The new math....RIAA style.

December 15, 2002 10:09 AM

Not 421 CD burners but "the equivalent of 421 burners". Now, most agree the RIAA is grasping at straws trying to control something they clearly can't, but this seems to be the most amusing yet. This article offers a suggestion or two concerning the possible music industry slump.
posted by robotrock (22 comments total)

wow, what a nonstory. more cutting-edge journalism from the register.
posted by kjh at 10:26 AM on December 15, 2002

The second link is the kicker. It seems that the music industry has produced 10,000 less pieces of merchandise this year and therefore suffered a slump in sales.
posted by eyeballkid at 10:42 AM on December 15, 2002

I remember when CD-ROM drives first came out. When the 2x ones came out, there weren't called 2x, they were called "DoubleSpin" (I think it was even trademarked). And then triple-spin, and then shortly it became easier to just say 4x and 6x and so on. So I guess this is DoubleSpin™ journalism.
posted by RylandDotNet at 10:50 AM on December 15, 2002

March 2002 Alain Levy, Chief Executive of EMI Records, which then shedded 1,800 jobs, made a joke in a press conference about having too many artist in their catalogs (they have 49 artists in Finland):

"I think that's a bit too many. I don't think there are 49 Finns that can sing."

A number of Finns found that a bit insulting...

The RIAA and record companies are also complaining about the increase of empty CD-R sales, but I haven't seen any statistics on empty cassette sales. After all it's legal to make copies for your own use (at least here in Finland it is).
posted by hoskala at 11:05 AM on December 15, 2002

Since I access the internet using a cable modem, whose average download speed is about 250kbps. The average internet surfer uses dialup whose average download speed is about 10kbps (I am guessing, I don't know for sure). This implies that I am 25 internet surfers. Woohoo!
posted by riffola at 11:05 AM on December 15, 2002

Robustly Incontinent Anal Aspirators
posted by quonsar at 11:12 AM on December 15, 2002

wait, so is it illegal to own cd burners now? or merely hundreds of cd burners?
posted by mcsweetie at 11:12 AM on December 15, 2002

or merely the equivalent of hundreds of cd burners?
posted by quonsar at 11:17 AM on December 15, 2002

" 'I don't think there are 49 Finns that can sing.'

A number of Finns found that a bit insulting..."

sadly though, it's true...
posted by popkick at 11:22 AM on December 15, 2002

They should call themselves the 49 deadly fins

Get it???????????????????//

o< Quack props to Brian Eno!
posted by KettleBlack at 11:25 AM on December 15, 2002

bootnote?
posted by ph00dz at 11:27 AM on December 15, 2002

Bootnote appears to be a slang for footnote.
posted by riffola at 11:54 AM on December 15, 2002

popkick: wrong! I got hoskala's mefiswap mix
posted by gravelshoes at 12:41 PM on December 15, 2002

so then, if i have a corvette, is that the equivalent of 2 volkswagen golfs?
posted by schlaager at 2:42 PM on December 15, 2002

I wish I was getting 10kbps. If I were the type who would download, say, songs I would never buy the whole album for, I would, just saying theoretically, get closer to 5 maximum kbps. I'm not that type of person though.
posted by robotrock at 3:21 PM on December 15, 2002

schlaager, yes and no, depending on whether you're comparing fuel consumption or carrying capacity.
posted by George_Spiggott at 4:14 PM on December 15, 2002

I second gravelshoes' defense of Finnish singers/musicians

my exposure to Finnish music through the Mefi swap showed me a lot of amazing stuff- more innovative and talented than many RIAA "singers" I've heard lately.
posted by jeremias at 4:27 PM on December 15, 2002

average download speed is about 10kbps

I can only dream about download speeds like that. 250 kbps is simply beyond my comprehension. Maybe that is why I find it hard to understand the fuss about downloading music etc, because I have no conception of how easy it is for some?

Why would anyone use large numbers of CD burners anyway? Aren't there mass copying machines available?
posted by dg at 5:56 PM on December 15, 2002

Finland has H.I.M. Goddamnit! Ville Vallo can sure as Hell sing.
posted by Dark Messiah at 5:57 PM on December 15, 2002

Okay, I have a 40x CD Writer - that is the equivilent of how many CD burners? Like 4 maybe? Or maybe they consider an 8x to be 'normal' that's like owning 5 CD Burners! Choice.

And what the hell, a bust that unearths CD Burners? Isn't the news normally carrying info about a bust that nets an advanced meth lab, or something?
posted by sycophant at 6:11 PM on December 15, 2002

How in the world did they get a warrant to bust someone with CD burners?
posted by eustacescrubb at 7:03 AM on December 16, 2002

I am 25 internet surfers. Woohoo!

And I am two riffolas. Check it ...
posted by walrus at 8:58 AM on December 16, 2002