Hate the RIAA?
Although I don't approve of massive music file sharing services in general, I truly abhor the methods the RIAA has used to go after people on their hit list. They basically bully universities, utilities, ISPs, and others to reveal the identity of the person at a particular IP address. Thankfully they haven't won every case, but their deep pockets have enabled them to not only win some, but to simply scare many people into settlements.
Here's a link to an interesting article, it shows the politicians who have accepted money from the RIAA. The VA rep on the link, Goodelatte, doesn't cover my home district, but I did see both Obama and Clinton on the list. I went to their sites and sent them a request to return the money to the RIAA. I doubt it will have any effect whatsoever, but it felt good.
Like internet radio?
I recently contacted my US Senators and Congressman regarding the revised royalty payment rates that internet radio stations are currently obligated to pay. If you'd like to do the same, there are a number of sites that help streamline the process. Here's the one I used.
Personally I use streaming audio for NPR news, which wouldn't be impacted, but I also use it for streaming music from the same station, WUWM in Milwaukee. They have an awesome all-music stream as well as several all-music shows. I've already purchased at least two CDs for a band or singer I first heard there (Carbon Leaf - you can listen to full-length streams of several of their songs here; Brett Dennan - he looks nothing like I expected) and have added a number of others to my Amazon Wish List for future purchase. Occasionally I listen to other online stations, such as Radio Paradise. NPR has led me to a number of bands and singers, prior to commercial radio or TV: Norah Jones, Hem, various ethnic music, Tom Rush, and many others I can't think of now.
As for Carbon Leaf, why is it that I had to move to Mexico before I heard of this band? They're from Richmond, Virginia, and have toured around for many years. Guess I just didn't get out much.
Actually, now that I think about it, I really didn't get out much.
About Me
- Trailing Male
- I worked for about 10 years in the IT field in the Northern Virginia region and lived in Manassas for about 11 years. My wife, Emily, achieved her long-time (and hard-fought) dream and started with the US Foreign Service in 2006. Our first posting was in Monterrey, Mexico, where we spent two years. As soon as I knew where we were headed and when I could get Spanish training, I gave notice and quit my job. After two years in Mexico, we spent a while back in the US learning Albanian for our current post in Tirana. I am currently not employed and have resumed my college studies (I WILL finish a degree one of these days!). I’ve taking up blogging to keep friends and relatives up to date. My blog is also an outlet to express the pleasures and frustrations associated with living abroad on behalf of the US government. My long-term goal is to hone my writing skills to the point where I can earn a living as an author and editor. In the meantime, I am a trailing male – the male spouse of a female Foreign Service Officer, a student, and, happily, a kept man.
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