Dear Readers, given the day that’s in it, some of you may find the following analogy a little disturbing, however, I believe it puts in perspective some very distasteful trends we’re seeing in corporate behaviour and how PR has become a fall-guy in the process.
Wars are an inevitable part of human existence. That is a regrettable fact. Humans sometimes find no other way of dealing with conflict. However the real victims of war are rarely the primary participants, and the world’s nations, recognizing this fact, created the Geneva Convention to protect the rights of those people who were at the mercy of more powerful adversaries.
You may be wondering where I am headed with this. Bear with me.
James Horton writes today about a story in the Los Angeles Times (Free Registration Required) which reveals that the RIAA was well aware of the potential backlash against their lawsuits against their customers, but they were willing to grin and bear it.
So, the bullies unleashed their legal muscle on children, retired people and students. In fact, they in effect declared war on people who were illegally downloading music.
Not good PR, but they wanted a strong message to get through – and it has.
No question.
I dealt yesterday with the fact that they chose the lazy route. Rather than looking at how their industry markets their product, structures their costs etc. they went for the soft target. (Compare this to the Business Software Alliance, whose “cease-and-desist” strategy has been very successful in reducing software piracy).
So the RIAA has declared war. So in a convential war the Geneva Convention protects the weak. Who is protecting the weak in the RIAA war?
The Third Geneva Convention restricts combatants from using prisoners for “public curiousity”. But from the latest stories on the RIAA they are parading their prisoners on full view.
In a story from Wired, we learn that Brianna Lahara, the twelve year old, who the RIAA bravely sued, has had to pay (through her mother) $2,000. But it doesn’t stop there, not only are the RIAA taking her money, but they are parading her like some sort of exhibit.
“I am sorry for what I have done,” Brianna said in a statement released by the Recording Industry Association of America on Tuesday. “I love music and I don’t want to hurt the artists I love.”
Do these people have no shame? I don’t care about the pros and cons. This is simply unethical. That’s your music industry folks. Bullying and taking advantage of a twelve year old.
I’m not a member of any anti-trade group, I am pro free trade, pro free markets, but I am passionately against a lack of ethics among commerical entities.
Murphy's Law 