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Monday, June 21, 2004
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THIS JUST IN: RECORD COMPANIES EVIL, BEASTIE BOYS SLIGHTLY MORE SO
Story found via Ford W. Maverick
So the Beastie Boys finally got off their asses long enough to make an album. I'll admit, I've always been a fan. In fact, I liked Paul's Boutique so much I bought it twice, the day it came out on cassette, and then years later on CD. I highly recommend it, it's a ground breaking album, even today.
But they've apparently decided that they're "artists" and take forever to get in the studio, so busy are they freeing Tibet and whatnot. Last Tuesday, they released To the Five Burroughs. Word is that it's pretty good.
But you shouldn't buy it. Steal it instead.
It appears that the Beasties have taken it upon themselves to take the fight against music piracy one step further. If you buy TT5B you're also buying anti-piracy software without knowing it. Apparently, if you attempt to play the CD in your PC, it automatically and without your knowledge or consent, installs copy protection software in your operating system. As I write this, no one appears to know what this software will actually do or how it can be removed.
I should note here, that I do understand and sympathize with both the RIAA and the artists who oppose Peer to Peer file sharing. It is, in the strictest sense of the word, theft. It is very different from the cassette copying controversy that the RIAA went nuts about in the early 1980's. With cassette copying, the piracy was limited to "personal use" copying. The courts have repeatedly held that this is perfectly legal. P2P, on the other hand, allows near perfect digital copies of a product to be distributed world wide in a matter of seconds.
Most people seem to think that because the RIAA is evil, they are also wrong. In fact, they are evil and right. Were we discussing any product other than music, everyone would agree that this is copyright infringement and blatant theft. There's really no arguing this. Some will argue that because the major labels are evil, they deserve to be stolen from. While this may be morally correct, it is legally flawed. As an example, I invite you to break into Kenneth Lay's home and see what happens.
I was one of the few people I knew who defended those morons in Metallica on their stand against Napster. They were right, they were just unfortunately the wrong people to make the argument. It is highly unbecoming for zillionaires to whine about their "ability to make a living." I should note that I use P2P file sharing from time to time. I'm just as guilty as everybody else. But Canadian courts have ruled that I can. We're a ridiculous people.
The Beastie Boys, on the other hand, are one-upping even the evil of the RIAA. Even they're not ballsy enough to install what sounds like a Trojan Horse program on their products. This, in itself, may be a crime. I'd love to see someone better versed in law than I look into this.
The Beastie's will probably argue that they had nothing to do with this. They'll probably argue that EMI did this without their knowledge. And this will be bullshit. If you're an artist of the Beastie's stature, you have full control over your album. It's usually written right into your contract. This includes the mastering process, whereby this program would presumably be installed. I should also note that, for some time, the Beastie Boys themselves owned a label (Grand Royal.) They know how the game is played.
There's another very compelling reason not to buy the CD: It could very well void the warranty on your CD player.
By the way, you'll notice that you won't see the 'Compact Disc Digital Audio' logo which is on every CD pre-copy protection. This is because the disc violates the CDDA standards (because of the lack of proper error correction)and Philips refuses to allow these discs to carry the logo. Therefore, the disc isn't technically a 'CD', according to the official standards.
-From the Beastie Boys Message Board
If you check the warranty on your CD player, particuarly older ones, it will advise you to only play CDs with the official "Compact Disc Digital Audio" logo.
I love the whole idea that the Beastie Boys are taking this "rebellious" stand in virtually everything they do and continue to profess loyalty to their fans, yet will take the first opportunity available to them to fuck with said fans' computer systems. Hopefully, anybody who experiences any problems with TT5B will explore the possibility of a class action lawsuit against EMI and Adam Horowitz, Michael Diamond and Adam Yauch personally.
If you're a Beastie Boys fan and really want TT5B, I suggest you get the track listing from the Beastie Boys website and download the individual songs from Kazaa. Perhaps if the album sells 3 copies, they'll learn a lesson.
In other words, fuck them before they fuck you.
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