Does the RIAA Really Have a Plan?

by Taylor Flatt on December 22nd, 2008 at 2:48 pm EDT - 196 views

No. All this talk about stopping piracy is a big one.  From the RIAA suing the websites to them shutting off their user’s internet. These are all drastic steps that will prove to be more problematic than anything else. From zdnet, they have provided some snippets of an interview that was done with the RIAA, let us listen in,

• Q: When will the system actually be in place and start working? Has that been determined yet? 
• A: It has not. 
• Q: Can you say anything about what ISPs are involved? 
• A: No. All the parties would want comfort that the technology is accurate and reliable, because nobody is interested in false positives. And we’ll also need a mechanism so that somebody who claims that he or she was improperly identified would have an opportunity to be heard and have the question resolved. All of those things need to be worked out.
• Q: How will you deal with ISPs that choose not to cooperate? Will they be notified about subscribers who share files? Will you proceed with lawsuits?
• A: That’s an issue we hope not to have to address. … This is entirely voluntary and I think it’s made possible because the business interests of the industries are converging. There was a time five years ago when ISPs were solely focused on increasing their broadband penetration, and cutting back on piracy was not part of their business interest. Five years later, they’re in a very different place. They want to be portals in their own right, they want to offer their subscribers great content; it’s something that distinguishes one from another. They’re looking at themselves as more than the dumb pipes that they were five years ago, and I think that opens up partnerships that didn’t exist before.

Not only does this interview give insight of their overall plan, which is no plan, but they also believe that all ISPs will go along with their little plan.  If you look at it on the other side of the tracks, then you will see there are big dollar signs for ISP companies that don’t switch.  

For example, you have millions of people who download things illegally and if you network and market yourselves to these people, they will switch to you and pay more money to not get caught on this big scandal. This is especially true when they said when people were accused, then their voices would be heard. Does this mean their voices will be heard in an unbiased manor with evidential backup to support their accusations?  We will see, but for now, it is all just talk.

Source: ZDNet