• Inside Digital Media Interview With RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol (MP3)
No music today, rather an MP3 of a 33-minute interview with the RIAA's Mitch Bainwol by Inside Digital Media. (Though it's a long interview, the file is only 5.66 MB)
The interview revealed the thinking of the RIAA and showed where it stands on some big issues. Bainwol spoke many times of the "moral clarity" that he believes has been created in the last five years through the RIAA's efforts, and often emphasized how the market has grown from nothing in just a few years. He is optimistic that problems of interoperability will be worked out by the market, but emphasized the need for DRM. (Translation: Technology companies will be expected to figure out interoperability without labels straying from DRM.)
Here are some other comments that stood out:
• "The fundamental question here is whether we will respect intangible IP as we do physical property. I think in the last three years we've made enormous headway."
• On the transition to digital: "I think we're now over the hump. Core to making this transition is a basic respect in the digital work for the property right."
• On piracy containment: "We're seeing, between wireless and broadband penetration, a huge change in the market. Last year alone, broadband penetration went up 40%. Meanwhile P2P users were flat. That's part of our point about containment."
• On DRM and some indies' belief that lack of DRM is beneficial to them: "There are choices that different entrepreneurs and different companies can make, and I think that's appropriate in a free market. At the end of the day, for there to be a variety of models made available to fans you have to have DRM. DRM is an enabler, not an inhibitor."
• On DRM and the problem of interoperability: "I do think it's getting better. I think it's getting better largely because of the evolution of market pressure, so I don't think this is something one should try to legislate. As this market matures, I think there will be pressures on various players to provide interoperability, and we'll get there."
• On the RIAA's stance on YouTube: "Any time you have a bunch of kids or potential consumers go into a certain site or service there's promotional potential, and I think that potential is well recognized. What is also true about YouTube and some of the others is that they're legitimate businesses that are seeking, I think, to do the right thing. We'd like to work with legitimate enterprises to make sure we find the proper balance between giving fans the flexibility they want but also making sure the rights of creators -- publishings, songwriters, artists and labels -- are also respected."
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