Putting Our Money Where Our Mouths Are: Boycott the RIAA in March

Alright, we've been following the RIAA's increasingly frequent affronts to privacy and free speech lately, and it's about time we stopped merely bitching and moaning and did something about it. The RIAA has the power to shift public policy and to alter the direction of technology and the Internet for one reason and one reason alone: it's totally loaded. Without their millions of dollars to throw at lawyers, the RIAA is toothless. They get their money from us, the consumers, and if we don't like the way they're behaving, we can let them know with our wallets.

With that in mind, Gizmodo is declaring the month of March Boycott the RIAA month. We want to get the word out to as many people as humanly possible that we can all send a message by refusing to buy any album put out by an RIAA label. Am I saying you should start pirating music? Not at all. You can continue to support the artists you enjoy and respect in a number of ways.

Firstly, I encourage everyone to purchase music from unsigned bands and bands on independent record labels. There are tons of great artists out there, many of which you're probably already a fan of, that have nothing to do with the RIAA. Buy their records at eMusic, an online store that sells independent tunes in beautiful, DRM-free MP3 format.

Secondly, you can still support RIAA-signed bands without buying their music. Go see them live and buy their merchandise; they get a hell of a lot more money from that then they do from album sales. And hey, you could benefit from getting out more, couldn't you?

If you are unsure whether or not an album is put out by an RIAA label, the handy RIAA Radar will clear everything up for you. They have both a search engine and a great bookmarklet, so be sure to get yourself hooked up.

Let me just reiterate that we are not saying you should stop buying music and start pirating everything. We need to send a message with our wallets to the RIAA, and that message will only be stronger if we show support for musicians without your money making its way to the lawyer fund.

So come on, make next month one to remember. Let's stand together and let the RIAA know that yes, we are paying attention and no, we aren't going to put up with their unethical practices any longer. –Adam Frucci

Boycotts like this are meaningless when they have a pre-set, unconditional end date. All this will do is make the April returns that much better since people will wait until April 1 to buy all their major-label March releases*. If you're going to do this, keep doing it until the companies notice and make changes.

* Air, Ry Cooder, The Stooges, Amy Winehouse, Modest Mouse, Willy Mason, Tracey Thorn, Macy Gray, Kaiser Chiefs, Klaxons, Redman

* Air, Ry Cooder, The Stooges, Amy Winehouse, Modest Mouse, Willy Mason, Tracey Thorn, Macy Gray, Kaiser Chiefs, Klaxons, Redman

First off, we want to be clear that this battle won't be over on March 31st. We declared March the Boycott the RIAA month to draw a line in the sand and to make a strong statement, but this is merely the beginning. Everything we're going to lay out here will still be true in April, in May, in June, and in the months that follow. March will be not the entirety of our efforts, but rather a kick off of our organized campaign to make a difference. We'll be posting tips for how to get the word out, ways to support artists without supporting the RIAA, and keeping you updated with everything that's going on throughout the entire month. With your help, we can educate people about how important this issue is and really make a difference.

Is the RIAA's budget strictly tied to album sales alone?

I'd guess that they are paid, like any industry association, by their members (i.e., the labels). If labels profits are down (as they would be if sales are down), that's bad for them.

Well sure, in theory. I like the idea of consumer advocacy via boycotts and whatnot, but this particular one seems a tad bit quixotic.

Besides, how will LCD Soundsystem go #1 in their March release week if everyone's boycotting major labels?

LCD > Boycott

yeah i'm gonna have to buy that klaxons album. sorry to piss on your parade.

i've heard that album shiv, save your pee for some other parade.

i will continue to buy almost all of my music through emusic, so i guess that means i'm in.