RIAA Chairman Delivers Pro-DRM, Pro-Litigation Message: “Now See Here

Mitch Bainwol, RIAA chairman and former drummer for Young Marble Giants, gave a keynote speech on Tuesday at the Digital Summit in Nashville. His message was notably juicy for the way it defended the use of digital protection in the music industry -- in spite of record low sales for the major labels, Bainwol remains optimistic and committed to making no changes and listening to no other alternatives. "Excuse me?" he asked in response to a question regarding EMI's decision to go DRM-free. "You're going to have to speak up; I simply can't hear you from all the way back there. Does... does anyone else have a question? Good."

Earlier this year, the RIAA started a more aggressive push toward litigation, specifically targeting college campuses. Their strategy was to offer discounts and copies of Mew albums to any suckers willing to fork their dough over to the RIAA directly. Bainwol offered up a real brain-twisting quote at the time ("Our job is to provide sufficient oxygen for the legal marketplace to show its true promise"), and when asked for an update on this strategy's progress, he secluded himself in a room with a dictionary and a pack of Big League Chew for two months before emerging to declare that the strategy is, indeed, "changing the risk calculus."

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