Incoherent Babble

While Gizmodo is advocating that we “Put Our Money Where Our Mouths Are” and boycott the RIAA in March (an idea I fully support, and which Digg users obviously love), I was shocked at the number of popular records published by RIAA members.

I knew they were powerful, but I had no idea it was this bad.

Check out the RIAA Radar’s Amazon Top Albums list. How many green “Safe” tags do you see on that page? Far too few…

I was looking at The Killers’ Sam’s Town album, and decided to see what RIAA Radar recommended as RIAA-safe alternatives to The Killers. Much to my surprise, there are a number of excellent bands available through non-RIAA labels: Gnarls Barkley, The Postal Service, Snow Patrol, Death Cab for Cutie, Barenaked Ladies, Damien Rice, Gym Class Heroes, Arctic Monkeys, Panic! At The Disco, Buckcherry, Solomon Burke, The Shins - all quite popular non-RIAA label alternatives.

With all these popular “safe” alternatives, why wouldn’t you want to boycott the RIAA for a month? It’s not like you have to do without decent music for the month… Use the month of March as not only a month to show the RIAA you’re angry at them, but also as a month to find some new non-RIAA music that’s just as good and support some of the smaller non-RIAA labels and groups while you’re at it.

Stunt RIAA sales and show labels that they don’t need to join the RIAA to make money at the same time, all while enjoying some excellent music. What’s not to love?

Need some help staying RIAA-safe in March? Check out the RIAA Radar’s bookmarklets, just to make sure you don’t stray from the path while shopping. And while you’re finding great non-RIAA music, be sure to let others know about it by blogging about your favorite artists and commenting on Digg, Gizmodo, and other stories about the boycott. While you’re at it, drop a quick comment here about an artist you’ve found that you like on a RIAA-free label - I’m always looking for more music!

Now get out there and do it!

Update: For more quality RIAA-related babble from me, check out my previous blog entry: Oh No, Could the RIAA actually be Wrong?!