are like this. and i know of alot of dumb hardcore fans who are like this. and also hardcore has changed a little since bad brains. it has become so formulaic and many of the people into it are extremely narrow-minded about anything that is not hardcore, at least in my area where we have every shit victory records band and all the other one's that are doing the same act over and over. and i was not being serious about the earth crisis fan thing in the first place. i was unaware that earth crisis fans were so easy to offend.

and i was unaware that individual people from bands and not their entire band signed deals with labels. that's new to me.

and i'm just pissed about bon jovi because they fired tico because he supposedly wasn't playing as good as he used to. he's a bass player, you're not exactly astronaut material to be able to do that.

[tinobeat]

Originally posted by jc2977
So what are you doing to stop the RIAA?
Seriously, I'm looking for other answers.
I assume you're not just sticking your thumb up your butt, thinking the RIAA will magically disappear.
Do you really think that a boycott would do nothing?

vesper's exactly right. I care enough about music to make educated decisions when I buy it, regarding (most importantly) whether I'll even like it or not (downloading helps in this regard), and I visit label websites because I like reading what's on them, learning about what they've got goin on, finding new music to listen to.. you know, childish shit.

The way it turns out, aside from one major-label CD I bought the other day for my girlfriend, I haven't supported a directly-RIAA-affiliated label in months if not years. Generally labels that sign up with the RIAA are more on the profit-oriented and not music-oriented tip, and tend to not put out interesting music. Of course that's a generalization, but a pretty safe one to go by. As far as RIAA-affiliated distribution of almost every medium-to-high-profile indie label, sorry, I'm not going to stop supporting Drag City or Matador or most smaller honest labels that are just scraping by because their distributor is affiliated.

the only people who will actively boycott are people who actually care a lot about the music, and I genuinely believe that people buying most of the major-label pap are not involved in their music to really care. They're not going to not buy the new whateverthefuck hit of the month because of a lobby group.

What WOULD work is if fashionable, flavor-of-the-month indie bands didn't sign to a major the second they became a little popular. I've gotta tip my hat to bands like Death Cab For Cutie that could SO be on a major label but are getting as much exposure as is needed for them to be heard by a lot of people (Esquire magazine sez they're the next big thing! whatever that means...) but still doing it on their terms and making more money.

like I said before, nobody here's disagreeing about the RIAA sucking. but christ man, do some thinking and research before you condemn a hard-working label and insult its fans. listen to good music and you'll probably end up avoiding the RIAA just by doing that...

[jc2977]

tinobeat,
I agree with your views.
I'm on sites like pitchfork everyday.
I didn't know about other threads that discussed the RIAA.
I'm new to this site and it's supposed affiliation with the RIAA irked me because I do like a lot of bands that this label supports.
Luckily Bill came along and set everything straight.
I have nothing to be disgruntled about anymore.
Yay Matador!

I don't know anything about being a fan of a label...
I appreciate business people who aren't trying to screw the people who buy their products. That's it.
That's why I hate the RIAA.

"listen to good music and you'll probably end up avoiding the RIAA just by doing that..."
You're argument is like saying "my mom never puts meat on my plate so that makes me a vegetarian."
You either make an ethical choice or you don't.

I'm glad that I can still buy Matador records. Thanks for this discussion.

[vesper]

Originally posted by jc2977
"listen to good music and you'll probably end up avoiding the RIAA just by doing that..."
You're argument is like saying "my mom never puts meat on my plate so that makes me a vegetarian."
You either make an ethical choice or you don't.

Why are you trying to moralize this so much? Indirectly avoiding the RIAA and fervently trashing them still means one thing: the RIAA isn't dipping into your wallet.

[tinobeat]

damn vesper, you and me, right there!

the RIAA gets little to no support from me (though we get into the sticky deal about distribution, but that's a slightly different one), and its dual factor of a) my not wanting to buy into labels that deal with them directly and 2) (for Funk) I happen to, in my music tastes, rarely HAVE to deal with directly-RIAA-affiliated labels, for the most part.

the latter is the one I think about day to day. my music tastes.

either way, I'm not of consequence in this debate, because I don't involve myself in that trade so much. You're preaching to the choir. Tell millions of Linkin Park fans that they shouldn't buy "Meteora" because Linkin Park, in their fear of file-sharing, recorded and released the album with excessive paranoid security that they don't trust their fans to actually buy the album (even though that record was the first one priced at $19.99 US, giving them even less reason to). Korn did the same thing, recording, mixing, and mastering their record that may or may not be out yet with heavy security, like some sort of fucking military project, saying "we're not getting fucked this time" or something to that effect. The RIAA propaganda has run so deep that the artists don't trust their fans, so the fans should return the favor and boycott.

If every indie rock asshole stopped buying all music, it'd be a tiny blip. You don't need to worry about us. its the millions of people buying the "real" records that actually resonate in the business world that need to be convinced, and you'd be my hero if you could actually convince them. But they probably believe all those bullshit testimonials from the artists about how they're going broke cos of file-sharing.

[Paul]

Originally posted by tinobeat
Tell millions of Linkin Park fans that they shouldn't buy "Meteora" because Linkin Park, in their fear of file-sharing, recorded and released the album with excessive paranoid security that they don't trust their fans to actually buy the album (even though that record was the first one priced at $19.99 US, giving them even less reason to).

Well, whatever they were doing DIDN'T work. I had that album downloaded in full at least three weeks before its street date. Take that, rapping LP guy who can't rap!

[juicemaster]

he's a bass player, you're not exactly astronaut material to be able to do that.

wookie, as a bass player myself I am deeply hurt by your comments. In protest I shall stand at the back quietly and not look at anyone.

[juicemaster]

sorry, wooskie.